Commentary
[in chronological order]
Francis Bacon’s Inquiry Touching Human Nature
- Minkov, S. Francis Bacon’s Inquiry Touching Human Nature. (Rowman and Littlefield, 2010).Publisher’s Review: “Francis Bacon’s “Inquiry Touching Human Nature” is a study of Francis Bacon’s moral philosophy in its relation to the enlightenment project he helped launch. Since Bacon is one of the founders of… More
Empiricism and Geographical Thought: From Francis Bacon to Alexander von Humboldt
- Bowen, M. Empiricism and Geographical Thought: From Francis Bacon to Alexander von Humboldt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009.Publisher’s Review: “The age of Francis Bacon marked the beginning of a long period when empirical science was seen as the key to progress in extending man’s control over nature. Recently, however, a breakdown of confidence in the outcome of… More
“Baconian Science and the Intelligibility of Human Experience: the Case of Love”
- Minkov, S. “Baconian Science and the Intelligibility of Human Experience: the Case ofLove.” Review of Politics 71 (2009b): 389–410.Abstract: “Perhaps surprisingly, one of the founders of the modern technological world, Francis Bacon, has a penetrating and sustained lifelong engagement with the phenomenon of love or eros. Bacon’s reflections on eros come in two stages. He… More
“To Mirror and to Transform”
- Minkov, S. “To Mirror and to Transform.” Review of Politics 71 (2009a): 144–46.First Paragraph: “In a book of wide-ranging historical and archival erudition, Rhodri Lewis ably tells the story of efforts in seventeenth-century England to produce an “artificial language.” This movement was inspired by Francis Bacon,… More
Philosophies of Technology: Francis Bacon and His Contemporaries
- Zittel, Claus, Gisela Engel, Romano Nanni, and Nicole C. Karafyllis, eds. Philosophies of Technology: Francis Bacon and His Contemporaries. Boston: Brill, 2008.Publisher’s Review: “The essays in the present volume attempt to historically reconstruct the various dependencies of philosophical and scientific knowledge of the material and technical culture of the Early Modern era and to draw systematic… More
Epicureanism at the Origins of Modernity
- Wilson, Catherine. Epicureanism at the Origins of Modernity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.Publisher’s Review: “This landmark study examines the role played by the rediscovery of the writings of the ancient atomists, Epicurus and Lucretius, in the articulation of the major philosophical systems of the seventeenth century, and, more… More
“The Human Good and the Problem of Bacon’s Intention” by Tzvetozar Minkov
- Minkov, S.“The Human Good and the Problem of Bacon’s Intention.” Interpretation 35 (2008): 265–82.First Paragraph: “Francis Bacon rarely discusses the human good explicitly—the only obvious exception being a difficult and terse treatment in The Advancement of Learning (II.xx-xxii; or De Augmentis Scientiarum VII.1-3). As far as I understand it,… More
“Proteus Rebound: Reconsidering the ‘Torture of Nature’”
- Pesic, P. “Proteus Rebound: Reconsidering the ‘Torture of Nature.’” Isis 99 (2008): 304–17.Abstract: “Though Carolyn Merchant has agreed that Francis Bacon did not advocate the “torture of nature,” she still maintains that “the very essence of the experimental method arose out of human torture transferred onto nature.”… More
“Roots of Modernity”
- Minkov, S. “Roots of Modernity.” Review of Politics 69 (2007): 296–98.First Paragraph: ” In a broad overview of many of Francis Bacon’s works, Stephen A. McKnight seeks to show that Bacon is not an unbelieving philosopher and that his project- commonly referred to as the conquest of nature of the relief of… More
Theology and Science in the Thought of Francis Bacon
- Matthews, S. Theology and Science in the Thought of Francis Bacon. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishers, 2007.Abstract: “Although many books have been published on Francis Bacon there is still no scholarly consensus on his religious beliefs and how they may have affected his work. This monograph contributes possible answers to the questions of what Bacon… More
Major Works
Francis Bacon: The Wisdom of the Ancients
- Francis Bacon: The Wisdom of the Ancients (Dodo Press, 2008).Publisher’s Review: “Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St. Alban (1561-1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, and essayist. He is also known as a proponent of the scientific revolution. He was knighted in 1603, created Baron Verulam in 1618, and… More
Francis Bacon: The New Organon
- Francis Bacon: The New Organon. Edited by Jardine and Silverthorne (Cambridge: Cambridge U. Press, 2000).Publisher’s Review: “Francis Bacon’s New Organon, published in 1620, was revolutionary in its attempt to give formal philosophical shape to a new and rapidly emerging experimental science. It challenged the entire edifice of the philosophy… More
The History of the Regin of Henry, VII
- The History of the Reign of Henry, VII. Edited by J. Weinberger. (Ithaca: Cornell U. Press, 1996).Publisher’s Review: “Jerry Weinberger reinterprets Francis Bacon’s History and defines its importance to the rise of modern republicanism, liberalism, and the politics of progress. His introduction describes the background of Bacon’s… More
Francis Bacon: Novum Organon – With Other Parts of the Great Instauration
- Francis Bacon: Novum Organon – With Other Parts of the Great Instauration (Vol 3 Paul Carus Student Editions) (Open Court Publishers, 1994).Publisher’s Review: “Sir Francis Bacon, hailed as the father of experimental science, conceived his Novum Organum or New Organon as a machine for aiding the reason in establishing truth. This is a new translation from Bacon’s Latin into… More
New Atlantis and the Great Instauration
- New Atlantis and the Great Instauration. Edited by J. Weinberger. Revised edition. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson, 1989.Publisher’s Review: “A thoroughly revised introduction, new editorial footnotes, and an updated bibliography complete this revised edition of New Atlantis and The Great Instauration. Presented here is the standard nineteenth-century text of… More
Francis Bacon: The Essays
- Francis Bacon: The Essays. Ed. Pitcher (New York: Penguin Press, 1986).Publisher’s Review: “One of the major political figures of his time, Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626) served in the court of Elizabeth I and ultimately became Lord Chancellor under James I in 1617. A scholar, wit, lawyer and statesman, he wrote… More