How Did Francis Bacon's Influence On American Culture

There are many influential people throughout history who have transformed the scientific world. Francis Bacon is considered exceptionally prominent to his era as well as decades after him. He made a positive impact on culture by serving as attorney general and Lord Chancellor of England during the Renaissance as well as contributing to philosophy. His father was a major inspiration as he paved the way for Bacon’s success. Francis was determined to make an impact on the world through self-assertion from his youth. Bacon’s brilliance thrived in spite of his private childhood education, he developed the scientific method in addition to classifying the intellectual fallacies of his time, and he influenced advances in science, engineering, and technology.

He began by writing a number of essays including topics on friendship, wisdom, health, beauty, anger, families, atheism, the union of England and Scotland, and innovation (Famous Scientists). In 1605, Bacon published The Advancement of Learning as well as The Wisdom of the Ancients which is his analysis of ancient mythology. Later in 1620, Francis published The Novum Organum, meaning “The New Tool.” In his book, he classifies the intellectual fallacies under headings he calls idols or the false way to look at things. He believed to discover truths, one must rid itself of four fallacies. Francis distinguished them as idols of the tribe, idols of the cave, idols of the marketplace and idols of the theater. Idols of the tribe meant the tendency to believe nature is more orderly than it is which is naturally caused by being human. Idols of the cave signifies the tendency of people to base knowledge on individual experiences, education, and tastes when one fails to realize how changeable and unreliable such factors are. Idols of the marketplace suggests that results from the dependence on language to communicate is erratic as words can easily be misinterpreted. Lastly, idols of the theater expresses how the influence of philosophies are merely products of imagination. His speculations of these idols indicate how some accept whole belief systems without questioning the ideas that make up that system (World Book’s Biographical Encyclopedia of Scientists, Volume 1, 55). Bacon’s effort shows his persistence to change the way the world views