Sir Francis Bacon SIR Francis to you (1561-1626)
Home: London, England
School: INDUCTIONIST - From a preponderence of empirical observations taken from singular events, theories arise which Bacon labeled "ampliative inference"
Rational or Empirical Bent?: Strict Empiricist
Influence: Philosopher/statesman, pioneer of modern scientific thought.
Greatest achievement(s): First to point out various confounds in science See below...
On Metaphysics and his own epistemology: "If a man will begi with certainties, he shall end in doubts, but if he will be content to begin with doubts, he shall end in certainties.
The Advancement of Learning, bk. 1, ch. 5 (1605).
Greatest achievement(s) (Cont.): Experimental Method: 1) Observe 2) Hypothesize Cause and effect 3) Experiment - rule out alternate explanations. (Modern additions: 4) Statistical examination of data 5) Publish)
Surviving works: Numerous. (Including perhaps some of the most famous plays and sonnets in history, using the pseudonym of an obscure actor from Stratford-upon-Avon) also Novum Organum: Indications Respecting the Interpretation of Nature (1620).
"Knowledge is Power"
Yes, it was Francis Bacon who first stated this wonderful truism.
In a situation that closely resembled Socrates and Plato's arguments with the Sophists, Bacon was eager to silence the ultra-skepticism of de Montainge. Bacon however, went the exact opposite direction from Socrates and promoted a philosophy that emphasized that truth and knowledge are not derived from authority or a priori arguments but come from experience. Bacon's Novum Organum successfully influenced the acceptance of accurate observation and experimentation in science. In it he maintained that all prejudices and preconceived attitudes, which he called idols, must be abandoned:
"Idols of the cave" Peculiar possession of the individual
Personal Bias or idiosyncrasy must not be allowed to enter into empirical observations. The desire to find what one wants seeks is a dangerous idol.

"Idols of the tribe" Common modes of thought
Padigmatic thought must be avoided, or at least recognized for what it is. Erroneous paradigms, such as Aristotle's physics, retarded scientific growth.

"Idols of the marketplace" Dependence on language
While the sophists recognized that rhetoric was a great way to win over listeners, Bacon recognized that this was no way to experimental truth

"Idols of the theater" Tradition (A Priori argument)
This idol was the number one reason science had been held back so long. Rational arguments alone, with experimental verification, are dangerous.

Bacon, on the phenomena of Death, from "Essays, "Of Death"

I do not believe that any man fears to be dead, but only the stroke of death. It is as natural to die as to be born; and to a little infant, perhaps, the one is as painful as the other. (This statement shadows the statement of Socrates and supports Freud's contention that birth is the first anxiety)

"We are much beholden to Machiavel and others, that write what men do, and not what they ought to do."

Thomas Huxely sums up Bacon the best -

"Trust a witness in all matters in which neither his self interest, his passions, his prejudices nor the love of the marvelous is strongly concerned. When they are involved, require corroborative evidence in exact proportion to the contravention of probability by the thing testified."
Thomas Huxely There are many Francis Bacon sites, some of them deal with him as the real author Shakespeare's plays. Here is his very own site (in his honor) Sir Bacon.org