Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) ranks among the greatest natural philosophers and scientists of the 17th century. He was a lawyer and a Member of Parliament who wrote many works concerning the law, politics, and religion, along with ethics and scientific methodology. Under King James I, Bacon became Lord Chancellor and achieved international fame, allowing him the resources to focus entirely upon philosophy. His belief in collaborative research helped to create the first cooperative research institution in the preparation for creating the Royal Society. Bacon was also a great empiricist and defender of the scientific method. In many ways, he is the first person to explicitly articulate the scientific method.

Bacon's life was spent fighting against what he regarded as intellectual barriers to scientific progress, including the dogmatism of his age. He despised the influence of Ancient Philosophy on modern science, charging it with focusing on insignificant matters in...