L2 - Francis Bacon, New Organon, Book I Flashcards
Bacon’s opinion on the traditional process of deduction from self-evident principles:
It had produced very limited scientific knowledge.
What 2 things did Bacon think were needed to advance scientific discovery?
- Confrontation with various idols
- Understanding of nature based on an empirical method
Bacon’s thoughts on confused concepts:
Confused concepts lead to ill-defined words, which leads to confused and incorrect arguments.
2 ways of discovering truth:
- Anticipations of nature
- Interpretation of nature
Bacon’s description of Anticipations of Nature:
It quickly goes from an observation to a general principle. It then assumes these general principles to be true in trying to find more truth.
Bacon’s description of Interpretation of Nature:
Waits gradually for more and more evidence until confidently arriving at a general principle.
Anticipations are more powerful than Interpretation in what and why?
The convincing of people. Anticipations seem more straightforward, while interpretations use a lot of evidence from different sources and may seem weird.
What are the 4 classes of idols that beset men’s minds?
- Idols of the Tribe
- Idols of the Cave
- Idols of the Marketplace
- Idols of the Theater
Describe Idols of the Tribe:
Misconceptions that the entire human race has. Men believe that what they interpret is also the true interpretation of the universe.
How is human understanding like a false mirror?
It receives rays irregularly, distorting the true nature of things by mingling it’s own nature with it.
Describe Idols of the Cave:
The idols of each individual man. We each have a cave of our own that distorts light. Our own nature/personality or our own personal experiences distort the light.
Describe the Idols of the Marketplace:
Distortions from conversations with others. Whenever we improperly use concepts and words in our conversations, we share our distortions with others.
Describe the Idols of the Theater:
Idols that come into men’s minds from dogmas and philosophies. Each philosophy serves as a stageplay, creating it’s own world that doesn’t align with the real one.
What happens when the human understanding adopts an opinion?
It is very reluctant to give it up. It seeks to make other things agree with the opinion instead of changing the opinion.
“It is the peculiar and perpetual error of the human intellect to be more moved and excited by (blank) than by (blank), whereas it ought properly to hold itself indifferently disposed towards both alike.”
affirmatives, negatives
