Two towering figures stand at the dawn of modern philosophy: Francis Bacon and René Descartes. Each laid foundational principles for how we approach knowledge—one through empiricism, the other through rationalism.
Bacon and empirism
Francis Bacon (1561–1626) was a key figure in shaping the scientific method, which we still use today. In his most important work, Novum Organum (1620), he laid out the principles of empirical observation and inductive reasoning—challenging the traditional reliance on pure logic and authority.
As Roger Scruton in his A Short History of Modern Philosophy put it:
“He showed the inadequacies of Aristotelian science and of the barren apriorism. Aristotle’s logic, being purely deductive in character, provides not a methods for the discovery of new facts but only a means arriving at the logical consequences of what is already known. He proposed a method of induction – the postulation of universal laws on the basis of observed instances.”
Bacon’s approach helped shift the hierarchy of knowledge.The medieval worldview placed theoretical disciplines like theology and law at the top. With the rise of modern science, practical disciplines grounded in observation and experimentation rose to prominence.
Bacon believed that knowledge should serve practical ends, helping humanity understand and control nature. As he famously wrote:
“Man is the servant and interpreter of nature.”
This marked a turning point: scientific discovery was no longer just about abstract speculation—it became about real-world results. Bacon’s inductive method, which builds general principles from particular observations, laid the foundation for the scientific revolution and the modern world’s emphasis on technology and applied sciences.
A famous anecdote captures his spirit: In 1626, while traveling near Highgate, London, Bacon supposedly had an idea—could freezing preserve meat? He bought a chicken, stuffed it with snow, and tested the theory. Tragically, he caught pneumonia during the experiment and died shortly after. Whether true or not, the story illustrates his commitment to experimentation—he died practicing the very method he championed.
Descartes’ Mechanistic View of the Universe
René Descartes and Rationalism
If Bacon was the father of empiricism, then René Descartes (1596–1650) was the father of rationalism. He believed that reason, not experience alone, is the foundation of true knowledge.
One of Descartes’ key contributions was his mechanistic philosophy. He argued that the universe, including the human body, functions like a machine. According to him, fixed, predictable laws govern everything—from planetary motion to human biology—and mechanical principles explain it all.
The Universe as a Machine
- Universe operates according to fixed, predictable laws. Laws of nature and physics, or mechanical principles, govern everything from planetary motion to human life.
- The body functions like a mechanical system made of matter and movement. Its organs, muscles, and bones function in coordination, and observers can interpret human actions as mechanical responses to stimuli.
- He famously described the nervous system as a series of pipes through which animal spirits (a term Descartes used for the fluids flowing through nerves) traveled to trigger movement.
- The mind, however, was separate from the body—dualism—meaning that it was non-material and existed independently. But the body itself operated mechanically.
- The mechanistic view of the body and the universe paved the way for the belief in determinism—the idea that prior causes shape every event, including human actions.
- According to this view, physical processes—the brain, the nervous system, and environmental influences—shape and explain human behavior.
- He showed that certain responses to stimuli—like pulling your hand away from a flame—didn’t require the involvement of the mind at all. The body reacted automatically, just like a machine. While Descartes himself was primarily a rationalist, meaning he believed that reason and innate ideas were the primary sources of knowledge, his mechanistic model laid the groundwork for empiricism—the idea that knowledge comes from sensory experience. Descartes focused on the physical body and the laws of nature, which ultimately provided a foundation for later thinkers like Hume, who would focus more heavily on empirical observation and the role of experience in shaping knowledge. He was one of the first philosophers to treat the human body as a machine and to explain behavior through natural laws.
The materialistic understanding of humanity that emerged during the Modern era was indeed crucial for the development of new ethical and political ideas.
René Descartes’ work, “Treatise of man“ (La Description du corps humain), written in 1648:
“Since from childhood we have known by experience that many movements of our body are associated with the will, which is one of the faculties of the soul, we are inclined to think that the soul is the source of everything. This was largely due to unfamiliarity with mechanics and anatomy, as, by considering the human body only from the outside, we paid no attention to the fact that it contains a significant number of organs, or springs, so that it could move on its own as we observe. This misconception was further reinforced by the argument that a dead body has the same organs as a living one but is incapable of any movement solely because it lacks a soul.”
Summary:
Observing that a dead body possesses the same organs as a living one yet cannot move leads us to mistakenly believe that the soul is the sole source of movement.
René Descartes’ work, “Treatise of man“ (La Description du corps humain), written in 1648:
“We can also observe that when certain parts of our body, such as a nerve, are damaged, these parts no longer obey our will as usual and sometimes even produce convulsive movements against it. This shows that the soul cannot cause any movement in the body if the bodily organs necessary for that movement are not arranged to produce it. Conversely, if the body’s organs are arranged for a certain movement, the movement can occur without any need for the soul. Therefore, all movements that, according to our observations, do not depend on thought should be attributed not to the soul, but solely to the arrangement of the organs.”
Conclusion and Next Steps
Bacon and Descartes reshaped the intellectual landscape of the early modern world. Bacon pushed for knowledge grounded in experience and utility. Descartes placed reason and mechanistic understanding at the heart of science and philosophy. Together, they broke with medieval thought and set the stage for modern science, ethics, and political theory.
The materialistic understanding of humanity that emerged during the Modern era was indeed crucial for the development of new ethical and political ideas.
But the story doesn’t end here. In future lectures, we’ll explore how the Reformation, the rise of natural law theory, and new political ideologies built upon and responded to these revolutionary ideas.However, the story doesn’t end here. While we’ve explored the beginnings of the Modern period, many other significant events and movements, such as the Reformation and the rise of new political ideologies, natural law theory, further shaped the intellectual landscape of the time. But for now, we’ll pause our exploration here and continue next time.
Francis Bacon – Portrait by Paul van Somer (c. 1617)
Artist: Paul van Somer (c. 1576–1621)
Date: Circa 1617
Image source: Wikimedia Commons
License: Public domain
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