HUMA 1170 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Oligarchy, Social Contract, Age Of Enlightenment
19 Oct 2016
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Week 6 - the enlightenment 2: human rights & institutions. Bacon argued that aristotelian method had produced very little solid knowledge about nature in the one thousand years it has existed. He rejects that the accumulation of knowledge leads to breakthrough. This is very modern: like hobbes, shakespeare, descartes. He undertakes a critique of his times. Idols of the tribe: errors from human nature. Idols of the cave: error from individuals, background, education, habits. Idols of the market: errors from language. Idols of the theatre: errors from traditions of thought. Bacon was most concerned with limitations of aristotelian reasoning. Science will make progress with another form of reasoning. It accepts premises, you must accept conclusion: all human beings are mortal; drake is a human being; therefore, drake is mortal. For example: the sun has risen every day since time immemorial therefore, the sun will rise tomorrow. Unorthodox christian (wrote more on religion than science)
