MMW 13 Lecture Notes - Lecture 25: Novum Organum, Mathematical Proof, Natural Philosophy
6 Jun 2017
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Mmw 13 lecture 25 the triumph of the scientific method. Francis bacon (1561-1626: contemporary of galileo, more a man of influence than an actual scientist, appointed lord chancellor of england early 1600"s. Compare: attorney general: english renaissance man". Wrote his novum organum using only aphorisms, not proofs. Aphorisms = proclamations, sayings; sometimes prophetic in nature. No mathematical proof in the piece: not equipped to deal with math/scientific proofs. A prophet" of what was ahead for western science. Lawyer, historian, natural philosopher (term used to refer to scientists at the time) Inductive empiricism: all knowledge should be based on empirical, verifiable evidence. Only things that we can reliably know have to come from observations. Things beyond what we can observe in a concrete form doesn"t constitute knowledge because it"s very unreliable. Nothing can be left to chance, nothing can be left to subjective (one person"s) judgement, nothing can be left to superstition.
