All modern essay writing owes its beginnings to Sir Francis Bacon, who is also known as the father of the English essay. He created the formal essay using his own simple, yet complex style by proving a point. He was also the first writer to publish a collection of essays, which were so unique that its form became a genre in literature. Bacon’s influential works were vastly impacted by the tenets of the Renaissance period. Even Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers of our nation, credited being influenced by Bacon’s essays (McDougal 454). Also titled “one of the three greatest men the world has ever known,” Francis Bacon wrote various prominent essays pertaining to philosophical research, natural science and social status (McDougal 454). Bacon significantly contributed to contemporary society by bringing about a lucid distinction between philosophy, science and religion. Ultimately, Bacon is a renowned Renaissance writer who introduced a new way of writing and thinking.
In 1597, Sir Francis Bacon made his first publication. He published a collection of essays (called Essayes: Religious Meditations. Places of Perswasion and Disswasion. Seene and Allowed) about politics, which was later expanded and republished in 1612 and 1625 (bio.com). His book contained the first examples of that literary form (essay) to gain popularity in England (McDougal 454). Inspired by the Renaissance notions of humanism, in 1605 Bacon published The Advancement of Learning attempting to rally supporters for the sciences. Also in 1609, he released his analysis of ancient mythology On the Wisdom of the Ancients (bio.com). Francis Bacon then went on to publishing a number of essays exhibiting his views on science, philosophy, politics, humanism, socia...
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The Renaissance has not ceased to be an age of discussion and debate among historians throughout the recent centuries. The vibrant nature of the era marks it as a most fascinating period of history. The Renaissance can be described as an age carrying the essence of “self-discovery and fulfillment, of recognition of human worth, and a dynamic outpouring of artistic activity.” This new world flourishing with art and creative optimism was also steeped in a spirit of “revolt of the Medievalists.” In an effort of “rebirth,” the previous culture of the Middle Ages was rejected, and even scorned. Foundational principles in all fields were overstepped, and old cultural norms were practically obsolete. It was an era whose humanistic philosophy greatly impacted the lens through which man viewed himself and the world.
Since Bacon and others pushed for a more empirical approach, numerous discoveries have been made. During this scientific revolution throughout the 16th century was categorized with big advances such as the making of new lenses by Galileo, Kepler and Huygens leading to new information about the stars and space, Magellan circumnavigating the earth, Columbus discovering the Americas, Gutenberg’s printing press advancing literature rapidly, and a religious reformation by Martin Luther that changed the church indefinitely (Graham, 2009). The scientific revolution continued far into the 17th century which was categorized with major findings in mathematics with Leibnitz and Newton independently discovering Calculus, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek discovered bacteria, William Harvey published his findings on the circulatory system, Newton’s laws of motion, and continued work on understanding the universe (Wikipedia Selection for schools – 17th century, 2008/9). The 18th century saw the invention of the steam engine which opened up the way for steel production, the discovery of photosynthesis, and the spinning jenny leading to the industrial revolution (Wikipedia Selection for schools – 18th century, 2008/9). More inventions and discoveries epitomized the 19th century which saw m...
The Renaissance is a period in Europe, from the 14th to the 16th century, considered the bridge between the Middle Ages and modern history. It started as a cultural movement in Italy in the Late Medieval period and later spread to the rest of Europe, marking the beginning of the Early Modern Age. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the change from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance.
In this paper I'm focusing mainly on Renaissance art work, since that was the assignment, but I feel it's important to also mention the other important parts of the Renaissance, architecture, science, politics and religion.
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Essays in Bacon’s and Johnson’s era are based primarily on opinion and judgment affecting the outcome and structure of the essay. It is evident that modern day essays are comprised of truth and fact allowing educated reasoning, making them more comprehendible. In contrast, essays from the 1500’s to the 1700’s focus more on one’s personal opinion affecting the outcome. Also modern day essays are well structured compared to historic essays making them straight-forward. James Baldwin’s “notes of a native son” (Baldwin, 1955) is a number of essay entailing truth and fact. This essay describes the childhood struggles of a Native African American growing up in America (Baldwin, 1955). Baldwin’s essays is based purely on fact and truth which allows
Sweet, William. "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Bentham, Jeremy []. N.p., 11 Apr. 2001. Web. 27 Nov. 2013.
3. Gaukroger, Stephen. Francis Bacon and the Transformation of Early Modern Philosophy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2001. Print.
Throughout history, these ideologies found in the Renaissance, and those found in the classical period as well, proved to be immense factors in the development of different nations. The term ‘renaissance’, used synonymously with the word ‘rebirth’, not only implies a certain chapter in European history but also denotes a stage of advancements in moral, ethical, educational, and all-around societal thoughts. Other such periods then, can be accredited with the term ‘renaissance’, such as the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, or even the progression of some developed nations to...
The time period surrounding the 17th century was the beginning of an era of great scientific advancement in Europe that was known as the Scientific Revolution. It was during this phase that the use of reason and new advances in science resulted in paradigm shifts. Paradigm shifts are shifts in basic assumptions (paradigms) resulting from the discovery of new information that is no longer compatible with existing paradigms, forcing people to shift their mind frame to adapt to the new assumption ("Thomas S. Kuhn"). In this period, many scientists formulated new theories by developing procedures to test new ideas; one of these procedures was the Ba-conian Method. The creator of the Baconian method, Francis Bacon (1561 – 1626), sought to reform and improve the philosophy of science, and thought that logic should have three goals: to correct habits of mind and intellectual mistakes, to supplement correct intellectual habits and compensate for incorrect ones, and to be constructive in the organization of logic gained (Da-vid). In his attempts to reform science and fulfill these goals, Bacon created a paradigm shift from the use of deductive investigation methods, or basing conclusions on a general law, to the inductive Baconian method that based conclusions on factual evidence from observation or experimentation (Smith). Bacon created this shift firstly by pointing out the flaws in other sys-tems of investigation by strongly criticizing several other philosophical approaches to science. Secondly, Bacon attempted to root out corruption or confusion that he felt was caused by other philosophies by encouraging people to acknowledge and compensate for them. Finally, Bacon created a method to organize and interpret data that would help scien...