Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban(s), KC (22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist, author and pioneer of the scientific method. He served both as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Although his political career ended in disgrace, he remained extremely influential through his works, especially as philosophical advocate and practitioner of the scientific method during the scientific revolution.[1]
Bacon has been called the creator of empiricism. His works established and popularised inductive methodologies for scientific inquiry, often called the Baconian method, or simply the scientific method. His demand for a planned procedure of investigating all things natural marked a new turn in the rhetorical and theoretical framework for science, much of which still surrounds conceptions of proper methodology today. His dedication probably led to his death, bringing him into a rare historical group of scientists who were killed by their own experiments.
Bacon was knighted in 1603, and created both the Baron Verulam in 1618, and the Viscount St Alban in 1621; as he died without heirs both peerages became extinct upon his death. He famously died of pneumonia contracted while studying the effects of freezing on the preservation of meat.
Quotes·Quotations by Francis Bacon
@ Natural abilities are like natural plants; they need pruning by study. [Francis Bacon, Essays.]
@ Prosperity is not without many fears and distastes; and adversity is not without comforts and hopes.
Francis Bacon, Essays, Of Adversity (1597).¶ If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubt; but if he will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties.
¶ A sudden, bold, and unexpected question doth many times surprise a man and lay him open.
¶ "The job of the artist is always to deepen the mystery."
This quote suggests that the purpose of art is not to solve mysteries, but to deepen them, to make us think, feel, and question. It’s a beautiful encapsulation of the power and purpose of art.
¶ There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon
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