Sir Francis Bacon, 1561-1642

English lawyer, statesman and empiricist philosopher.  Widely regarded as the originator of the modern "positivist" view of  science, as opposed to the Aristotlean approach to knowledge of the Scholastics. Argued for grounding of "natural law" doctrines in methodological individualism.

Born into a family of the "new nobility" of Elizabethan public officials, Francis Bacon seemed destined for political life.   After an education at home, Bacon entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1573.  In 1576, his father withdrew him from college and set him to study law at Gray's Inn in London.  He interrupted his studies to enter into the service of Sir Amias Paulet, the English Ambassador to France.  He returned to England upon his father's death in 1579.  Although wealthy, his father had overlooked the young Francis in his will and this ought to have cut short his political aspirations.  But he decided to return to Gray's Inn, finish his law studies and carve a political career on his own. 

Bacon managed to get elected to the House of Commons in 1584.  In 1586, he was finally admitted to the bar.  In both parliament and the courts, Bacon acquired quite a distinguished record.  His abilities were such that, almost immediately, he began jockeying for higher political position. Elizabeth's main minister (and Francis's uncle), Sir William Cecil (Lord Burleigh) promised him the Attorney-Generalship.  However, Bacon incurred the displeasure of the Queen herself by leading the opposition to some of her policies in Parliament.  Despite his good connections and obvious abilities, Bacon never got an official appointment in her government.  

In 1597, Bacon published his first book of Essays, effectively a collection of aphorisms and reflections on the "art of life" -- not in the ideal, but in the real and often ugly world.  They were extremely popular, among both fellow courtiers and the wider population..

In 1600, Bacon earned the Queen's outright suspicion because of his close friendship with the ambitious but undisciplined Robert Devereux (Earl of Essex).  However, Bacon managed to patch up his cold relations with the Queen when it emerged that he had tried to head off Essex's  attempted coup d'etat and then personally led the prosecution against Essex during ensuing the trial in 1601.   

After the Queen's death and the ascension of King James I in 1603, Bacon hoped for the public positions that had been denied him.  But new king's leading leading minister, Sir Robert Cecil (Earl of Salisbury) decided to keep Bacon at arm's length.   He was fobbed off with a knighthood in 1603 and then given the half-measure of Solicitor-Generalship in 1607.  

With time on his hands, 1605, Bacon wrote and published his Advancement of Learning.  It was a plea for free and critical intellectual inquiry in "secular" subjects.  On his journey across the secular subjects, he applauds history and literature, but finds that natural philosophy (i.e. the natural sciences as well as the social sciences) leave much to be desired.  In these fields, Bacon argues, there has been too much bizarre speculation, half-chewed reasoning and little attempt to make propositions coherent or coincident with observed facts (e.g. astrology, alchemy, etc.).  He thus emphasized the need for clear-headed intellectual inquiry, accompanied, guided and verified by the careful acquisition of "objective" factual information. 

Bacon's career really took off after Salisbury's death in 1612.  He was finally made Attorney-General in 1613 and took a leading role in the new administration.   In 1616, the confrontation over fiscal matters between King and Parliament was taken to courts.  Francis Bacon led the King's council, arguing that the imposition of customs duty was a royal prerogative.  His opponent, Sir Edward Coke, argued that, by common law, it fell within the purview of parliament.  The case ended with Coke's expulsion from the bench.

Bacon's friendship and political alliance with the king's powerful favorite, George Villiers (Duke of Buckingham), served him well.  Bacon was placed on the Privy Coucil in 1616, was made Lord Keeper of the Seal in 1617 and Lord Chancellor in 1618.  He was made a peer (Viscount St. Alban) in 1621.

The height of Bacon's career was capped by his Great Instauration.  This was planned as a six-volume treatise for the "renewal of learning".  Only part two, the Novum Organum, was actually completed.  It effectively picked up the argument of his 1605 book and expands upon it a bit more systematically.  Basically, he logically outlines and defends his positivistic, inductive methodology for scientific inquiry.   This was, by far, his greatest book -- and his greatest failure.  Perhaps if he had more peace of mind, he could have argued it better.  But things were quickly coming to a blazing finale.

Being at the center of power, Bacon also acquired a lot of enemies.   The economic crisis of 1620 led to the assembly of a new Parliament in 1621.  Leading the parliamentary opposition to the royal council was the same Sir Edward Coke who had crossed swords with Bacon earlier.  Coke and his party blamed the economic crisis on royal extravagance and the way monopolies and charters had been handled, i.e. corruption. The hated Buckingham, who was in charge of royal patronage, was the obvious target of these accusations.  But as Buckingham was untouchable, the royal council gave up Bacon as a sacrificial lamb to the parliamentarians.  Bacon was impeached by the House of Commons in 1621 on corruption charges and sent to the House of Lord for trial.  He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to indefinite imprisonment in the Tower of London, disbarment from public office, banishment from City of London and a fine of £40,000.  However, King James I intervened immediately on Bacon's behalf, had him freed, reduced the fine and reversed the banishment.  But the disbarment from public office could not be reversed.  

With his career suddenly terminated in so humiliating a fashion, Bacon crawled into quiet retirement in Cambridge.  His last few years were concentrated on publishing a new, expanded edition of his Essays.  His final book, the magical fable, The New Atlantis, was published posthumously in 1626.

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