Thinking about Bacon

      Aphorism No. 3 in Bacon's New Organon  Book One states "human knowledge and human power meet in one" and "nature to be commanded must be obeyed." These are two deeply weighted sentences in the sense that they introduce Bacon's stance on humans related to nature and vice versa. It is obvious within the first few aphorisms that Bacon has much respect for Nature, finding man to be but the mere "servant and interpreter" of nature. In aphorism No. 10 Bacon writes, "The subtley of nature is greater many times over than the subtlety of the senses and understanding, so that all those specious meditations, speculations, and glosses in which men indulge are quite far from the purpose, only there is no one by to observe it." Bacon finds the depths of nature to be far from the reach of man, at least at the times he was observing their attempts, and in most instances most of what was retrieved was actually just mistakenly imposed. Nature, being the force that it is, constantly gives forth it's subtleties yet it can neither withhold nor object when wrongly understood and has no ally to affirm or negate the assumptions of the human understanding. Bacon observes the foundation of science in his time as being rooted in and grown from these flimsy assumptions, which he refers to as "anticipations" of nature. He notes the hastiness of man in their process of collecting knowledge, and thus power, mentioning their "command to assent to the proposition" and their failing to "master the thing" (No. 29). These assumptions of man help them to gain "knowledge" quickly and assuredly, as efficiently as a one man Easter egg hunt; simply placing the eggs methodically and later retrieving them. 

In aphorisms No. 30, 31, 32 Bacon admits that he does not wish to challenge the wits of the previous and even ancient authors, rather the methods and ways that have come forth from the fruitfulness of their faculties. Bacon, finding the methods of his time fundamentally in error, condems them, saying whatever may progress from these ways could never discover much, nor solve their own issues, having been birthed from error itself. 

Bacon, in the reverence of Nature, finds mans belief in the use of busted methodologies to understand as sorely mistaken and lead by a hasty eagerness fueled by wishes for power. Bacon hopes to act not as a judge but as a guide in this situation, an ally to nature, presenting a new perspective to enlarge the tunnel vision of Man so that they may be more observant and vulnerable to subtleties of nature. 

S.M