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A 14 page research paper that examines the points made by Francis Bacon concerning the obtainment of accurate knowledge. This examination of Bacon's epistemology focuses principally on what Bacon describes as the "first step" in his The New Organon, which is to rid the mind of perceptual illusions or "Idols." The writer also discusses how the work of Karl Popper carries on Bacon's legacy. Bibliography lists 7 sources.
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14 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khbacpop.rtf
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achieve to achieve the post of Lord Chancellor, which he held for four ears until he was accused unjustly of corruption. The second ambition was to "refound human knowledge on
the basis of a systematic methodology for scientific inquiry" (Honderich, et al, 1995, p. 75). Bacon subsequently outlined his methodology in two works: The Advancement of Learning (1605) and The
New Organon (1620). The following examination of Bacons approach focuses principally on what Bacon describes as the "first step," which is to rid the human mind of perceptual illusions, which
he refers to as "Idols." According to Bacon, there are three ways of advancing to learning -- without plan, that is, groping in the dark; proceeding from experiment to
experiment; and following the light itself (Green, 1966). In the second book of the Advancement of Learning, he states that human beings are precluded from achieving truth not because sensory
information can be deceptive, but rather because of failures of intellect and the manner in which people generally collect information and arrive at conclusions based on sensory data. As this
suggests, Bacon rejected the position of the Skeptics that it is not possible to arrive at certainty of knowledge. Green (1966) states that, to the Renaissance thinker, Aristotle and artificiality
were synonymous. In his investigations into science, Aristotle knew of inductive reasoning, but he relied heavily on use of the deductive syllogism (Green, 1966). The syllogism was originally defined
by Aristotle as "discourse in which, certain things being posited, something else necessarily follows" (Honderich, et al, 1995, p. 862). Over time, however, the term came to have a narrower
meaning that is typified by the following example: "All men are mortal; Greeks are men; therefore Greeks are mortal" (Honderich, et al, 1995, p. 862). It was such deductive
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