Summary Of The Four Idols

Throughout history, England has had countless numbers of important writers, philosophers, and scientists. However, there was one rarity, that fit all three categories; Francis Bacon. Bacon was widely known for his essay on the four idols. Douglas Walton wrote an article about Bacon’s biography leading up to his theory of the four idols. “In addition to having his career in law and politics, Bacon made notable contributions to science, philosophy, history and literature” (Walton). The four idols were very influential in Europe at the time, and continue to be very important when studying literature and philosophy. However, he has a very differing view from another influential English writer and scientist, Charles Darwin. Darwin, in 1853, published his theory of natural selection in

Itiel Dror, wrote an article called, “How Can Francis Bacon Help Forensic Science? The Four Idols of Human Biases”. He explained what Bacon meant when using the term idols, and how they affect the scientific world positively and negatively. “Francis Bacon developed the doctrine of "idols," in which he laid out his understanding of the various obstacles that get in the way of truth and science - false idols that prevent us from making accurate observations and achieving understanding. These idols distort the truth, and thus stand in the way of science.” (Dror). Bacon, in his essay, The Four Idols, said, “The human understanding is of its own nature prone to suppose the existence of more order and regularity in the world than it finds” (Bacon). This statement alone, could almost crumble the majority of Darwin’s findings. Darwin found regularity and order in the process of natural selection, in fact that is what defined his theory. Darwin saw patterns in nature and discovered a theory which explained the patterns and