This ambitious and important book provides the first truly general account of Francis Bacon as a philosopher. It describes how Bacon transformed the values that had underpinned philosophical culture since antiquity by rejecting the traditional idea of a philosopher as someone engaged in contemplation of the cosmos. The book explores in detail how and why Bacon attempted to transform the largely esoteric discipline of natural philosophy into a public practice through a program in which practical science provided a model that inspired many from the seventeenth to the twentieth centuries. Stephen Gaukroger shows that this reform of natural philosophy was dependent on the creation of a new philosophical persona: a natural philosopher shaped through submission to the dictates of Baconian method. This book will be recognized as a major contribution to Baconian scholarship, of special interest to historians of early-modern philosophy, science, and ideas.
Reviews
"...a well-rounded and fairly comprehensive overview of Bacon the philosopher, sufficiently contextualized to make it an excellent, serious introduction to his thought and work." The Philosophical Review "...will certainly stimulate and enrich discussion..." Renaissance Quarterly "Engaging and well-documented..." Canadian Journal of Political Science "All students of Bacon's philosophy of science will want to read Gaukroger's book and will undoubtedly find much in it that is interesting and valuable." Isis "This is a remarkable book...Gaukroger's book is laced with interesting observations and insights." American Historical Review
