Francis Bacon, who lived at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, formulated many ideas that psychologists and cognitive scientists repeat to this day.

In the treatise "New Organon", or "True Directions for the Interpretation of Nature", Bacon speaks of the need to revise and restore the sciences, laying the foundations for scientific method which is familiar to us today. And there he talks about the difficulties that anyone who seeks to explain the world faces.

"Organon" (from Greek word“tool, method”) was then called the logical writings of Aristotle. He, through his works, presented the method not only to the scholastics, who based their own “sums” and disputes on Aristotelian logic, but also to the entire European scientific thought. Bacon decided to create something no less ambitious, which is why he called the "New Organon" the second part of the work on the "great restoration of the sciences." main method scientific knowledge world Bacon believed induction, which involves reasoning from the particular to the general and is based on experience.

On the path of knowledge, even intelligent and enlightened people encounter many obstacles. These obstacles he called idols or ghosts - from the word "idolum", which in Greek meant "ghost" or "vision". This emphasizes that we are talking about a hassle, an illusion - about something that does not really exist.

We offer to look at these idols and find out if they still exist today.

Idols of the clan

"Ancestral idols" are, according to Bacon, delusions that "found their foundation in the very nature of man." It would be a mistake to believe that the world is exactly as it is seen by our senses. “It is false to say that the feelings of man are the measure of things,” writes Bacon. But the experience that we get by communicating with external environment, is also subject to interpretation, which also creates inevitable errors. The human mind in the "New Organon" is compared to an uneven mirror, which adds its own errors to the reflected things, distorting nature.

The idea that our perceptions are relative was subsequently developed by many scientists and has shaped the modern understanding of the human and natural sciences. The figure of the observer influences the interpretation of famous quantum experiments, be it Schrödinger's cat or Klaus Jensonoms' experiment with electron diffraction. The study of subjectivity and individual human experiences - main topic culture since the 20th century.

Bacon notes that all people have delusions of a "tribal" nature: they are called so because they are characteristic of all of us as a species, and there is no escape from this baggage of one's own nature. But a philosopher - a person who follows the path of knowledge - can at least realize this nature and make allowances for it, putting forward judgments about the essence of phenomena and things.

Cave idols

Before talking about these misconceptions, we first need to dwell on the symbolism of the cave. In classical texts, this image always refers to Plato's cave, which he describes in the dialogue "The State".

According to the myth of the cave, human knowledge and ignorance can be described as follows. Standing with his back to the light of a fire in a dark cave, a person looks at the shadows cast by things on the walls of the cave, and, seeing them, believes that he is dealing with true reality, while he sees only shadow figures. According to Plato, our perception is based on the observation of illusions, and we only imagine that we know the true reality. Thus, the cave is a sensually perceived world.

Bacon clarifies that each person has his own cave, which distorts the light of nature. Unlike the "idols of the family", the "cave" delusions differ for each of us: this means that the errors in the work of our organs of perception are individual. Also important role upbringing and conditions of development play. Like several hundred years ago, today each of us has our own experience of growing up, the behavior patterns learned in childhood, which formed the inner language of our favorite books.

“Besides the mistakes inherent in the human race, everyone has his own special cave, which weakens and distorts the light of nature. This happens either from the special innate properties of each, or from education and conversations with others, or from reading books and from the authorities before whom one bows, or due to a difference in impressions. Francis Bacon, New Organon

In thinking about this, Bacon was ahead of his time in many ways. It was only in the second half of the 20th century that anthropologists, psychologists, and cognitivists began to talk in large numbers about the extent to which perception differs. different people. Both and which, ultimately, determine the peculiarities of thinking, not to mention the difference in cultures and the peculiarities of family education, can become a divisive factor.

Idols of the Square

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These "idols" Bacon proposes to detect (and neutralize) in close communities of people united common connections, interests and problems. Social communication is ours best skill as a species, but it can also contain the root of errors, which from individual become collective, as people transmit their delusions to each other.

Bacon pays special attention to words, because people are united through speech, and the main mistake that can arise in this regard is “bad and absurd establishment of words.” Let the word "square" not deceive you: these idols got their name simply because the square is a noisy place. And this sin of knowledge, according to the philosopher, affects not only greengrocers in the markets, but also scientists. After all, even when a dispute is started between scientists, it most often gets bogged down in the need to “define concepts”. Everyone who has ever participated in scientific discussions knows that you can decide for as long as you like. Therefore, Bacon advised to turn to the "custom and wisdom" of mathematicians - to begin with definitions.

“People believe that their mind commands words. But it also happens that words turn their power against reason. This has made the sciences and philosophy sophistical and ineffectual. Most of the words have their source in common opinion and separate things within the limits most obvious to the mind of the crowd. Francis Bacon, New Organon

There is a lot of talk today about how important linguistics is for consciousness - and not only cognitive psychologists and linguists, but also specialists who are engaged in machine learning. Since the twentieth century, social philosophers have been actively talking about the significance of words and definitions. By using a language in which there are many reduced concepts, we grossly simplify the thought; using harsh words to define other people - we plant aggression in society. At the same time, giving competent and detailed definitions of things and phenomena, we speak about them more calmly and balancedly, create more competent descriptions.

What Bacon could never have predicted was the development of the means of communication, unprecedented for his time. However, human psychology has not changed much with the receipt of new tools - it's just that now we can even more effectively create communities with our own rules, ideas, prejudices, and the language that reinforces it all.

Theater idols

The last kind of "idols" that take us prisoner of delusions are the idols of the theatre. This refers to the ideas that a person borrows from other people. These include incorrect philosophical teachings, erroneous scientific ideas and false axioms, myths that exist in society. We can blindly trust the authority of other people, or simply repeat the wrong things after others without thinking.

These idols got their name because "how many philosophical systems are accepted or invented, so many comedies are staged and played, representing fictional and artificial worlds." Bacon points out that the interpretations of the universe, which are offered by incorrect theoretical systems, similar to theatrical performances. They do not give descriptions of the true reality.

This idea still seems to be relevant today. For example, you can remember about the idols of the theater when you hear another pseudoscientific theory or just everyday stupidity based on prejudice.

Epochs are different, but the distortions are the same

In addition to listing the four idols, Bacon left in the New Organon many references to thinking errors that we would today call cognitive distortions.

• Illusory correlation and several other similar distortions: “The human mind, by virtue of its tendency, easily assumes more order and uniformity in things than it finds,” Bacon writes, arguing that people tend to create connections that are not really there.
• Description of the subject's propensity to confirm his point of view: “The mind of a person attracts everything to support and agree with what he once accepted, whether because it is a matter of common faith, or because he likes it. Whatever the strength and number of facts to the contrary, reason either does not notice them, or neglects them, or diverts and rejects them by means of distinctions with a great and pernicious prejudice, so that the reliability of those former conclusions remains intact.
• “The mistake of the survivor” (the hero of this parable did not fall into it): “The one who, when they showed him the images of those who escaped the shipwreck by taking a vow, displayed in the temple and at the same time sought an answer, did he now recognize the power of the gods, asked in turn : "And where are the images of those who died after they made a vow?"

Bacon also talked about the nature of superstition, based on the principles of human thinking (namely, he pointed out that people tend to notice events that fit their expectations and ignore prophecies that do not come true) and pointed out that positively and negatively colored Arguments have different strengths.

He noted that the mind is more strongly influenced by images and events that can "immediately and suddenly hit him." The rest of the events go more or less unnoticed. It's no secret that the information we're interested in is remembered best, especially if our lives depend on it. It is interesting that Bacon drew attention to these features of human perception so long ago.

So, if you are going to read Daniel Kahneman, it makes sense to supplement his books with a volume of Bacon - or even several dialogues of Plato.

Francis Bacon is considered the founder of experimental science in modern times. Francis Bacon - English philosopher founder of empiricism. Empiricism is a direction in the theory of knowledge that recognizes sensory experience as the only source of reliable knowledge. Opposes rationalism and mysticism.

Bacon succinctly expressed one of the fundamental precepts of new thinking: "Knowledge is power."

Francis Bacon substantiated the inductive concept of scientific knowledge, which is based on experience and experiment. Scientific knowledge, according to Bacon, results from purposefully organized experience.

Francis Bacon distinguishes 2 types of experiments:

fruitful experience (brings direct benefit to a person);

luminiferous experience (the purpose of which is the knowledge of the laws of phenomena and the properties of things) .

He considered the clogging of people's consciousness with idols, false ideas about the world, as the main obstacle to the knowledge of nature.

Francis Bacon distinguished such idols as:

Idols of the “kind” are conditioned by human feelings and reason;

The idols of the “cave” are individual perceptual errors, both innate and acquired;

The idols of the “square” are generated by the wrong or absurd use of words;

Idols of the "theater" - many delusions are rooted in the uncritical assimilation of other people's thoughts, i.e. a person is often influenced by authorities.

All these idols can be overcome on the basis of the construction of a new science and the introduction of the inductive method. Bacon's doctrine of "idols" is an attempt to clear the mind of the researcher from scholasticism and promote the spread of knowledge.

51. Empiricism, sensationalism, rationalism of modern times

The philosophy of modern times covers the period of the 17th-18th centuries. The philosophy of modern times focuses on the theory of knowledge (epistemology).

During this period, the question of the cognizability of the world appeared. There are two currents in epistemology: sensationalism and rationalism.

Sensationalism(from French sensualisme, lat. sensus - perception, feeling, feeling) – this is a doctrine in epistemology, recognizing sensations and perceptions as the only source of reliable knowledge, that is, the decisive role in the process of cognition belongs to the senses. The basic principle of sensationalism is "there is nothing in the mind that would not be in the senses." The sensationalists were J. Locke, J. Berkeley, D. Hume and others.

Sensationalism is inextricably linked with empiricism( Greek empeiria - experience) is one of the most important directions in the theory of knowledge in the philosophy of the New Age, stating that the source of reliable knowledge is only sensory experience, i.e. all knowledge is substantiated in experience, and thinking, reason are only able to combine the material delivered by the senses, but do not introduce anything new into it. Among the empiricists we should name, first of all, F. Bacon, T. Hobbes, J. Locke, E.B. de Condillac

Rationalism(lat. ratio - mind) - a doctrine that recognizes the mind as the only source of knowledge. Scientists have sought to prove that universal and necessary truths are not derived directly from the data of sensory experience and its generalizations. Such views were developed by R. Descartes, G. Leibniz, B. Spinoza and others.

The rationalism of modern times is characterized by dualism. Two principles of the world are recognized: matter and thought.

Methods of knowledge of the world are being developed. Sensationalism uses induction- the movement of thought from the particular to the general. Rationalism is based on deduction- the movement of thought from the general to the particular.

All scientific works of Bacon can be grouped into two groups. One group of works is devoted to the problems of the development of science and the analysis of scientific knowledge. This includes treatises related to his project of the "Great Restoration of the Sciences", which, for reasons unknown to us, was not completed. Only the second part of the project, devoted to the development of the inductive method, was completed, published in 1620 under the title "New Organon". Another group included such works as Moral, Economic and Political Essays, New Atlantis, History of Henry VII, On Principles and Principles (unfinished study) and others.

Bacon considered the main task of philosophy to be the construction of a new method of cognition, and the goal of science was to bring benefits to mankind. “Science should be developed,” according to Bacon, “neither for the sake of one’s spirit, nor for the sake of certain scientific disputes, nor for the sake of neglecting the rest, nor for the sake of self-interest and glory, nor in order to achieve power, nor for some other low intentions, but for the sake of life itself having benefit and success from it. The practical orientation of knowledge was expressed by Bacon in the well-known aphorism: "Knowledge is power."

Bacon's main work on the methodology of scientific knowledge was the New Organon. It gives a presentation of the "new logic" as the main way to gain new knowledge and build a new science. As the main method, Bacon proposes induction, which is based on experience and experiment, as well as a certain methodology for analyzing and generalizing sensory data. bacon philosopher knowledge

F. Bacon raised an important question - about the method of scientific knowledge. In this regard, he put forward the doctrine of the so-called "idols" (ghosts, prejudices, false images), which prevent the receipt of reliable knowledge. Idols personify the inconsistency of the process of cognition, its complexity and intricacies. They are either inherent in the mind by its nature, or connected with external premises. These ghosts constantly accompany the course of cognition, give rise to false ideas and ideas, and prevent one from penetrating "deep and distant nature." In his teaching, F. Bacon singled out the following varieties of idols (ghosts).

Firstly, these are "ghosts of the family." They are due to the very nature of man, the specifics of his senses and mind, the limitations of their capabilities. Feelings either distort the object, or are completely powerless to give real information about it. They continue an interested (non-biased) attitude towards objects. The mind also has flaws, and, like a distorted mirror, it often reproduces reality in a distorted form. So, he tends to allow the exaggeration of certain aspects, or to underestimate these aspects. Due to these circumstances, the data of the sense organs and judgments of the mind require mandatory experimental verification.

Secondly, there are "ghosts of the cave", which also significantly weaken and distort the "light of nature". Bacon understood by them the individual characteristics of human psychology and physiology, associated with the character, originality spiritual world and other aspects of the personality. The emotional sphere has a particularly active influence on the course of cognition. Feelings and emotions, wills and passions, literally "sprinkle" the mind, and sometimes even "stain" and "spoil" it.

Thirdly, F. Bacon singled out "ghosts of the square" ("market"). They arise in the course of communication between people and are primarily due to the influence of incorrect words and false concepts on the course of cognition. These idols "rape" the mind, leading to confusion and endless disputes. Concepts dressed in verbal form can not only confuse the person who knows, but even lead him away from the right path. That is why it is necessary to clarify the true meaning of words and concepts, the things hidden behind them and the connections of the surrounding world.

Fourthly, there are "idols of the theatre". They represent the blind and fanatical belief in authority, which is often the case in philosophy itself. An uncritical attitude to judgments and theories can have an inhibitory effect on the flow of scientific knowledge, and sometimes even fetter it. Bacon also referred "theatrical" (inauthentic) theories and teachings to this kind of ghosts.

All idols have an individual or social origin, they are powerful and stubborn. However, obtaining true knowledge is still possible, and the main tool for this is the correct method of knowledge. The doctrine of the method became, in fact, the main one in the work of Bacon.

Method ("path") is a set of procedures and techniques used to obtain reliable knowledge. The philosopher identifies specific ways through which cognitive activity can take place. This:

• - "the way of the spider";
• - "the way of the ant";
• - "the way of the bee".

"Way of the Spider" - obtaining knowledge from "pure reason", that is, in a rationalistic way. This path ignores or significantly downplays the role of concrete facts and practical experience. Rationalists are divorced from reality, dogmatic and, according to Bacon, "weave a web of thoughts from their minds."

The "Way of the Ant" is a way of gaining knowledge when only experience is taken into account, that is, dogmatic empiricism (the exact opposite of rationalism divorced from life). This method also imperfect. "Pure empiricists" focus on practical experience, the collection of disparate facts and evidence. Thus, they receive an external picture of knowledge, they see problems "outside", "from outside", but they cannot understand the inner essence of the things and phenomena being studied, see the problem from the inside.

"The way of the bee", according to Bacon, is an ideal way of knowing. Using it, the philosopher-researcher takes all the virtues of the "path of the spider" and "the path of the ant" and at the same time frees himself from their shortcomings. Following the "path of the bee", it is necessary to collect the entire set of facts, summarize them (look at the problem "outside") and, using the capabilities of the mind, look "inside" the problem, understand its essence. Thus, the best way of knowledge, according to Bacon, is empiricism based on induction (collection and generalization of facts, accumulation of experience) using rationalistic methods of understanding inner essence things and phenomena by reason.

F. Bacon believed that in scientific knowledge the experimental-inductive method should be the main one, which involves the movement of knowledge from simple (abstract) definitions and concepts to more complex and detailed (concrete). Such a method is nothing but the interpretation of facts obtained through experience. Cognition involves the observation of facts, their systematization and generalization, verification by experience (experiment). "From the particular to the general" - this is how, according to the philosopher, a scientific search should take place. The choice of method is the most important condition for gaining true knowledge. Bacon emphasized that "... the lame one walking on the road is ahead of the one who runs without the road," and "the more dexterous and faster the runner on the impassable road, the greater will be his wanderings." The Baconian method is nothing more than the analysis of empirical (given to the researcher in experience) facts with the help of reason.

In its content, F. Bacon's induction is a movement towards truth through continuous generalization and ascent from the individual to the general, the discovery of laws. It (induction) requires understanding the most different facts: both confirming the assumption and denying it. During the experiment, there is an accumulation of primary empirical material, primarily the identification of the properties of objects (color, weight, density, temperature, etc.). Analysis allows you to make a mental dissection and anatomy of objects, to identify opposite properties and characteristics in them. As a result, a conclusion should be obtained that fixes the presence of common properties in the whole variety of objects under study. This conclusion can become the basis for hypotheses, i.e. assumptions about the causes and trends in the development of the subject. Induction as a method of experimental knowledge leads eventually to the formulation of axioms, i.e. provisions that no longer need further evidence. Bacon emphasized that the art of discovering truth is constantly being improved as these truths are discovered.

F. Bacon is considered the founder of English philosophical materialism and experimental science of modern times. He emphasized that the main source of reliable knowledge about the surrounding world is living sensory experience, human practice. "There is nothing in the mind that was not previously in the senses," - this is the main thesis of the supporters of empiricism as a trend in epistemology. However, the data of the sense organs, for all their significance, still need to be obligatory experimentally); verification and justification. That is why induction is the method of cognition corresponding to experimental natural science. In his book The New Organon, F. Bacon revealed in great detail the procedure for applying this method in natural science using the example of such physical phenomenon how warm. The substantiation of the method of induction was a significant step forward towards overcoming the traditions of fruitless medieval scholasticism and the formation of scientific thinking. The main significance of the scientist's work was in the formation of the methodology of experimental scientific knowledge. Subsequently, it began to develop very rapidly in connection with the emergence of an industrial civilization in Europe.

An impartial mind, freed from all sorts of prejudices, open and listening to experience - such is the starting position of Baconian philosophy. To master the truth of things, it remains to resort to the correct method of working with experience, which guarantees our success. Bacon's experience is only the first stage of cognition, its second stage is the mind, which produces a logical processing of the data of sensory experience. A true scientist, - says Bacon, - is like a bee, which "extracts material from garden and wild flowers, but arranges and changes it according to its ability."

Therefore, the main step in the reform of science proposed by Bacon was to be the improvement of methods of generalization, the creation new concept induction. It is the development of the experimental-inductive method or inductive logic that is the greatest merit of F. Bacon. He devoted his main work, The New Organon, to this problem, named in contrast to the old Organon of Aristotle. Bacon opposes not so much the genuine study of Aristotle as against medieval scholasticism, which interprets this doctrine.

Bacon's experimental-inductive method consisted in the gradual formation of new concepts by interpreting facts and natural phenomena on the basis of their observation, analysis, comparison, and further experimentation. Only with the help of such a method, according to Bacon, can new truths be discovered. Without rejecting deduction, Bacon defined the difference and features of these two methods of cognition as follows: “Two ways exist and can exist for finding and discovering truth. One soars from sensations and particulars to the most general axioms and, going from these foundations and their unshakable truth, discusses and discovers the middle axioms. This path is still used today. The other path deduces axioms from sensations and particulars, ascending continuously and gradually, until, finally, it leads to the most general axioms. This is the true path, but not tested. "

Although the problem of induction was raised earlier by previous philosophers, it is only in Bacon that it acquires a dominant significance and acts as a primary means of knowing nature. In contrast to induction through a simple enumeration, common at that time, he brings to the fore the true, in his words, induction, which gives new conclusions, obtained not so much on the basis of observation of confirming facts, but as a result of the study of phenomena that contradict the position being proved. A single case can refute an ill-considered generalization. Neglect of the so-called authorities, according to Bacon, - main reason errors, superstitions, prejudices.

Bacon called the collection of facts and their systematization the initial stage of induction. Bacon put forward the idea of ​​compiling 3 tables of research: tables of presence, absence and intermediate steps. If (to take Bacon's favorite example) someone wants to find a formula for heat, then he collects in the first table various cases of heat, trying to weed out everything that is not connected with heat. In the second table he collects together cases which are similar to those in the first, but do not have heat. For example, the first table could include rays from the sun that create heat, and the second table could include rays from the moon or stars that do not create heat. On this basis, all those things that are present when heat is present can be distinguished. Finally, in the third table, cases are collected in which heat is present to varying degrees.

The next step in induction, according to Bacon, should be the analysis of the data obtained. Based on a comparison of these three tables, we can find out the cause that underlies heat, namely, according to Bacon, movement. This manifests the so-called "principle of studying the general properties of phenomena."

Bacon's inductive method also includes the conduct of an experiment. At the same time, it is important to vary the experiment, repeat it, move it from one area to another, reverse the circumstances and link them with others. Bacon distinguishes between two types of experiment: fruitful and luminous. The first type is those experiences that bring direct benefit to a person, the second - those whose purpose is to know the deep connections of nature, the laws of phenomena, the properties of things. Bacon considered the second type of experiments more valuable, because without their results it is impossible to carry out fruitful experiments.

Complementing induction with a whole series of techniques, Bacon sought to turn it into the art of questioning nature, leading to true success on the path of knowledge. As the father of empiricism, Bacon was by no means inclined to underestimate the importance of reason. The power of the mind just manifests itself in the ability to organize observation and experiment in such a way that allows you to hear the voice of nature itself and interpret what it says in the right way.

The value of reason lies in its art of extracting truth from the experience in which it is contained. Reason as such does not contain the truths of being and, being detached from experience, is incapable of discovering them. Experience is thus fundamental. Reason can be defined through experience (for example, as the art of extracting truth from experience), but experience does not need to be pointed to reason in its definition and explanation, and therefore can be considered as an independent and independent instance from reason.

Therefore, Bacon illustrates his position by comparing the activity of bees, collecting nectar from many flowers and processing it into honey, with the activity of a spider, weaving a web from itself (one-sided rationalism) and ants, collecting various objects in one heap (one-sided empiricism).

Bacon had the intention of writing a great work, The Great Restoration of the Sciences, which would set out the foundations of understanding, but managed to complete only two parts of the work On the Dignity and Multiplication of the Sciences and the aforementioned New Organon, which outlines and substantiates the principles of a new for this time inductive logic.

So, knowledge was considered by Bacon as a source of people's power. According to the philosopher, people should be masters and masters of nature. B. Russell wrote about Bacon: “He is usually regarded as the author of the saying “knowledge is power”, and although he may have had predecessors ... he emphasized the importance of this position in a new way. The whole basis of his philosophy was practically aimed at give humanity the opportunity scientific discoveries and inventions to master the forces of nature.

Bacon believed that, according to its purpose, all knowledge should be the knowledge of the natural causal relationships of phenomena, and not through fantasizing about "reasonable purposes of providence" or about "supernatural miracles." In a word, true knowledge is the knowledge of causes, and therefore our mind leads out of darkness and reveals many things if it aspires to find the causes on the right and direct path.

The influence of Bacon's teachings on contemporary natural science and the subsequent development of philosophy is enormous. His analytical scientific method of studying natural phenomena, the development of the concept of the need to study it through experience laid the foundation for a new science - experimental natural science, and also played a positive role in the achievements of natural science in the 16th-17th centuries.

Bacon's logical method gave impetus to the development of inductive logic. Bacon's classification of sciences was positively received in the history of sciences and even made the basis for the division of sciences by the French encyclopedists. Bacon's methodology largely anticipated the development of inductive research methods in subsequent centuries, up to the 19th century.

At the end of his life, Bacon wrote a utopian book, The New Atlantis, in which he depicted ideal state where all the productive forces of society are transformed with the help of science and technology. Bacon describes amazing scientific and technological achievements that transform human life: rooms for the miraculous healing of diseases and maintaining health, boats for swimming under water, various visual devices, sound transmission over distances, ways to improve the breed of animals, and much more. Some of the described technical innovations were realized in practice, others remained in the realm of fantasy, but all of them testify to Bacon's indomitable faith in the power of the human mind and the possibility of knowing nature in order to improve human life.

3. Theory of knowledge of F. Bacon6

4.Conclusion8

Introduction

Epistemology is a theory of knowledge, a branch of philosophy within which such problems as the nature of knowledge, its possibilities and limits, the relationship of knowledge and reality, the subject and object of knowledge are studied, the general prerequisites are studied cognitive process, conditions for the reliability of knowledge, criteria for its truth, forms and levels of knowledge and a number of other problems.

The main goal of any knowledge is to obtain true knowledge. Therefore, in the most general sense epistemology is the philosophical doctrine of truth and the ways to achieve it.

Two attitudes regarding knowledge: pessimistic (agnosticism) and optimistic (realism).

Agnosticism (from the Greek agnostos - unknowable) - a position that denies the possibility of knowing the essence of things and puts limits on human knowledge.

Wrong: a position that denies the possibility of cognitive activity in general (I. Kant). We can only cognize the phenomena of things, not their essence. Since things are given to us in the forms of our human experience, only the Lord God knows what they are outside of this subjective givenness.

And for us they are things-in-themselves. A special case is skepticism. From Greek. skepticos - considering, knowing. Denial of the possibility of achieving the true, i.e. demonstrative and universal knowledge and in the recognition that with regard to any judgment one can express the opposite, no less justified. Realism derives knowledge from the real, independent of us and actively influencing us outside world.

F. Bacon

Bacon outlined his approach to the problems of science in the treatise "New Organon", published in1620 .

In this treatise, he proclaimed the goal of science to increase the power of man over nature, which he defined as soulless material, the purpose of which is to be used by man. Bacon created the two-letter cipher , now calledbacon cipher .

The founder of English materialism, who consistently defended the ideas of such “spontaneous” dialectical materialists Ancient Greece like Leucippus, Democritus, Thales, etc.

He laid the foundations for a new direction of philosophical thought, which later became known as the “philosophy of science”. Developed cardinal issues of the methodology of scientific knowledge. His most famous works are: “On the Dignity and Multiplication of Sciences”, “New Organon” and the utopian social novel “New Atlantis”, where F. Bacon reflects on the fundamental possibility of creating a harmonious and just society, the basis of economic power of which would be science and technology.

In general, Bacon considered the great merit of science almost self-evident and expressed this in his famous aphorism “Knowledge is power”.

However, there have been many attacks on science. After analyzing them, Bacon came to the conclusion that God did not forbid the knowledge of nature. On the contrary, He gave man a mind that yearns to know the universe. People only need to understand that there are two kinds of knowledge:

1) knowledge of good and evil,

2) knowledge of things created by God.

The knowledge of good and evil is forbidden to people. God gives it to them through the Bible. And man, on the contrary, must cognize created things with the help of his mind.

This means that science should take its rightful place in the "kingdom of man." The purpose of science is to multiply the strength and power of people, to provide them with a rich and dignified life.

F. Bacon's theory of knowledge

The philosophy of modern times made a major step in the development of the theory of knowledge (epistemology). The main problems were the philosophical scientific method, the methodology of human cognition of the external world, the connection between external and internal experience. The task was to obtain reliable knowledge, which would be the basis of the entire knowledge system. The choice of different ways of solving this problem led to the emergence of two main epistemological trends - empiricism and rationalism.
The founder of the empirical method of cognition was F. Bacon, who gave great importance experimental sciences, observation and experiment. He saw the source of knowledge and the criterion of their truth in experience. Considering cognition as a reflection of the external world in human consciousness, he emphasized the decisive role of experience in cognition. However, the philosopher did not deny the role of reason in cognition.

The mind must process the data of sensory knowledge and experience, find the fundamental causal relationships of phenomena, and reveal the laws of nature. He emphasized a certain unity of sensory and rational moments in cognition, criticized narrow empiricists who underestimated the role of reason in cognition, as well as rationalists who ignore sensory cognition and consider reason to be the source and criterion of truth.
In The New Organon, Bacon wrote: “The empiricists, like the ant, only collect and use what they have collected. Rationalists, like a spider, create fabric out of themselves. The bee, on the other hand, chooses the middle way, she extracts material from the flowers of the garden and the field, but disposes and changes it with her own skill. The true work of philosophy is no different from this. For it is not based solely or predominantly on the powers of the mind and does not deposit in the mind untouched the material drawn from natural history and from mechanical experiments, but changes it and processes it in the mind.

Bacon called himself "a bee, not an empiricist ant" and not a "rationalist spider".

F. Bacon gives an interesting and deeply meaningful critique of scholasticism. He stated that new method first of all, it requires the liberation of the human mind from all kinds of preconceived ideas, false ideas, inherited from the past or due to peculiarities human nature and authorities. F. Bacon calls these preconceived ideas "idols" or "ghosts". He divides them into four kinds:

1. "Idols of the clan", i.e. misconceptions about things caused by the imperfection of the human senses and the limitations of the mind;

2. "Idols of the cave" - misrepresentations about reality, connected with the individual upbringing of a person, his education, as well as with blind worship of authorities;

3. "Idols of the market" - false representations of people generated by misuse words, especially common in markets and squares;

4. "Idols of the theater" - distorted, misconceptions of people, borrowed by them from various philosophical systems.

With his doctrine of "idols", F. Bacon sought to clear the minds of people from the influence of scholasticism, all kinds of delusions, and thereby create conditions for the successful development and dissemination of knowledge based primarily on the experimental study of nature.

Conclusion

English Franciscan friarRoger Bacon(1210-1294), being himself a theologian and philosopher, was mercilessly persecuted by his colleagues in the order for a sober mind and respect scientific knowledge. The observant Roger Bacon wrote: "Everywhere utter corruption reigns ... the holy throne has become the prey of deceit and lies ... Morals there are corrupted, pride reigns there, money-grubbing flourishes, envy gnaws people ... All the clergy are devoted to pride, luxury, greed." Bacon was a great supporter of science. It is he who owns the now well-known slogan: "Knowledge is power." About contemporary theologians, he wrote: "Mathematics is mistakenly considered a difficult science, and sometimes even suspicious, only because it had the misfortune of being unknown to the church fathers." The head of the Franciscan order, Bonaventure, first put Roger Bacon in a monastery prison for 10 years, in which the scientist "for nothing to do" wrote his main philosophical work"The main thing" (Opus majus).

As a materialist and founder of the epistemological principle of empiricism, Bacon criticizes medieval scholasticism and, in essence, directs his philosophy against the religious-idealistic worldview, which, in his opinion, hindered the development of natural sciences and multiplied human impotence. He realized that while the greatest discoveries had taken place in the field of knowledge and nature about nature, theology and scholasticism still reigned in philosophy.
Bacon emphasized the great importance of the development of natural science, but for this it was necessary to learn correct thinking, which means to free oneself from "idols", i.e. delusions that envelop the human mind and hinder the knowledge of nature, hinder the correct human thinking.

List of used literature

1. Alekseev, P.V. Philosophy: textbook / A.P. Alekseev, A.V. Panin. - 4th ed., Rev. and additional - M.: TK Velby, Prospekt, 2008. - 592 p.

2. BaranovskyV. E. Sofia ; 2009, 640 pages

5. Spirkin, A.G. Philosophy: textbook / A.G. Spirkin. 2nd ed., ster. - M.: Gardariki, 2009. - 736 p.

6. Chusov AV Beginnings of subject analysis of methods. On the example of F. Bacon's method: -MAX Press ; 2009, 80 pages

The birthplace of metaphysical materialism was one of the most capitalistically developed countries - England, and its ancestor - the famous English politician and philosopher, the ideologist of the big bourgeoisie and the bourgeois nobility Francis Bacon(1561 -1626). In his main work - "New Organon" (1620) - Bacon laid the foundations materialistic understanding nature and gave a philosophical justification for the inductive method of cognition. With the publication of this work, new stage in the history of the development of materialistic philosophy.

The inductive method developed by Bacon was aimed at the experimental study of nature and was at that time an advanced, progressive method. At the same time, this method was basically metaphysical and proceeded from the fact that the studied objects and phenomena of nature are unchanging and exist in isolation, without connection with each other.

Bacon vs. syllogisms

Bacon, as the founder of metaphysical materialism, was also the first outstanding critic of idealism in modern times. ancient world and scholastic philosophy of the Middle Ages. He criticized, and also and especially his later followers, who, according to him, mixing the divine and the human, went so far as to base their philosophy on books Holy Scripture. Bacon waged a particularly sharp, uncompromising struggle with the main obstacle to the study of nature. He said that scholasticism is fruitful in words, but fruitless in deeds and has given the world nothing but thistles of controversy and bickering. Bacon saw the fundamental defect of scholasticism in its idealism and, accordingly, in its abstractness, expressed, in his opinion, in the concentration of all human mental activity on syllogisms, on the derivation from general provisions corresponding particular consequences. Bacon argued that, using only syllogisms, it is impossible to achieve true knowledge of things and the laws of nature. Syllogisms, he said, in view of their isolation from material reality, always contain the possibility of erroneous conclusions.

“... Syllogism consists of sentences, sentences of words, and words are symbols and signs of concepts. Therefore, if the concepts of reason (which constitute, as it were, the soul of words and the basis of all such construction and activity) are badly and recklessly abstracted from things, vague and insufficiently defined and delineated, in short, if they are vicious in many respects, then everything collapses.

Induction and deduction according to F. Bacon

Bacon called for the use of induction in the study of nature, which, according to his views, is close to nature and takes into account the indications of the senses and experience. He taught that induction is necessary for the sciences, based on the testimony of the senses, the only true form of proof and method of knowing nature. In induction, the order of proof, from the particular to the general, is the opposite of the order of deductive proof, from the general to the particular.

In deduction, things were usually conducted in such a way that “from feeling and the particular they immediately soared to the most general, as if to a solid axis around which reasoning should rotate; and from there everything else was deduced through middle sentences: a path, of course, a quick one, but steep and not leading to nature, evading disputes and adapted for them. With us (in induction - admin note), axioms are constantly and gradually established in order to come to the most general only as a last resort; and this most general itself does not appear as an empty concept, but turns out to be well defined and such that nature recognizes in it something truly known to her and rooted in the very heart of Things.

Bacon considered induction the key to the knowledge of nature, a method that helps the human mind to analyze, decompose and separate nature, to discover its inherent general properties and laws.
Thus, criticizing the metaphysical deductive method based on an idealistic basis, Bacon opposed it with his metaphysical inductive method developed by him on a materialistic basis. Bacon's metaphysical inductive method, connected with the materialistic empiricism of his theory of knowledge, was a major scientific achievement in the conditions of the 17th century, a great step forward in the development of philosophical thought.

However, Bacon inflated the significance of the induction he developed to such an extent that he reduced the role of deduction in cognition to almost zero, and began to see in induction the only and infallible method of cognition. As a metaphysician, he completely separated induction from deduction, not realizing that they could be applied together.

Bacon's ideas about matter and motion

Being the ancestor of metaphysical, mechanistic materialism, Bacon himself was not a typical mechanist in understanding matter. In Bacon's interpretation, it appears as something qualitatively multifaceted, has various forms movement, shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow. Describing matter as the eternal basis and primary cause of all that exists, Bacon taught that it consists of many motionless "forms", or laws, which are the sources and causes of various moving "nature" - the simplest qualities: gravity, warmth, yellowness, etc. From different combinations these "nature", believed Bacon, are formed all the various things of nature. Of historical interest are Bacon's statements about the constancy of the amount of matter.

“…“Out of nothing,” says Bacon, “nothing comes” and “Nothing is destroyed.” The whole amount of matter or its sum remains constant and does not increase or decrease.

Bacon spoke negatively about the views of the ancient atomist philosophers about the structure of matter and the existence of emptiness. He considered space to be objective and spoke of it as a place constantly occupied by parts of matter. He talked about time as an objective measure of the speed of movement of material bodies.

Bacon reinforced his doctrine of the heterogeneity of matter with his characterization of motion as an eternal innate state of matter, which has diverse forms. At the same time, Bacon recognized the eternity of matter and motion as a self-evident fact that did not need substantiation.

However, having posed the question of matter and motion dialectically on the whole, Bacon, in his attempts to concretize it, acted as a metaphysician. He was alien to the idea of ​​development. Recognizing the qualitative diversity of matter, Bacon at the same time declared that the number of "forms" (laws) and simple "nature" (qualities) is finite, and concrete things can be decomposed into simple "nature" and without a trace reduced to them. As a metaphysician, Bacon spoke in his doctrine of the types of motion. He limited the whole variety of forms of motion in nature to nineteen types, including here resistance, inertia, oscillation, and the like, in some cases naively represented by him, types of motion. At the same time, Bacon actually characterized the process of motion of matter as a circular process of constant reproduction of these nineteen types of motion. And yet Bacon's recognition of the qualitative diversity of matter and its various types of motion suggests that he did not yet stand on the positions of extreme mechanism.

The Idols of Francis Bacon

Affirming the materiality of the world, considering nature to be primary, and consciousness to be secondary, Bacon unwaveringly defended the cognizability of nature. He was the first of the modern philosophers to criticize the idealists of the ancient world and the Middle Ages, who proclaimed the impossibility of knowing the laws of nature. Idealists, in particular the followers of the school of Plato, said Bacon, strive to instill in people that their teachings about nature are the most perfect and complete. They believe that what is not mentioned in their teachings is in nature unknowable.

“The creators of any science turn the impotence of their science into a slander against nature. And what is unattainable for their science, they, on the basis of the same science, declare it impossible in nature itself.

Bacon noted that such fundamentally vicious theories about the impossibility of knowing nature instill disbelief in the strength of people, undermine their desire for activity and thereby damage the development of science and the cause of subordinating nature to human power. He pointed out that the question of the cognizability of nature is decided not by disputes, but by experience. The successes of human experience refute the arguments of the supporters of the theory of the unknowability of nature.

Nature is knowable, but there are many obstacles in the way of its knowledge, Bacon taught. He considered the main of these obstacles to be the clogging of people's consciousness with the so-called idols - distorted images of reality, false ideas and concepts. Bacon named four types of idols with which mankind should fight, namely: idols of the clan, the cave, the market and the theater.

Idols of the kind Bacon considered false ideas about the world that distinguish the entire human race, and are the result of the limitations of the human mind and senses, the result of the fact that people, seeing in their feelings the measure of things, mix their own nature with their nature, thus creating false ideas. about things. In order to reduce the harm caused to the knowledge of the idols of the family, people need, Bacon taught, to measure their feelings by things, compare the readings of the senses with objects of the surrounding nature and thereby verify their correctness.

Idols of the cave Bacon called the distorted ideas about reality that are characteristic of individuals - individual erroneous ideas. Each person, he taught, has his own cave, his own subjective inner world, imposing a seal on his judgments about things and phenomena of reality. The idols of the cave, the misconceptions of this or that individual about the world, according to Bacon, depend on his innate properties, on upbringing and education, on the authorities whom he blindly worships, and so on.

TO market idols Bacon attributed the misconceptions of people arising from the misuse of words, in particular, common in markets and squares. People, he pointed out, often put different meanings into the same words, and this leads to empty, fruitless disputes over words, which, in the final analysis, distracts people from studying the things of nature, making it difficult to understand them correctly.

Category theater idols Bacon included false ideas about the world, borrowed uncritically from various philosophical teachings. He called such performances the idols of the theater, pointing out that there were so many of them in the history of philosophy, so many comedies were written and played depicting fictional, artificial worlds.

Bacon, through the doctrine of idols, tried to cleanse the worldview of people from the remnants of idealism and scholasticism and thereby create one of the most important conditions for the successful dissemination of knowledge based on the experimental study of nature.

Experienced knowledge of nature

Speaking about the knowability of the world, Bacon called knowledge the most important factor increasing human dominance over nature. He pointed out that people can subjugate nature to themselves only by obeying it, i.e. knowing its laws and guided by them in their activities. The degree of man's power over nature, according to Bacon, is directly dependent on the degree of knowledge of the laws of nature by him. Proceeding from the fact that only by knowing nature, a person can make it serve his goals, Bacon valued philosophy and science only because of their practical significance and because they provide a person with the opportunity to successfully influence the surrounding nature.

Bacon was a representative of materialistic empiricism in the theory of knowledge. He sought the source of knowledge about nature and their truth in an experimental way. Cognition, according to Bacon, is nothing more than an image of the external picture of the world in the human mind. It begins with sensory indications, with perceptions of the external world. But the latter need, in turn, experimental verification, confirmation and addition. No matter how accurate the readings of the senses about things and natural phenomena, it is always necessary to keep in mind, Bacon noted, that the data of experience in their completeness and accuracy far exceed the direct readings of the senses. Emphasizing the role of experience in cognition, Bacon pointed out that it is necessary to judge the things themselves and natural phenomena only on the basis of experience.

“... We do not attach much importance to the direct perception of feeling in itself,” he wrote, “but we lead the matter to the fact that feeling judges only about experience, and experience about the object itself.”

IN theoretical justification experimental way of understanding nature and in the liberation of the sciences from the remnants of scholasticism, Bacon saw the main purpose of his philosophy. Bacon is an empiricist in the theory of knowledge, but a thinking empiricist. He believed that knowledge cannot and should not be limited to direct sensory data, a simple description of them. The task of cognition is to reveal the laws of nature, the internal causal relationships of things and phenomena, and this can be achieved only by processing the direct indications of the sense organs and the data of experience by reason, theoretical thinking.

Emphasizing the unity of sensory and rational aspects in cognition, Bacon disagreed both with narrow empiricists, who underestimate the role of reason, theoretical thinking, moving gropingly in cognition, and especially with rationalists, who ignore the role of sensory evidence and data of experience and consider the human mind to be a source of knowledge and criterion for their truth.

“Empiricists are like an ant, they only collect and use what they have collected. Rationalists, like a spider, create fabric out of themselves. The bee, on the other hand, chooses the middle way, she extracts material from the flowers of the garden and the field, but disposes and changes it with her own skill. The true work of philosophy is no different from this. For it is not based solely or predominantly on the powers of the mind and does not deposit in the consciousness untouched the material extracted from natural history and from mechanical experiments, but changes it and processes it in the mind.

In the unity of experience and speculation, in the right combination indications of the sense organs and theoretical thinking Bacon saw the guarantee of the progress of knowledge and the increase in man's power over nature.

The unity of the sensual and the rational according to F. Bacon

Bacon was the first in the philosophy of modern times to raise the question of the need for the unity of the sensory and rational aspects in knowledge and thus made a valuable contribution to the development of the materialist theory of knowledge. However, Bacon, as a metaphysician, could not solve this problem, correctly posed by him. He did not understand the true significance of theoretical thinking in cognition, as an empiricist, underestimated its role.

Bacon failed to rise to consider knowledge as a historical process. He believed, for example, that if people use the empirical inductive method of cognition of the world that he proposes, then the discovery of the entire origin of things and phenomena and the completion of the development of all sciences can be a matter of decades.

Bacon was a materialist in his explanation of nature and, like all materialists of the pre-Marxian period, an idealist in his interpretation of society. The metaphysical, one-sided materialism of Bacon is contemplative materialism. His appointment was limited only to the task of knowing the world. Being a metaphysician, Bacon did not reach the scientific concept of practice as a socio-historical activity of people. When presenting his philosophical system he often used the terms "experience", "practice", but understood by them only a simple experimental study of nature.

Bacon's philosophical teaching also contains theological statements that clearly contradict its basic materialistic content and general orientation. In it one can find, for example, statements that everything comes from God, that the truths of religion and the truths of science have, in the final analysis, one