Enlightenment Salon: Francis Bacon

Ria Khandpur

11/11/13

A Bell

Enlightenment Salon: Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, an English philosopher, was an important part of history and influenced the making of much of the world's main ideas. He had many views on education, science, religion, and the place of an individual in society.[1: McKay, John , Bennett Hill, and John Buckler. A History of Western Society Since 1300, 9th edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008. ]

Francis Bacon had different views than many on the education, in terms of how to use it, who uses it, and how not to use it. Bacon realized that education should be used in moderation, and that too much of this good thing would turn bad. "He thought that if one used just his education rather than experiences in life, that person would not function properly in society. Bacon believed that striving to gain knowledge is good, but wasting one's life to gain an amplitude of it is prodigal, because it is just there, never really used in life."

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Francis Bacon

He believed using one's education to make oneself seem superior over others is dishonorable. Uses of education, according to Bacon, included to function in society, to make one better, or just to make oneself happy as a form of enjoyment. "Bacon also believed that men use education in three ways: wisely, craftily, and simply. Wise men, in his opinion, are the only men that use education. Wise men put their knowledge into operation via their everyday actions and spread their knowledge to others. Crafty men skirt around education and don't believe in gaining knowledge. Crafty men never use or gain knowledge. Simple men feel remorse about not having an education, and hold in high esteem those who do because it is something that is unattainable to them". 1 Simple men respect...