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Overview

The New Organon is a philosophical essay written in Latin and published by English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon (as Novum Organum) in 1620. Bacon assails Aristotle’s influence on scientific thinking by attacking the central premises of Aristotle’s Organon (instrument for rational thinking) as he promotes “induction” as a replacement for Aristotle's syllogism-based method of logic.

While both the Aristotelian and Baconian approaches would disappear in favor of the scientific method, Bacon’s fierce style continues to attract students of the philosophy of science intrigued by what one early critic described as a work that “a fool could not have written…and a wise man would not.”

Read the overall summary, explanations of important quotes,  and three Question & Answers about key ideas in The New Organon.

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