English philosopher, and later Lord Chancellor of England, who was displeased with the state of natural philosophy. He felt that knowledge is not abstract reason, but the application of facts. This drive towards applications was novel in physics. Like Descartes, Bacon was skeptical of both reason and observation. He grouped the ways in which human reason could be deceived into Idylls of the Cave (a person's views are influenced by those around him), Idylls of the Marketplace (erroneous arguments can appear convincing), and Idylls of the Theater (theories about the world can be erroneous). Bacon believed that the senses can't be trusted, but neither can reason be relied upon. He maintained that nature could only be understood using instruments to actively "torture" it (vita activa) and reveal its secrets. He believed that understanding could not start from first principles (which only lead further astray), but must be obtained by performing a series of experiments and making generalizations by induction.

This approach, published in Novum Organum (1620) was phenomenological and involved a minimum of theory. It broke with the passive Aristotelian and Platonic traditions (vita contemplativa). Bacon believed that knowledge was the power to control and manipulate the world, stating "the world was made for man..., not man for the world." This was an early emphasis on utilitarian (technological) applications of science.

Additional biographies: MacTutor (St. Andrews)