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General Summary
he New Organon is the second part of Bacon's larger work, the Great Instauration, which aims to offer a new method of
investigating nature, called the Interpretation of Nature. A better use of the mind and the understanding is needed to
investigate nature. Bacon suggests an entirely new system of logic, which is based on induction rather than on the
syllogism. Induction begins with the facts of nature and works slowly towards general axioms or propositions, by
building up tables of comparison. Experiments are to be used to assist the senses in this process.

Currently, men's minds are filled with various foolish and incorrect notions that prevent them from understanding nature
properly. Bacon seeks to eradicate these notions, which he calls the idols, which originate in human nature, interaction
between people and in the work of various philosophers, particularly Aristotle.

Book one consists of Bacon's scathing attack on current philosophy and on the scientific method. He attacks the
syllogistic method, and the various idols that prevent men from investigating Nature in a reasonable way. The lack of
attention paid to natural philosophy and the excessive reverence for ancient authors are key reasons why man's
knowledge of nature has progressed so slowly.

Book Two is a detailed explanation of Bacon's method, using various examples. It begins by creating tables of the
various instances that meet in the nature to be investigated. After the relevant instances have been presented to the
intellect, the task of induction can be carried out. Induction acts by excluding various possibilities, until an affirmative
has been achieved. The next stage is the consideration of privileged instances, which assist the process in terms of
information or of practice.

The final section is a rough draft of the kind of natural history that Bacon argues is essential before any interpretation of
nature is possible. The method of the Organon is not viable until a vast amount of information about the natural world
has been collected.

Important Terms
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Aristotle - (384–322BC). Aristotle wrote widely on almost every subject from ethics to politics to natural history, and
dominated Western thought up to and beyond the Middle Ages. Medieval Aristotelian philosophers, who taught in
universities or "schools," were often known as Scholastics. Many later scientists and philosophers worked in a
fundamentally Aristotelian way. Bacon seeks to end the dominance of Aristotle by attacking his methodology and
central premises; he argues that his dominance results from prejudice and from the authority of others, not from the
merits of his philosophy. Bacon was not the first anti- Aristotelian philosopher, but he is among the most strident. See
syllogism.

Axioms - Terms or statements that can be accepted as truthful. Bacon's method seeks to derive general axioms from
sense impressions and experiments through a series of intermediate axioms.
Gilbert - William Gilbert (c1540–1603). Gilbert was Elizabeth I's physician, and published studies of electricity and
magnetism. He published De Magnete in 1600, in which he argued that the world was a huge magnet with north and
south poles. Bacon criticizes Gilbert's work as an example of the empirical style of philosophy, which focuses on a
limited series of experiments and encourages the mind to develop unsubstantiated general theories. See Idols of the
theater.

The Great Renewal - The Great renewal (or "instauration") of the arts and sciences was the broad project of which
Bacon's New Organon forms a part. Bacon intended his Great Instauration to be in six volumes. It was a hugely
ambitious project, one that aimed to redefine the logical foundations of science, to demolish the foolish notions that
prevented scientific progress, to propose a new methodology, and ultimately benefit mankind immeasurably. The New
Organon begins with an outline of the whole project, which was never completed.

Idols of the cave - The second of the "idols." Idols of the cave result from an individual's tastes and prejudices. Your
education, the books you have read and the company you keep all distort your perception of nature. As a result, human
perceptions of nature vary widely, simply because all men are different.

Idols of the marketplace - The third type of "idol." Idols of the marketplace come from men's association with others,
and chiefly through words and language. Language is ambiguous, and often confuses our understanding of nature.

Idols of the theater - The fourth type of "idol." Idols of the theater come from various philosophies; Bacon argues that
all philosophies are no better than stage-plays. Bacon identifies various forms of this idol; sophistic, empirical and
superstitious philosophy. Sophistic philosophy is personified by Aristotle, who was more concerned with clever but
foolish arguments than with natural phenomena. Empirical philosophy as practiced by Gilbert concentrates on a narrow
range of experiments to the exclusion of everything else. Superstitious philosophy is a corruption of philosophy by
superstition and false religion. It is the worst form of error.

Idols of the tribe - The first of the series of "idols," or obstacles, that Bacon feels humans need to overcome in order
to reason clearly. Idols of the tribe result from failings in human sense perception, and are general to all people.

Induction - The alternative logical method that Bacon proposes to replace Aristotle's syllogism. Essentially, induction
begins by considering things as they appear in the world, then proceeds by a long series of intermediate steps to
formulate general axioms about these things. Bacon details the various steps in this process, which begins with the
collection of information about the things one is studying, then the formulation of initial impressions, then the use of
privileged instances, in the first Book of The New Organon. See syllogism.

Organon - Bacon's New Organon or Novum Organon, refers to one of Aristotle's works. The Organon, or "Instrument
for rational thinking" set out Aristotle's views on logic, which Bacon sees as useless for modern scientific inquiry. His
work seeks to improve upon Aristotle by presenting a new logical method. Bacon sees his work as an "instrument for
rational thinking" because his Organon sets out a carefully-defined process that any scientific investigator can follow;
the investigator is not required to deviate very much form this protocol. It is essentially a machine for thinking about the
natural world.

Privileged instances - Bacon identifies privileged instances as examples or occurrences of a given nature that reveal
it with great precision and clarity. They allow the scientist quickly to identify the characteristics of that nature, after he
has done the basic work of assembling tables of difference and similarity, and making a first harvest or interpretation.
Essentially, they guide the investigation towards its conclusion. Bacon identifies twenty-seven such instances. His
explanation of these instances emphasizes the role of experiment and observation within them. For example, after
assembling information about a nature, the fourteenth privileged instance—crucial instances or "instances of the finger
post"—help the investigator to decide to which of two similar natures the nature he is considering should be assigned.
See induction.

Syllogism - The syllogism is the central building block of Aristotle's logic. It works by deriving a third term from two
accepted premises, e.g: A. Socrates is a man B. All men are mortal. C. Socrates is mortal. Term C. must be true if we
accept that terms A. and B. are also true. Syllogisms essentially rely on certain facts being accepted as absolutely true.
Bacon argues that they are useless for scientific inquiry because, amongst other things, they rely on words that might
be poorly defined or too abstract. Moreover, Bacon questions the essential truths that form the basis of the syllogism.
Syllogisms, according to Bacon, are also divorced from practice and the active part of science. Induction is a far better
method.

Important Themes, Ideas and Arguments

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The Great Renewal

The New Organon forms part of the great renewal, or Instauratio magna, an ambitious practical and theoretical project
to overhaul and reform the way in which man investigates nature. Bacon divides his project into six parts: one) a
summary of current knowledge, two) the New Organon itself, which sets out the method to be followed and seeks to
prepare the mind for investigation, three) a complete natural history, that will provide the foundations for this
investigation, four) examples of the kind of investigation Bacon's method would produce, five) specific practical
discoveries that he has made, which serve as a kind of interest payment before the "capital" sum of the complete
theory is known, six) the real philosophy, completely explained. Bacon doubts his own ability to complete the project,
particularly the last section; he calls for royal patronage to help realize the project. As he imagines it, however, the
Great Renewal will reform both epistemology (the philosophy of knowledge) and practice. It will alter the way we think
about truth in nature, and how we try to uncover that truth.

Induction

Induction is a different method of logic, and a new way of investigating truth. Bacon does not exactly claim to have
invented it himself, but does stress its neglect in previous centuries. Unlike the syllogism, which was the dominant
logical form after Aristotle, induction begins with natural phenomena and works through a series of intermediate steps
to arrive at general axioms or statements about nature. Bacon argues that his method improves upon the syllogism
because it begins with concrete things and natures, rather than with words, which can be ambiguous. Also, induction
refrains from producing general statements immediately, which serve to confirm impressions already held.

Induction is very different from the modern "scientific" method of testing hypotheses (or guesses) through experiments,
but it represents an important development in scientific method. It is important to remember that Bacon himself did not
necessarily consider his work to be "science," but rather naturalphilosophy. Seeing induction only as an inferior version
of modern methods is a mistake. Nevertheless, scholars have criticized Bacon's method on several grounds. Mary
Hesse argues that Bacon underestimates the importance of hypotheses, and that his method depends on there being a
finite number of things with finite natures to be investigated. One could also argue against his assumption that a
complete knowledge of nature is necessary for induction to take place; modern scientists and philosophers are far less
confident about the possibility for total knowledge.

Experimentation

Experiments form a key part of the New Organon. They are used to investigate nature, and to show how things perform
in an unknown situation. This represents a major difference between Bacon and earlier scientific thinkers, who
generally used experiments (or thought-experiments) to confirm a previously-held theory. For Bacon, this is a ridiculous
notion. Theories can only come from practical experiments and experience of nature. The second book of the New
Organondetails many experiments performed by Bacon and his assistants, and describes the use of scientific
instruments such as the microscope. Lisa Jardine links Bacon to contemporary experimenters such as Gilbert and
William Harvey, who discovered the circulation of the blood, and sees him as a predecessor of scientists like Boyle and
Hooke. Bacon's emphasis on experiments was perhaps fatal; one account of his death claims that it resulted from
catching cold after stuffing a chicken with snow to investigate freezing.

The Attack on Aristotle

The importance of Aristotle in medieval and early modern intellectual life cannot be underestimated. His works on a
wide range of subjects formed the staple of university curricula, and numerous authors approached natural philosophy
through his theories. Bacon attempted to end this dominance; he viewed Aristotle as fundamentally wrong-headed, and
criticized Aristotle's theories from their logical foundations upwards. He argued that Aristotle needlessly complicated
nature by his "dialectics" and distinctions; Aristotelian terminology was more concerned with defending a position in a
subtle way than with discovering the truth. Bacon replaced Aristotle's syllogism with induction in his epistemology, and
cited Aristotle's work as an example of the Idols of the theater that obstruct rational inquiry. Bacon was by no means
the first anti-Aristotelian author—Paracelsus, Ramus, Telesio and Galileo opposed him on various grounds—but he is
among the most strident anti-Aristotelians.

How and why does Bacon's method differ from the modern scientific method?

Bacon's inductive method begins by creating a kind of "data-bank" of information about the natural world through
experiments and observation, then investigating this mine of information in order to find out about one particular nature
or quality. It begins by looking at the natural world, and moves through various small steps to formulate axioms or true
statements about nature. General axioms ("heat is a kind of motion") can be established only at the end of this
process. The modern scientific method, although it is rarely followed in practice, begins with a hypothesis or specific
question, then designs and refines experiments to test this hypothesis. Modern scientists are understandably skeptical
about the possibilities for total knowledge that Bacon's inductive approach assumes. It is also important to remember
that Bacon's methodology, particularly his emphasis on experimentation, was an important stage in the development of
today's scientific method.

What is wrong with Aristotle, according to Bacon?

Essentially, almost everything. Bacon believes that Aristotle's philosophy relies on the useless and ambiguous device
of the syllogism, and is concerned with categories and complex dialectical arguments at the expense of real inquiry into
nature. Much of the New Organon is devoted to showing the flaws in Aristotle's method, and to rewriting Aristotle's
Organon to fit with the demands of modern scientific inquiry. Bacon believes that an important reason for the poor
progress that has been made so far in science is the excessive reliance on the authority of ancient authors, particularly
Aristotle. Aristotle exemplifies the Sophistic style of philosophy, one of the three parts of the idols of the theater. Those
medieval and contemporary philosophers who rely on Aristotelian categories are not impressed so much by the value
and force of his arguments, as by his importance in Western universities and their own prejudices.

What hope does Bacon hold out for the progress of the sciences?

Bacon always makes it clear that his plan for the advancement of learning will take a long time, and require much
effort. The obstacles preventing progress are considerable, and stem from many different aspects of human
experience—from sense-perception, individual life-experience, language and philosophy. They can be overcome only if
Bacon's scientific method is followed rigorously. He makes it clear that many things allow hope of progress: correcting
past errors can give hope for the future, as can the fact that past discoveries were not always believed to be possible
beforehand, as can the fact that humans waste energy on other projects that could be directed to scientific inquiry.
Bacon's position is essentially one of cautious optimism; he knows that the creation of a comprehensive natural history
is a great undertaking, hence his pleas for royal patronage, but believes that it could be possible after his lifetime. The
potential benefits to humanity from scientific progress are so great that the task must be attempted.
"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?

Idols of the Tribe are deceptive beliefs inherent in the mind of man, and therefore belonging to
the whole of the human race. They are abstractions in error arising from common tendencies to
exaggeration, distortion, and disproportion. Thus men gazing at the stars perceive the order of the world,
but are not content merely to contemplate or record that which is seen. They extend their opinions,
investing the starry heavens with innumerable imaginary qualities. In a short time these imaginings gain
dignity and are mingled with the facts until the compounds become inseparable. This may explain Bacon's
epitaph which is said to be a summary of his whole method. It reads, "Let all compounds be dissolved."
Idols of the Cave are those which arise within the mind of the individual. This mind is symbolically
a cavern. The thoughts of the individual roam about in this dark cave and are variously modified by
temperament, education, habit, environment, and accident. Thus an individual who dedicates his mind to
some particular branch of learning becomes possessed by his own peculiar interest, and interprets all other
learning according to the colors of his own devotion. The chemist sees chemistry in all things, and the
courtier ever present at the rituals of the court unduly emphasizes the significance of kings and
princes.(The title page of Bacon's New Atlantis (London 1626) is ornamented with a curious design or
printer's device. The winged figure of Father Time is shown lifting a female figure from a dark cave. This
represents truth resurrected from the cavern of the intellect.)
Idols of the Marketplace are errors arising from the false significance bestowed upon words, and
in this classification Bacon anticipated the modern science of semantics. According to him it is the
popular belief that men form their thoughts into words in order to communicate their opinions to others,
but often words arise as substitutes for thoughts and men think they have won an argument because they
have out talked their opponents. The constant impact of words variously used without attention to their
true meaning only in turn condition the understanding and breed fallacies. Words often betray their own
purpose, obscuring the very thoughts they are designed to express.
Idols of the Theater are those which are due to sophistry and false learning. These idols are built
up in the field of theology, philosophy, and science, and because they are defended by learned groups are
accepted without question by the masses. When false philosophies have been cultivated and have attained
a wide sphere of dominion in the world of the intellect they are no longer questioned. False
superstructures are raised on false foundations, and in the end systems barren of merit parade their
grandeur on the stage of the world.