Study Questions and Suggested Essay Topics
How and why does Bacon's method differ from the modern scientific method?
What is wrong with Aristotle, according to Bacon?
What hope does Bacon hold out for the progress of the sciences?
"We must begin from God, since our work, because of the supreme element of good in it, is manifestly from God, who is the author of good and the father of lights". Discuss the role of religion in Bacon's natural philosophy.
What kind of authority does Bacon recognize?
To what extent does the New Organon put forward an experimental philosophy?
How highly does Bacon rate the "mechanical arts"?
What do you consider to be the most novel aspect of the New Organon?
"Your Majesty may perhaps charge me with theft for stealing from your affairs the time I needed for this work" (from the Preface). How useful is it to interpret Bacon's philosophy in terms of his political career?
In what sense is the New Organon a scientific work?
