on the role of christianity in the political philosophy of francis bacon- tmothy paterson
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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On
theRole of
Christianity
in
thePolitical
Philosophy
f
Francis
Bacon*
Timothy
. Paterson
St. John's
ollege
The im
of
Bacon's
political hilosophy,xpressed
ost
learly
n
his
New
Atlantis,
s
to
make
place
in
society or
a
science
hatwill
ro-
duce
power or
man.
This
roposal
or
a
power-generating
cience
necessarilyoses
the
uestion:
ow
is
the
ower
hus reated
o
be
directed
nd
controlled?
acon
s
generally
nderstood
o have
aid
thatChristianityould ean importantartof any olution othis
problem.
his
rticle, owever,
uestions
hat
nterpretation.
he
author
rgues
nstead hat
acon was
ndifferent
nd evenhostile
o
Christianity
nd that
he did
not
regard
t as
a
decisive
nswer
o
the
moral nd
political
uestions
aised
y
his
cience.
Timothy
.
Paterson
olds
Ph.D.
from
Yale
University,
as
been
lecturert
Boston
College,
Postdoctoral
esearch ellow t
Dal-
housie
University,
nd is
presently
tutor
t St.
John's
College
n
Annapolis,MD.
As
one
of
thefirst
ttempts
o
argue
he
egitimacy
f a
science
which
would
ncrease
uman
ower,
acon's
political
hilosophy
ecessarily
posed,
however
ndirectly,
he
question
f how
such
power
was to
be
controlled.
acon
ought
to
establish
nd
extend
he
ower
nddomin-
ion
of
the
human
ace
tself
ver
he
niverse"
4:114).'
Yethe
knew hat
*The author
wishes to
thank the
Izaak
Walton
Killam
Memorial Fund for
Advanced
Studies for
support
n
the
research nd
writing
f this
rticle.
'Unless
otherwise
pecified,
ll
references
o
Bacon's
writings
re to J.
Spedding,
R.L.
Ellis,
and
D.
D.
Heath,
eds.,
The
Works
f
FrancisBacon
(London:
Longmans
nd
Co.,
1857-1870).
Parenthetical
eferencesn
the
text are to
volume
and
page
number
lone;
references
n
thesenotes to
Works
followed
by
volume and
page
number.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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420
Christianity
n
Francis
acon
thehuman acewas
divided
n
manyways,
tsfactions
ore
oncernedo
dominateachother han ounitenany ollectiveominationf non-
humannature
4:372-373).
Bacon
foresaw,
or
example,
he
dangers
posedby
cientific
ilitaryechnology
n
uch divided
orld,
ndthose
dangers
ere
nly
hemost ramatic
anifestation
f
power's bility
o
increase
he
practical
onsequences
f
foolish,
elfish,
r evil
mpulses.2
Bacon
replies
o
doubts bout
he
wisdom
f
technologicalrogress
n
Aphorism
29
of thefirst
ook
of
TheNew
Organon, passage
whose
importance
or
understanding
is ntentions
s
generally
ecognized.
e
raises he
hypotheticalbjection
hat
ugmenting
uman
ower hrough
sciencerisks he "debasement f arts and sciences o purposes f
wickedness"
4:115).
Yet he
urges
hat
no one be moved"
by
ny
uch
objection,
ince
t
might
e
madewith
qual
validitygainst
many
ther
"earthly oods"
whichwe nevertheless
eek.On
reflection,
his
ppears
to be
a
strange
eply.
t
solves
he
problem
nly
n
the sense
hat t
generalizes
t,
nd
by mplication
oncedes
hat hefears
nderlying
he
original bjection
re not unreasonable.
acon
at this
point
urns
o
rhetoricnd counter-assertion:
Only
et the
human
ace recover
hat
right
ver
nature hich
elongs
o
t
by
divine
equest,
nd et
power
e
givent;the xercisehereof illbegovernedysound eason ndtrue
religion"
4:115).
These
references
o a human
ower
ver
nature
llegedly
ased
on a
"divine
bequest"
and
guided
n
part
by
"true
religion"
ndicate
he
problem
wish o consider
ere.
acon
proposes
woultimate
ources
f
the
control
nd
guidance
f scientific
ower,
one secular
"sound
reason"),
the
other
eligious.
We
who
live
with
he
consequences
f
Baconian
mastery
f
nature,
ne of
which
s the
disappearance
f
any
hope
that"true
religion"
ould
serve
s
its
guide,
re
primarily
n-
terestedn how soundreason"mightlay hat ole, nd ooktoBacon
in
the
hope
of
understanding
is
hought
n
this
spect
f the
problem.
Any
such
inquiry,
owever,
nevitably
ncounters
he
question
of
Bacon's
real
attitude
oward
hristianity,
or
f the
roots f
Baconian
science
were
undamentally
eligious,
hen
twould
hardly
e
surprising
if
religious
nthusiasm
ad ed
Bacon to
give
nsufficient
eight
o
the
morally
roblematic
spects
f
future
cientific
ower.
Again,
t
might
be
argued
hat
whatever
acon's
personal
ttitude
oward
hristianity
may
have
been,
t eems
lear
hat n
speaking
f the ontrol
f
cientific
20On
he
sociallyproblematic
haracter
f
Baconian
science,
nd the
problem
posed
by
scientific
eaponry
n
particular,
ee Works
:163;
4:99,
228;
6:341-345,
03-405,
19-423,
444-452,
734-735,
740-743,
751-752,
756-757;
7:17-36.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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Timothy
.
Paterson
421
power
by
"true
religion"
e meant
hat ome
version
f
Christianity
would emainrbecome decisiveuide f cience.f, smost ecentn-
terpretations
f
Bacon assert
r
assume,
Christianity
as
at once
the
foundation
nd
themoral
horizon
f his
thought,
hen heeffort
o
recover is
understanding
f
the
purely
ecular actors hich
might
on-
trol cientific
echnology
ust
ecessarily
ppearmisguidedr,
at
best,
ofminor
nterest.he
examinationfthe
ole f
Christianity
n
Bacon's
political
hilosophy
s the
necessary
reliminary
o
posing
he
question
of
most
nteresto
us: Did
Baconian
mastery
f
nature nclude
t
its
outset
ny
coherent
nderstanding
f the
secular
actors
which
might
guide he pplicationfthepower obegeneratedyscience?
In
what
follows,
have
carried ut this
preparatory
nd in
a
sense
largely
egative
nquiry.
y
ntentions to
question
he
prevailing
iew
which
mphasizes
o
strongly
he
religious
actorn
Bacon's
thought.3
Belief n
the
ssentially
hristian
nspiration
nd
ntentionf
Baconian
science
s,
in
my
opinion,
he
ingle
reatest
ontemporary
bstacle
o
understanding
acon's real
thought
bout he
moral nd
political
on-
trol
of
scientific
ower,
and
hence to
understanding
is
political
philosophy
s a
whole.
Bacon ays fMachiavellihat eput ertainriticismsfChristianity
"almost
in
plain
terms"
6:403,
emphasis
dded).
My
argument
assumes
hat
acon
too
conveyed
ome
f
his
houghts
bout
eligion
n
an
indirectr
guarded
manner.
hree
onsiderations
ustify
he
pplica-
tion f
this
eservedly
ontroversial
ethod
f
nterpretation
o
Bacon.
First,
he
open
expression
f
unorthodox
iews
n
religion
ould
have
exposed
im
o
serious
anger;
s
Spedding oints
ut,
Bacon's
England
was "a
world
n
which
he
publication
f
a
false
pinion
was
held o
be
an
offence
nd
forbidden
nder
enalties."4
For
an
ambitious
ut
m-
pecuniousmanandpassionate eformer,howished o be heardon
many
ubjects
n
addition
o
religion,
he
imits f
what
ould
be
said
'Although
the
interpretation
f
Bacon
as
an
anti-Christian
riter s at
least as old
as
Diderot
and
DeMaistre,
the
only
recent
ull-length
tudy
which akes
this
view s
the ate
Howard
White's
Peace
Among
the
Willows: The
Political
Philosophyof
Francis
Bacon
(The
Hague:
Martinus
Nijhoff,
968).
But
White
ssumes
thatBacon's
antireligious
nten-
tion
s so
obvious as
not
to
require ny
extended
emonstration.
any
modern
nterpreta-
tions f
Bacon's
religious
iews
onsciously
r
unconsciouslyepeat
he
onclusions
rrived
atbyKunoFischern themid-nineteenth
entury:
acon
was a
sincere f
perhaps
omewhat
tepid
Christian
whose
fideism
nwittinglypened
a
path
o the
ubsequent
ecularization f
Christian
elief.
ee
Kuno
Fischer,
rancis
Bacon
of
Verulam:
Realistic
hilosophy
nd Its
Age
(London:
Longman,
Brown,
Green,
Longmans,
and
Roberts,
1857),
290-347.
4James
pedding,
d.,
The
Letters
nd the
Life
of
Francis
Bacon
(London:
Longmans,
Green,
Reader,
and
Dyer,
1868),
Vol.
4,
p.
345.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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422
Christianity
n
Francis acon
were
ven
narrowerhan
he
egal
nes.
As he
acknowledged
n
a
private
letter,aconwas concernedo avoidpublishinghingsharsh o credit
and
opinion,
r nconvenientor he
person
f the
writer."'
Second,
Bacon
makes
many
eferences
o
an
"acroamatic r
enig-
matical
method"
f
writing
hich eeks
by
obscurity
f
delivery
o ex-
clude
he
vulgar
rom
he
ecrets f
knowledge"
4:450).
Moreover,
e
endorses
oing
o:
"The discretion
nciently
bserved
. .
of
publishing
in
a
manner
hereby
t
shallnotbe
to the
apacity
or aste
f
all,
but
shall
s
it were
ingle
nd
adopt
his
reader,
s not o be
laid
aside,
both
for
he
voiding
fabuse
nthe
xcluded,
nd
the
trengthening
f ffec-
tion n theadmitted" 3:248).6
Finally,
acon believed
hat
xcessively
pen
challenges
o the
most
fundamental
r
ruling
rejudices
f
society
ere
nwise
nd undesirable
in themselves:
it
were
good
. . . that
men
in
their
nnovations
would
follow
he
xample
f time
tself;
which
ndeed
nnovateth
reatly,
ut
quietly,
nd
by
degrees
carce
o be
perceived"
6:433).
Politics
nd
religion,
nd
hence
public
order,
est
on
opinion
nd
authority,
ot
proofs
nd
demonstrations
3:302;
:89).
According
o
Bacon,
ne
ought
to
use
thenew
science
when
dealing
with
nature,
ut
the
accepted
r
establishedciencesi.e.,those ftheChristianristotelians)ndealing
with
he
opulace;
every
man f
uperior
nderstanding
ncontact
ith
inferiors
ears
mask."'
Above
ll,
when
onsidering
hatBacon
was
and
was
not
willing
o
say
openly
bout
Christianity,
e must
emember
that
e
sought
o end
religious
ontroversy,
ot ontribute
o t
by
dding
to
the
ectarian
itches'
rew
n
open
ttack
n
Christianity
tself.8
The
foregoing
remises
ranted
r
provisionally
olerated,
will
rgue
that
acon's
real
ttitude
oward
hristianity
as
a
blend
f
scepticism,
hostility,
nd
ndifference,
nd
that e
expected
decisive iminution
f
thendependentoliticalole freligionsa resultf cientificrogress.
'Ibid.,
141.
For
otherreferences
o
the
problem
of
communicating
ossibly
offensive
ideas
without
ndangering
neself,
ee
Works
3:255,
363;
4:42,
53,
371;
6:377-378,
456,
701-702.
See
also
Benjamin
Farrington's
aluable translations
f
several arly
Latin
works
which
Bacon
left
unpublished:
Benjamin
Farrington,
d. and trans.,
The Philosophy
of
Francis
Bacon
(Chicago:
University
f
Chicago
Press,
1966),
pp. 62,
77-78.
'See
Works
:311;
5:31;
6:387-389,
403-404,
29-431,
695-699,
701-702.
Even
Spedding,
no
friend
f
the
esoteric
hypothesis
s he understood
t,
felt
ompelled
by
the
undeniable
textual vidence fBacon's esotericismo attempt refutationf it; see Works1:107-113
and
the
passages
from
acon's
writings
iscussed
here.
pedding's
refutation
ails
because
it focuses
oo
much
on
the claim
thatBacon
possessed
a
secret
eaching
which
he
entirely
refrained
rom
xpressing
n
writing,
ven
ndirectly.
7Farrington,
08.
sFischer,
07-308.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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-
8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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424
Christianity
n
Francis acon
references
o the
Christian
eligion:
The
end
of our
foundation
s
the
knowledgefcauses, nd secretmotionsfthings;nd the nlargingf
the
bounds
of
human
mpire,
o the
effecting
f
all
things ossible"
(3:156).
To take nother
xample
rom
he
ame
book,
wearetold
t one
point
that
nationwhich
ong
ago
launched
n
unprovoked
ttack
gainst
Bensalem
as
subsequently
estroyedy great
lood,
nd this
lood s
at first
escribed
s
a
punishment
f
"proud enterprises"
y
"divine
revenge"
3:142).
But
n the ame
paragraph
e learn
hat
perhaps
s
many
s one
hundred
ears
assed
between
he
ttempted
onquest
nd
thefloodwhichllegedly unishedt, nd that loods renaturalo the
country
n
question
ecause
f ts
great
ivers
nd
high
mountains.
he
priest
who
began
by speaking
f
"divine
evenge"
nds
his
account
y
calling
heflood
this
main ccident
f time"
3:143);
a
speech
which
begins y
asserting
divine
overnance
f nature
which
unishes
n-
justice
etween
ations,
nds
by
mplying
hathuman
xistence
s at
the
mercy
f natural
orces
hat
perate
ithout
eference
o
our
humility
r
pride,
ustice
r
injustice.
Bacon's
remarks
n
religion
ometimes
re
not
merely
quivocal
ut
comeverylose obeing elf-contradictory.heopeningentencefthe
essay
Of
Atheism"
eclares
hatBacon
would
rather
elieve
ll
the
fables
n the
Legend,
nd
the
Talmud,
nd
theAlcoran
han
hat
his
universal
rame
s
without
mind"
6:413).
But he
pening
entence
f
the
following,
nd
clearly
elated,
ssay
Of
Superstition"
oth
choes
the
entence
ust
quoted
nd
questions
tsbasic
principle:
It were
etter
to have
no
opinion
t all
of God
than
uch n
opinion
s is
unworthy
f
him"
6:415).
The
principle
f
the
first
entence
s that
unworthy
r
superstitious
elief
s
preferable
o
disbelief.
he
principle
f the
econd
sentencesthat efrainingrom eliefwhichssurelykind fdisbelief)
is
preferable
o
unworthy
r
superstitious
elief.II
s
for he
fundamen-
tal
principle
hat
the
proposition
this
universal
rame
s without
mind"
s
incredible,
acon
flatly
ontradicts
t in otherworks:
the
school
of
Democritus,
hich
went
further
nto
nature
han he
rest"
(4:58)
"did
not
uppose
mind r
reason
n
the rame
f
things"3:358).
One
final
xample
s
perhaps
he
most
ignificant
fall
for
my
opic.
In
The
Advancement
f
Learning,
acon
denies
that there
an
be
anything
rreligious
nthe ffort
o
understandature,
ut
xplicitly
on-
cedes he mpietyfany ttempto attainmoral nd ethical nowledge
0'The
tension
s
noted
by
J.W.
Weinberger,
Science
and Rule
n Bacon's Utopia:
An
In-
troduction
o
the
Reading
of the
New
Atlantis,"
American
Political
Science
Review,
Vol.
70
(1976):
880.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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Timothy
. Paterson
425
independent
f revelation:
It was
the
proudknowledge
f
good
and
evil,with n intentn man ogive awuntohimself,nd todepend o
more
pon
God's
commandments,
hich
asthe
orm
f he
emptation
[ofAdam]"
3:265)."
Such
n"intent"
s
necessarilyresent
n
any
f-
fort o discover
purely
ational
thics,
ince
according
o
Bacon)
reason is
unable to demonstrate
he
truth
f
Christian
morality
(3:478-479).
utThe
New
Organon4:79, 112)clearly
tateshat
new
"ethics,
nd
politics"
will
e
produced
y
Baconian
cience;
t eems
hat
the
proud
knowledge
f
good
and evil"
will
e
sought, espite
he
d-
mitted
mpiety
f
doing
o.
Does
this ot
rgue
an intent
nman
o
give
lawuntohimself,ndtodepend omore ponGod'scommandments"?
II.
Bacon's
Use
ofthe
Bible
Bacon's
characteristic
anner
f
employing
iblical
exts or
hetorical
purposes
uggests
certainnner
istance rom
hristianity.
here s
a
revealing
esemblance
etween
is
sophistical
se of
the
Bibleto
lend
authority
o
hisown
houghts
nd
his
mannerf
treating
lassical
myths
in
Of
the
Wisdom
f
the
Ancients.
n
that
work,
Bacon
claims
hat
Greek ndRomanmythsreallegoricalresentationsfa lost ncient
science,
ow
recovered
hrough
is
nterpretive
ecoding,
nd
uses
this
claim o
present
is own
views n
an
attractive
nd
somewhat
isguised
form.'2
His use
of
he
Biblewas
often
o
ess
onsciously
nsincere.t
ap-
pears hat,
n
both
ases,
he
sought
o
present
is
own
deas
n
ways
on-
sonant
with
he
prejudices
f
his
ntended
udience.
t
will
be
objected
that
misuse
f
the
Bible
was
not
unknown
o
Christendom,
nd that
"In an earlyworkwhichhe left npublished, acon was evenmore mphatic: hedesire
to
possess
knowledge
f
good
and
evil
"ever
riseth
pon
an
appetite
o
elect
and
not to
obey,
and so
containeth
n
it
a
manifest
efection"
from
God's will
Works,
3:227,
em-
phases
added).
The
theological
difficulty
hich
resultsfor
any
Baconian
"ethics
and
politics"
is
noted
by
Lisa
Jardine,
rancis
Bacon:
Discovery
and
the Art
of
Discourse
(Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
ress,
1974),
pp.
150-151.
"The
irony
r
insincerity
f
the
nterpretive
tance
Bacon
adopts
n
Wisdom
f
theAn-
cients
s
clear
from
tatements
e
made
both
before
nd
after
writing
t,
to
the
effect
hat
the
claim
to
be
recovering
long-hidden
ancient
wisdom"
was
an
"imposture"
designed
to
lend
credit
nd
authority
o
new
ideas;
see
Farrington,
6-87,
120-121;
Works,
:108.
Paolo
Rossi's
theory
hat
Bacon
was
entirely
incere,
but
kept
changing
his
mind
about
whether r notsuch"ancientwisdom" really xisted, nvolves o many
hanges
ofmind
over
o
manyyears
s
to
be
quite
mplausible.
ee
Paolo
Rossi,
Francis
Bacon:
From
Magic
to
Science
(Chicago:
University
f
Chicago
Press,
1968),
pp.
81-96.
The
resemblance
between
Bacon's
attitude
o
biblical
and
classical
myths
s
noted
by
Moody
E.
Prior,
"Bacon's
Man
of
Science,"
in
Brian
Vickers,
ed.,
Essential
Articles
or
the
Study
of
Francis
Bacon
(Hamden:
Archon
Books,
1968),
pp.
150-151.
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426
Christianity
n Francis
acon
there re
indisputably
incere
hristians ho also turn
cripture
o
strangend idiosyncraticurposes.Whilegrantinghatmy rgument
here
s
suggestive
nd
not
probative,
would bserve
hat uch incere
believers
ntirely
ackdetachment
rom heir wn
misinterpretations
nd
do
not,
s
a
rule,
ndicate
more r less
openly
hat
hey
now
hey
re
misusing
heBible.
Bacon does
do
this,
nd
to a
degree
which
uggests
that
his
scripturalophistry
ould
hardly
avebeen
nadvertent.
TheAdvancement
f
Learning,
or
xample,
resents
lleged
iblical
testimonies
o God's
high
regard
or
human
earning.
he work
p-
pointed
o Adam
by
God
could
havebeen
no other han
work
f con-
templation"; dam'smain ctivityntheGarden f Edenwas"experi-
ment"
3:296).
But a
subsequent
hapter
irectly
ontradicts
hese
n-
herently
mplausible
laims:
And so
we see Enoch
the
seventh
rom
Adam,
whowas
the
irst
ontemplative,
nd
walked
with
God, yet
did
also
endow
the
church
with
prophecy.
.
But
for
ontemplation
hich
should
be
finished
n
itself,
without
asting
eams
upon
society,
s-
suredly
ivinity
noweth
t
not"
(3:422;
emphases
dded).
Again,
The
Advancement
f
Learning
ssures
s that
he
Book
of
Job
s
"pregnant
and
swelling
ithnatural
hilosophy"
3:298),
but
The
New
Organon
cites he ttempto recover aturalhilosophyromheBookofJob s
an
example
f
"the
corruption
f
philosophy
y
uperstition"
4:65-66).
The
divine
onors
ccorded
uman
nowledge
re
allegedly
hown
y
the
fact
hat
he
Biblerecords
he
names
f the nventors
f music
nd
metal-working
3:297).
Bacon
does
not
mention
hat
he
very
ext
he
cites,
Genesis
:17-24,
lso
says
hat
oth
hese
menwere irect
escen-
dants
of
Cain;
he turns
what
n
fact eem
to
be
biblical
eservations
about
echnological
rogress
ntodivine
raise
f such
progress.
acon
concedes
hat
God
laid
upon
mankind
he confusion
f
tongues,
"wherebyhe pen radend ntercoursef earningndknowledgeas
chiefly
mbarred"
3:297),
an
act which
eems
o reflect
ostility
o
human
earning
ather
han
pproval
f
it. But
he omitsmention
hat
this
was
done
because
he
inguistic
nity
f mankind
ad made
possible
a
great
feat
of
technology,
he
building
f
the Tower
of
Babel,
and
because
God
was
displeased
hat
nothing
ould
be restrained
rom
mankind
hich
t
might
magine
o
do."'
Two
ater tatements
y
Bacon
illuminate
he ssues
nvolved
ere.
irst,
n the atin
version
f The
Ad-
vancement
f
Learning,
acon
calls
grammar
an antidote
gainst
he
curse fthe onfusionftongues,"ndgoesontosay hatmost fthe
arts
nd
sciences
imilarly
attle
gainst
ivinely-imposed
imitations.
"Genesis
11:6.
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Timothy
.
Paterson
427
Similarly,
n the
NewAtlantis
heultimate
urpose
fscientific
esearch
is said to be "theeffectingf all thingsossible" 3:156).
Themost
trikingxample
fBacon's
willingness
o
employ
iblical
r
religious
hetoric
n the
service
f secularntentions
s his claim
hat
sciencewill
recovermankind's
divine
bequest"
or restore
o
some
unspecified
ut
significant
egree
hat condition
f
dominion
ver
nature
njoyedby
Adam
prior
o the Fall.
This
attempt
o
present
Baconian
mastery
f
nature
s a
preparation
or
the
millenium
r
recovery
f
Paradise as
received fair mount
f
scholarly
ttention
n
recent
ears,
nd has
been cited
s decisive
roof
f
the
profoundly
Christian oots of Bacon's
thought.14
There is no doubt that
millenarianismas an
important
lement f the
religious
ife
of
early
seventeenth
entury
ngland,
nd
that acondoes
from
ime
o time
ay
things
hich
esemble
hat
he
millenariansere
saying."'
ut
do
such
remarks
rove
that
Bacon
was an
exponent
f
"Protestant-Puritan
eschatology,"
ne
whose aithed him
o nvest
cientificnd
technical
progress
with
profound eligious ignificance?
r are
they
better
understood
s
a kind f
religious
hetoric
onsciously
esigned
o
chan-
nel
nto
cience he
piritual
nergies
roused
y
millenarian
opes?
TheNewAtlantiss thedecisive est ase fordetermininghether
Bacon's
millenarian
hetoric
as
a
sincere
xpression
f
his
own
beliefs
or
merely
n
attempt
o
enlist
he
upport
f
those
enuinely
nfluenced
by
millenarian
deas.
The
book
surely
oes
contain
millenarian
hemes
"4Works,
:129,
135,
136,
217,
222;
4:7, 115,
248,
440-441.
On
"the
recovery
f
Paradise" as a
Baconian
theme,
ee Hans
Blumenberg,
he
Legitimacy f
the
Modern
Age
(Cambridge:
Massachusetts
nstitute f
Technology
ress,
1983),
pp.
232, 386;
J.
C.
Davis,
Utopia
and the
deal
Society
Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
ress,
1981),
p.
125;
Far-
rington, 2; WilliamLeiss, TheDomination
of
Nature
Boston:
Beacon
Press,
1974),
pp.
48-57;
Prior,
15-152;
Rossi,
130-131;
Charles
Webster,
The
Great
nstauration:
cience,
Medicine,
and
Reform,
626-1660
London:
Gerald
Duckworth nd
Co.,
Ltd.,
1975),
pp.
22-24,
26,
505-506,
nd
the
ame
uthor's
rom
aracelsus o
Newton:
Magic
nd
the
Making of
Modern
Science
Cambridge:
Cambridge
University
ress,
1982),
pp.
48-49;
Frances
A.
Yates,
The
Rosicrucian
Enlightenment
London:
Paladin
Press,
1975),
pp.
156-157.
"On
millenarianism
n
early
eventeenth
entury
ngland,
see
Bryan
W.
Ball,
A
Great
Expectation:
schatological
hought
n
English
rotestantism
o
1660
Leiden:
.J.
Brill,
1975);
Bernard
app,
The
Fifth
Monarchy
en:
A
Study
n
Seventeenth
entury
nglish
Millenarianism
London:
Faber,
1972);
Paul
Christianson,Reformers
nd
Babylon:
English pocalypticisionsrom heReformationotheCivilWar
Toronto:
niversity
of
Toronto
Press,
1978);
Katherine
R.
Firth,
The
Apocalyptic
Tradition n
Reformation
Britain,
1530-1645
Oxford:
Oxford
University
ress,
1979);
William
M.
Lamont,
Godly
Rule:
Politics
and
Religion,
1603-1660
London:
Macmillan,
1969);
Peter
Toon
(ed.),
Puritans,
he
Millenium,
nd
the
uture
f
srael:
uritan
schatology,
600 o
1660
Cam-
bridge
nd
London:
James
Clarke
and
Co.,
1970).
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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428
Christianity
n
Francis
acon
and
anguage.
ensalems
repeatedly
escribed
n
terms hich
uggest
t
to bea kind fearthlyaradise;t scalled a picturefour alvationn
heaven,"
"this
happy
and
holy
ground,"
nd "a
land of
angels"
(3:136).
The
amazing
owers
wielded
y
Salomon'sHouse
suggest
hat
science as
n
considerable easure estored ankindo ts
prelapsarian
condition
f
rule
ver
nature.
Moreover,
he
ccount
iven
f hemarital
institutionhich
acon was bold
enough
o
call
"the
Adam nd
Eve's
pools,"
where
men
nd
women
outinely
ook
upon
each
other aked
without
hame
r
sin,
clearly
ntends o
suggest
hat cientific
rogress
has also
restoredhat nnocencef
good
ndevilwhich
as
corrupted
r
lost n theFall 3:154).Finally,he haracterfJoabin, Jewishmer-
chant
ympathetic
o
Christianity
hom henarrator
ikens t
one
point
to the
prophet
lijah,
seems o
be a referenceo
the
key
millenarian
theme hat
he rrival f
the
Kingdom
f God on
earth
willbe heralded
by
he
ppearance
f
Elijah
and
the
onversion
f
the
Jews
o Christian-
ity
3:151-154).16
For
the careful
eader,
owever,
acon
provides
ndicationsf
his
own
distance
rom uch
hopes.
The
overwhelming
mphasis
which
Bacon
places
on
human
ffort
ather
handivine
ntervention
s
the
primarygencywhichs to "recover aradise"distinguishesimdeci-
sively
rom
hevast
majority
f Protestant
illenarians.
oreover,
ne
wonders
ow
many
rotestant
illenarians
ould
have
been
willing
o
accept
he
mplication
hat
he
only
millenial
ingdom
hich
mankind
can
help
to establish
n
earth
s one
which
wes
ts existence
nd
its
distinctive
haracter
o
a
certain
ind f science
nd
technology
ather
than
o
prayer,
epentance,
reaching,
tudy
f
the
Bible,
ndmoral
nd
ecclesiastical
eform.
As for
the
implied
claim that
science
and
technology
an
restore
ost
nnocence
s
well s
lost
power,
we note
hat
Joabin's ame ecallshat f oneofthemost iolentndruthless enn
the
Bible
Joab),
nd
that
he
mplied
moral
paradise
ristles
ith
d-
60On
he
anticipated
onversion
f the
Jews s
a
millenarian heme,
ee Ball,
107-108,
149-150;
Capp,
28-29;
Christianson,
07,
210-212,
214;
Davis,
113-114,
142,
146;
Firth,
160-162,
00-201,
212;
WilfridR.
Prest,
The Artof Law
and theLaw
of God: Sir
Henry
Finch,
1558-1625,"
n D.
Pennington
ndK. Thomas
eds.),
Puritans
nd
Revolutionaries
(Oxford:
Oxford
University
ress,
1978),
pp.
95,
108-109;
Toon,
passim;
Frances
A.
Yates,
The Occult
Philosophy
n the
Elizabethan
Age (London:
Routledge
nd
Kegan
Paul,
1979),
pp.
174-175.For the roleofElias/Elijah in particular ee Ball, 107; Firth, , 196,
202;
Marion
Leathers
Daniels
Kuntz,
"Introduction"
o Bodin's
Colloquium
of
the
Seven
(Princeton:
Princeton
University
ress,
1975),
xi-lxii;
Gershom
G. Scholem,
On the
Kab-
balah
and
Its
Symbolism
New
York:
Schocken
Books, 1965), p.
20;
Keith
Thomas,
Religion
and
the Decline
of Magic
(New
York:
Penguin
Books,
1978), pp.
157,
160;
Webster,
Great
nstauration,
0.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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430
Christianity
n
Francis
acon
alchemy
nd
magic
re
feigned
o
havedone
n
fable
4:85-86).2o
n
an
apparentfforto redirectntellectualnergiesrommagic o science,
Bacon
proposed
hat ne
might
egard
cientific
echnology
s
a kind f
"natural
nd
legitimate
agic,"
natural nd
legitimate
n
the ense
f
eschewing
ny
laim o
operate
with
upernaturalorces,
magical
n the
sense hat
t
would
pply
the
knowledge
fhidden orms
o
the
roduc-
tion f wonderful
perations"
4:366-367).
Bacon
of
course
knew
hat
Christianityccepted
he
endsof
magic
only
reluctantly
nd with
profound
uspicion,
while
remaining
m-
placably
ostile
o
any
direct r
implied
laim hat
magic
ould com-
mand r coerce upernaturalorces.2 e took are o remain ithinhe
bounds
f
orthodoxyyrejectingny
laim hat hewonders orked
y
science ould
be
produced y
other han
natural
means;
nature an
be
commanded
nly y
being beyed."
From he
point
fview fthe
pres-
ent
nquiry,
acon's
doption
f
this
airly
ommon
efense f
"natural
magic"
s
less
nteresting
hanthe further
nd rather nconventional
argumenty
whichhe
proposed
o
distinguish legitimate
nd
pious
"magic,"
hat
s,
scientific
echnology,
rom n
mpious
nd
llegitimate
variety.
Baconargues hatmagic ntheusualsenseof the term s impious
because
t ssures s
that
wecan ttain
by
a few
asy
nd lothfulbser-
vances"
those
hings
hich
God has
ordained
must e
"bought
t
the
price
f
labor"
3:381).
Such
magic
defies
thatfirst
dictwhichGod
gave
unto
man,
n
the weat
f
your
ace
you
hall
at
your
read."
But
there an
be little oubt
hatBaconian
cience
lso seeks o resist
r
reverse
his divine
dict,
as Bacon
all but
openly
dmits
when he
describes
he rts
nd sciences
s
efforts
y
mankind
o "arm
and de-
fend"
tself
gainst
divine
curses";
n thiscontext
acon
explicitly
states hat he rts remeans ywhichmankindefendstselfgainst
"the first
eneral
urse
f
thebarrenness
f
the
earth,
nd
of
eating
bread
n the weat
f
[one's]
face"
4:440-441).
inceBaconian
cience
indisputably
eeks
he
imitless
xpansion
f
the
productive
rts,
acon's
real
argument
herefore
eems
o
be that he
only
"price
of
labor"
mankind
must
pay
is
the
effort
eeded
to
develop
a new
power-
generating
atural
cience,
hich an
nturn ree uman
eings
rom
he
20The antasticharacterfBacon's ims mergesuite learlyrom eflectionnthe
specific
magico-alchemical
romises
isted
n this
passage,
nd on
ust
what
going
far
beyond
hese
n fact"
would
nvolve.
21'n
theChristian
ttitudeowards
agic
ee,
n
addition
o thework yKeith
homas
already
ited,
D.P.
Walker,
piritual
nd Demonic
Magic
from
icino
to
Campanella
(Notre
ame:
University
f
Notre
ame
Press,
975).
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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Timothy
.
Paterson
431
divine dict r
curse.22"
he
degree
owhich
uch reedom
rom
abor
an
ever ecompletes left nspecified,ndthe mplications that his sa
question
which
an
only
e
resolved
ypractice.
acon
urely
pecifies
no restrictionsn "therelief
fman's
state"
whichmankind
tself
must
respect
r
enforce n thebasis
of
revelation,
s isso often
he ase
with
Bacon,
n
alleged
imitation
n human
rojectsmposed y
God
turns
out on
closer
nspection
o
be
indistinguishable
rom
hose
imits
m-
posedby
what
he
awsof nature
make
t
objectivelympossible
o
ac-
complish.
t
would
herefore
eem
hat
ccording
o the
pecific
riterion
by
which
acon himself
roposes
o
distinguish
etween
ious
nd
m-
pious"magic,"his cience s self-consciouslympious.23
A
second
nd more
pecific
ndor
goal
of
Baconian
cience
trongly
suggests
acon's
distance rom
heChristian
radition.
y
any
reason-
able
understanding
f that
radition,
he
spiration
o secureiteral
m-
mortality
or
mankind
y
human fforts
as
to
be
regarded
s
grossly
r-
religious.
et,
fantastic
s
it
might
eem,
there
s
abundant
extual
evidence
hat
Bacon
hoped
that
bodily
mmortalityight
e
possible
through
cientific
edicine
ome ime n
the
distant
uture.
n
an
early
work,
acon
described
he
rue r
proper
ndof
science s "a
discovery
ofall operationsndpossibilitiesfoperationsrommmortalityif t
were
possible)
o
the
meanest
mechanical
ractice"
3:222).
We
learn
from
Wisdom
f
the
Ancients hat
"natural
philosophy
roposes
o
itself,
s its
noblest
work f
all,
nothing
ess
than
he
restitution
nd
renovation
f
things
orruptible,
nd
what
s ndeed he
ame
hing
n
a
lower
egree)
he
onservationf
bodies n
the
tate n
which
hey
re,
and
the
etardation
f
dissolutionnd
putrefaction"
6:721).
The
scien-
tists
f
Salomon's
Housedevote
n
extraordinary
mount
f
ttention
o
the
reservation
f
health
ndthe
rolongation
f
ife;
hey
ave
gone
o
far s toachieveheresuscitationfsomebodieswhichseemdead n
appearance"
(3:159).24
22An
arly
npublished
ffort
o
argue
long
hese
ines
roduced
his
notable
iece
f
scriptural
ophistry:
hen
he
ible
ays
hat
man
must
arn
his
read
by
he
weat f
his
brow,"
t
means hat
bread
hould
e
won
primarily
y
mental
s
opposed
o
physical
labor,
nd
hence
mandates
he
evelopment
f
science
hich
an
master
ature
Works,
3:223).
23D.P.
Walker
otes
he
ather
nusual
haracter
f
Bacon's
rgument.
e
conjectures
that
acon
rejected
agic
rimarily
ecause
magic
makes
xperiments
nnecessary,
nd
Bacon ikeddoing ndplanningxperiments"Walker, 02).He doesnotconsiderhe
possibility
hat
Bacon's
distinction
ay
have
mbodied
covert
ntireligious
ntention.
Descartes
eems o
have
grasped
acon's
mplication
ere:
ne of
the
easons
we
should
make
urselves
the
masters
nd
possessors
f
nature"
s
that
o
we
may
enjoy
without
labor
he
fruits
f
the
arth"
Discourse
n
Method,
art
ix,
toward
he
beginning).
4'For
ther
eferences
o
the
ossibility
f
ndefinitely
rolonging
uman
ife,
ee
Works,
3:157,
158,
159,
160,
167;
4:85,
383-385,
390-391,
418;
6:721,
749,
761.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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432
Christianity
n
Francis
acon
It
might
f course e
objected
hat desire
o
achieve
he ndefinite
prolongationf humanife shardlyhe ame hings anaspirationo
literal
mmortality.
he distinction
s undeniable
n
principle,
ut hree
considerations
ead
me
to
question
ts
ignificance
n this ontext.
irst,
if
cientific
edicine
an
prolong
uman
ife,
nd
f
he cience
n which
suchmedicine
s
to be
based
will
tself e
capable
f nfiniter ndefinite
progress
n
the
mastery
f
nature,
hen
urely
mmortality
ppears
s
an
extreme
imit
ossibility
hich
ogically
esults
rom he
uxtaposition
f
two
prior
hopes
which re
ndisputably
art
f Baconian
cience.
ec-
ond,
Bacondoes
not
peak
f
ny
imits
o this
engthening
fhuman
ife
which cience hould nprinciple espect; ere s elsewhere,heonly
significant
uestion
orBacon
s
the
bjective
ossibility
r
mpossibility
of the
goal,
not ts
piety
r
mpiety"immortality,
f
t
were
ossible").
Third,
while
n
his
unpublished
ork
acon
"to
speak
plainly
ndclear-
ly"
says
that
the
supreme
oal
of
science
s
"immortality"3:222),
phrasing
his
oal
n themore
modest
nd
plausible
erms
ound
n
the
published
orks
as
urely
prudential
ecessity;
twas
hardly
n
objec-
tive
hat
ould
have
been
penly
cknowledged.
iven
he
gross
mpiety
of
any
such
aspiration,
acon's
hinted
ndorsements
f
it are
in
fact
ratherold.
The
generally
cknowledged
nd
openly
sserted
oal
of
Bacon's
science
s
the
mastery
fnature
or
he elief
fman's
state.
ut
xactly
why
oes
mankind
eed o
master
ature?
What
s tabout
man's
state
that ries
ut
for
elief?
he
effort
o
answer
hese
uestions
uggests
he
profound
ension
etween
acon's
conception
f
the
humanituation
n
nature
nd
the
biblical
onception
s
understood
y
hevast
majority
f
Bacon's
Christian
ontemporaries.
have
lluded
o
perhaps
he
ingle
most
triking
llustration
f
this
ension,
he ccount
fthe
destruction
ofAtlantisn theNewAtlantis. s the ontextfthat ccountmakes
clear,
hefate
uffered
y
Atlantis
s
ntended
o stand
or hefate
f
all
nations
which
o
not
possess
he
power
vernature
which
Bensalem
derives
rom
ts cience.
eflection
n thedetails
f Bacon's
version
f
the
Atlantis
yth
nd
comparison
f
theBaconian
withhe latonic
er-
sion
reveal
Bacon's
apparent
cceptance
f
a
cosmology
n
which
mankind
s
subjected
o
periodic
estructions
y
nature
hich,
ot
be-
ingguided
y
any
kind
f
ntentions
r
purposes,
annot
venbe
called
indifferent
o
the
fate
f
human
eings
r
to themoral ifferences
e-
tweenhem. orBacon,naturessomethingull f"panicterrors"or
man
nd
"reverenced
oo
much";
for
he
good
of
mankind
t must
e
conquered
y
science.
acon's
anguage
when
he
speaks
fthis
ask
s
consistent
and
quite
revealing:
nature
must
be "made
captive,"
"bound,"
"racked," "conquered,"
"enslaved
and
led before
us
in
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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Timothy
. Paterson
433
chains,"
ndeven
put
to
death.""2
It is of coursedifficulto reconcilehisconceptionf nature s
something
loseto a foeof
mankind
ith hat ffered
y
the
Christian
tradition
n
Bacon's ime.
According
o that
radition,
ature
s
the
work
of a benevolentreator ho continues
o
employ
iscreation
s an
in-
strument
or hemoral nd
religious
nstruction
nd
chastisement
f
a
sinfulmankind.26
he
Flood,
to take he
most bvious
xample
nd
the
onewhich
most esembleshosewhich
acondiscussesnthe
New
A
tlan-
tis,
was
understood o be
a divine
response
o
profound
uman
wickedness,
ot "main
ccident
ftime."
Was t
really ossible
or
n
orthodoxhristianfthe arly eventeenthenturyoendorsehe dea
that he nature
whichGod has created
epeatedly
ecimates
mankind
without
ny
referenceo human
onduct?
ivenBacon's
conception
f
thehuman
ituation
n
nature,
nehas to
wonder
hethercertain
rim
mockery
f orthodox
elief s not
conveyed
y
his
seemingly
rthodox
declarationhat
cripture
evealsGod's
will
whilenature
eveals
his
power,
whereof he
atters a
key
nto he
former"
3:301).
f n
fact
there
xists an
indissolubleond" between
information
oncerning
[God's]
will"
and
"meditation
oncerning
is
power"
(4:89),
then
Bacon's covert uggestion ould seem to be thatto theextent ne
regards
he
natural
rder s
shapedby
divine
ntentions,
s
orthodox
Christianityoes,
reflectionn
the
way
hat rder
ffects uman
eings
suggests
hat
ny
uch
will
must
e
ill-disposed
owards
man.
IV.
Bacon's
Social
Psychology
f
Belief
nd
Unbelief
Many
f the
pecific
eforms
hich acon
proposed
id n
fact
help
o
weaken
hristianity
s
a
political
orce. he
strict
eparation
f
reason
and revelation,hefreeingfnaturalcience romhesupervisionf
religious
uthorities,
he
development
f
extensive
eligiousoleration,
the
pplication
f
science o
the
production
f
prosperity,
ealth,
nd
security,
he
popularization
f
the new
"non-teleological"
cience
f
nature-while
o
single
lement
f this
program
ecessarily
eflects
hostility
o
Christianity,
n
combination
hese
hanges
ramatically
ar-
rowed
he
public
tatus
nd
relevance
f
faith.
More
o the
pointhere,
Bacon's
few
ut
ignificant
tatements
bout
he
xperiential
onditions
tending
o
strengthen
r
weaken
eligious
elief
uggest
hathe
foresaw
and ntendedhese onsequences.
"
Works
:47;
6:710-713,
726,
744.
Cf.
Essay
58,
Works
:512-514.
26See
Paul H.
Kocher,
Science and
Religion
n
Elizabethan
England
San
Marino: The
Huntington
ibrary,
953), pp.
93-94,
117,218,
263-266,
278;
Thomas,
91-92,
96-97,
101,
105-107.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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434
Christianity
n
Francis
acon
According
o
Bacon,
"learned imes" re one of the
principal
auses
of thespread f atheism6:414).The inverseelationshiplso holds:
religion
hrivesn
gnorance
f
natural auses
n
this
world,
nd n
turn
fosters
t
4:76,
78,
87-88).
Yet,
as
the
very
itle f hisfirst
major
work
suggests,
acon
undeniablyromoted
learned
imes";
he
argues
hat
themodern
ge
will
become he
hird
reat
ge
of
earning,urpassing
the
ccomplishments
fboth
Greece nd
Rome
note
he
mission f
the
ChristianMiddle
Ages
from his
honor
roll)
(4:90-102).
t
might
reasonably
e
objected
hat
n
the
New
A
tlantis
he
dvance
f
cience
s
combined
ith certain
eparation
f science
rom
ociety,
nd
that
he
bookreflectsn ambitiono combine theadvancementflearning"
among
minority
ith
n
avoidance
f "learned
imes"
n
the
ense f
general
ransformation
f
public
ttitudes
hrough
opularized
cience.
Salomon's
House,
for
xample,
withholdsertain
iscoveries
ot
only
from
he
public
ut
ven rom the
tate"
3:165),
nd t
east ne cien-
tist
resents
imself
o
the
itizenry
n
a
quasi-religious
uise
3:155;
cf.
4:390).
The
major
popular
eremony
escribed,
heFeast
of
the
Family
(3:147-151),
uggests
hat
he utlook
f
the
rdinary
itizen
s
very
ittle
affected
y any
awareness
f
the
theoreticalubstance
f
the
new
science,hough rofoundlyffectedythepracticalesults hichhat
science
chieves.
But
these
pparent
opes
re
in such
tension
with he
fundamental
character
f Baconian
cience
hat
one
wonders
ow
seriously
acon
entertained
hem.
A science
which
ndertakes
o
change
he
onditions
of
everyday
ife
will ind
tdifficult
o
maintain
tsdistance
rom
ociety,
let alone
any
air
of
remoteness,
ystery,
nd
consecration
o
higher
things.
Works"
would
eem
o
require
arge
numbers
f
technicians
and
trainers
f
technicians,
ndhence
o
promote
n
understanding
f
sciencewhichsintermediateetweenhenonscientificonsciousnessf
the
ordinary
erson
nd
the
understanding
ossessed
y
the
genuine
scientists.
aconian
cience
herefore
ecessarily
mplies
n
"enlighten-
ment"
which
nvolves
many
ersons
n that
little
r
superficial
nowl-
edge
of
philosophy"
hich, ccording
o
Bacon, may
ncline
he
mind
of
man
o atheism"
3:267).
n
addition
o
ts
hirty-six
ctive
cientists,
Salomon's
House
contains
"great
number"
f
assistants,
ttendants,
and
apprentices
f
all
kinds,
oth
men nd women
3:165).
Moreover,
Bacon
is
hopelessly
mbiguous
n
the
key question
f
exactly
what
percentagefmankindanbeexpectedounderstandhenew cience."2
The
clearest
onclusion
o be
drawn
rom
is
contradictory
emarks
n
this
ubject
s
that
his
willbe
resolved
y
practice,
ndthe ffect
f
any
27Compare,
for
example,
Works
:42,
113
with
4:62-63,
109
and
6:756-757.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
18/25
Timothy
.
Paterson
435
such
uggestion
s to remove
ll
predetermined
imits
n the
effort
o
disseminatecience.
Bacon's ocial
psychology
f
belief nd
unbelief
onsistently
escribes
religion
s
strengthened
y
the
things
hich
henew
cience
will
over-
come,
and
weakened
y
the conditions
hich
hat cience
will
bring
about.
"Learned times"
particularly
end
to
promote
theism
when
joined
"with
peace
and
prosperity"6:414).
The
age
of
Augustus
Caesar,
for
xample,
s
said to
havebeen ne of the
great ges
of
earn-
ing,
"civil
time"
which had the
art
of
government
n the
greatest
perfection";
t
was
also a
time inclined o atheism"
3:274; 6:416).
"Troublesand adversities o more bow men'sminds o religion"
(6:414),
while
barbarous
imes,
specially
oined
with
alamities
nd
disasters"
ncline
men o
"superstition"
6:416,
514).
One of the
fun-
damental
ources
f
the
power
f
"superstition"
s
thatnatures
full
f
"panic
terrors"
or
human
beings 6:712).
But the
New
Atlantis
describes
political
egime
whichhas
endured or
nineteen
enturies
(3:144)
nd
which
ossesses
science
bleto
predict
nd
prevent
atural
disasters
3:166).
Bacon
claimed hat f all
existing
hilosophies
ncient
tomism
f-
fered hedeepest nderstandingfnature4:58).As Baconknew ull
well,
a
critique
f
religion
as
intimately
ssociatedwith
his
chool
(6:384).
Ancient
tomism
xplained
ature ithout
eferenceo
anygod
or
gods,
ggressively
enied
he
mmortality
f the
oul,
and
offered
psychological
ccount
f the
sources f
conventional
eligious
elief
which
by
manifest
mplication
enied
such beliefs
any
cognitive
significance.
ccording
o this
ccount,
eligion
s
strengthened,
t east
within
ertain
imits,
y
fear,
nxiety,
nd
ignorance
f the
causes
of
things,
specially
wesome
r
terrible
hings.
ne of
the
most
mportant
rootsofreligions nature'sncompleteupport orhuman lansand
hopes;
poverty,
ardship,
nd
weakness
n
the
face f
nature
trengthen
it,
while
rosperity,
nowledge
f
causes,
nd the
bility
o
predict
nd
control
ature
eaken
t.
Only
he
ational
nderstanding
f
nature an
dispel
he
errors
hich
he
human
magination
mposes
n
tself
hrough
the
religious
elusion.28
As
I
have
already
uggested,
acon's
understanding
f
the
religious
impulse
s
very
lose
o
this
ccount.He
hints t
an
association
etween
the
progress
f
the
arts
and
the
growth
f
religious
hypocrisy"
(6:750-751).Religions intimatelyssociatedwithgratitudeorgood
2'Lucretius,
n
the
Nature
f
Things,
ook
One,
ines
2-79.
ee also
J.H.
Nichols, r.,
Epicurean
olitical
hilosophy:
he
"De
Rerum
Natura"
of
Lucretius
Ithaca:
Cornell
Universityress,
976),
p.
101-178.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
19/25
-
8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
20/25
Timothy
.
Paterson
437
following
ines.
First,
ocialconditions
ending
o
promote
theism
r
religiousndifferenceightwellbe established ithoutuch ttitudes
becoming
eneral
reven
ery
ommon.
econd,
he
NewAtlantis
eems
to
depict
land
n
which
hristianity
ontinues
o
play
major
public
role.
Granted hat
Bacon'sown ttitude
o
Christianityight
ave
been
sceptical
r
hostile,
an such
iews ave
ny
majorpolitical ignificance
if
they
re confined o
a
fairly
mall
minority?
ight ersonal
ndif-
ferenceo
faith othave
been ombined
ith
n
entirely
incere
xpecta-
tion hat ome
kind f
diffuse hristianentimentn
a
majority
f
the
population
would
continue o
provide
he
moral framework
ithin
whichcientificowerwould eapplied o the olution fpracticalro-
blems? o answer
hese
lausible
bjections,
e
must xamine he
ela-
tion
between
eligion, olitical
ower,
nd
science s
portrayed
n
the
New
Atlantis.
The
Christian
one f the
book
s
undeniable.ts
rhetorical
ppeal
o
the
Christian
eader
uplicates
n
important
eaturef
the
tory
t
tells
of
a
successful
ttempt
y
Bensalem o convert
group
f
European
Christians
o
Bensalem's
way
of
life,
not east
by
means
f
Christian
rhetoric. ut
while
he
public
hetoric
f
Bensalem
as a
definitehris-
tian lavor,loserxaminationndicateshat ensalem'ss a dilutednd
syncretistic
hristianity
hich
s
little
more
han
glossupon
a
more
fundamental
eneration
f science
nd
scientists,
he
family,
he
nation,
peace,
prosperity,
ongevity,
nd
security.
he
major
emi-public
itual
or
ceremony
escribed
s
more
agan
han
Christian;
acon's
narrator
calls t
"a
ceremony
n
which
ature
does]
much
reside"
3:151).
Ben-
salem's
eligion
eems
o be
an
example
f what
Bacon
called
natural
piety,"
ased
on such
entiments
s
patriotism
nd
respect
or
arents,
thinly
isguised
y
the
supernatural
r
unnatural
iety
f
traditional
Christianity.lthoughheexactpublic tatus f ChristianitynBen-
salem
s
ambiguous
it
is
not
clear,
for
xample,
whether
here
s
an
established
hurch),
acon
was
of
course
ot
unqualifiedly
ostile
o
the
Christian
hurchess
social
nd
political
nstitutions,
articularly
n
the
short
erm."
He
wished
o see
Christianity
adically
eformed
o make t
less
nclined
oward
ectarian
onflict
nd
meddling
ith
atural
cience,
and
he
believed
hat
f
such
reform
ould
be
effected,
n
established
church
might
e
socially
seful. t
the
ame
ime,
e
was
not t
all
sure
that
hristianity
ouldbe so
reformed.he
mbiguity
fthe
NewA
tlan-
"
Works
:302,
6:381-384.
See
also
Fulton
H.
Anderson,
rancis
Bacon: His
Career
nd
His
Thought
Los
Angeles:
University
f
Southern
California
Press,
1962),
pp. 71-98;
White,
63-75.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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438
Christianity
n
Francis
acon
tis about
the
exact
public
tatus f
Christianity
robably
eflects
his
uncertainty.
But thecharacterf
popular
eligion
n
Bensalem
s notthe
decisive
considerationor he
problem
f the
directionf
scientific
ower.
The
crucial
oint
egarding
he
relation
f
religion
o
science
ppears
n
the
account f themanner
n
which
heChristian
eligion
rrived
n
Ben-
salem nd won
acceptance
here
3:137-139).
acon
depicts
situation
which everseshe
ctual ituation
n
early
modern
urope:
ratherhan
science
aving
o make
place
for tself
n
an
already
hristian
ociety,
Christianity
rrives
n
Bensalem everal undred
ears
fter aconian
science asbeenfirmlystablishedhere. he mplicationsf this em-
poral equence
re
powerfully
einforced
y
he
details f
Christianity's
reception:
he
igns
nd wonders
hich
rove
hedivine
rigins
f the
Gospel
are
accepted
s
genuine
miracles
nly
after
hey
have been
authenticated
s such
y
memberfSalomon'sHouse
3:137).
That
s,
science ontrols
he ntroductionnd
reception
f new
eligious
deas;
n
Bensalem,
rom
he
beginning,
cience s
apparently
he
ervant
ut n
fact
he
master f
religion.32
As
I
have
ndicated
n
several
laces,
Christianity
eems o
play
very
minor ole n the elf-understandingf Bensalem'scientists,nd this s
the crucial
ointregarding
he
future ole
of
religion
n
directing
he
power
o
be
generated
y
Baconian
cience.
he
New
Atlantis
nques-
tionably
ints t
a dramatic
xpansion
f
the
political
ole
of
scientists;
in
my pinion,
he
book
depicts defacto
rule
y
cientistss
openly
s
Bacon
dared.
Bensalem's
cientists ake n
unprecedented
nd
openly
acknowledged
ontribution
o the
health,
ecurity,
nd
prosperity
f all
citizens.
They
control
he introduction
nd
interpretation
f
new
religious
deas.
They
wield
amazing
nd
almost
divine
powers
ver
nature,nd as a result reregardedythepeoplewith quasi-religious
reverence
3:155).
They ossess
wesome
militaryechnology
3:163)
nd
are
in
a
position
o
withhold hatever
echnological
ecrets
hey
wish
from
the tate"
3:165).
Their rue
olitical
osition
s ndicated
y
he
fact
hat
hework
nds
with scientist
n effect
epealing
ne of
the
kingdom's
ost undamental
aws,
pparently
n
hisown
nitiative.
or
nineteenenturies
law established
y King
Solamona
has
mandated
that
the sland's
existence
e
kept
ecret
rom
he rest
of the
world
(3:144-145),
ut
he ather
f
Salomon's
House
gives
he
narrator
leave
topublishthe ccount fSalomon'sHouse]for hegoodof other a-
tions"
3:166).
Scientific
udgments
s to what
he
ood
of
humanity
e-
"3See
Weinberger,
75;
White,
157-160.
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8/10/2019 On the Role of Christianity in the Political Philosophy of Francis Bacon- Tmothy Paterson.
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Timothy
. Paterson
439
quires
an secure
he
epeal
feven
hemost asic
aws.The
New
Atlan-
tis ntimateshat heminoritynwhichhe eligiouscepticismfBacon
himself
s most o be
expected
s
also the
group
which
lays
he
most
significant
ole in the
application
f scientific
ower
nd indeed
n
political
ife
generally.
VI. The
Machiavellian
haracterfBaconian
cience
The
specifically
aconianmotive
nderlying
ostility
o
Christianityp-
pears
most
clearly
when we consider acon's
dependence
n,
and
modificationf, he houghtfMachiavelli. acon'sdebt oMachiavelli
in
ethics
nd
politics
was
openly
cknowledged
3:430),
and
has been
discussed
many
imes."
The
Machiavellianootsof Baconian
natural
science
re esswell
known.
ame
s the
highest
uman
ood
thus
ar
Machiavelli),
ut
fame
s bestwon
through
nnovations
n
science
nd
technology,
hich
unlikepolitical
nd
military
xploits)
enefit
ll
mankind,
ot
ust
he
itizensf
one
countrythe
Baconian
modification
of
Machiavelli)
4:113).
The
greatestmpire
s not
hat f one man
over
his
own
ountry
r
of hisown
ountry
ver ther
ountries,
ut he
ule
o