2017-12-16
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FRANCIS BACON
Francis Bacon was born on the 22nd of January, 1561 in England. He was a writer, a politician and a philosopher, very well known in his time. Bacon played a very important role in the political life of his country: he was a Member of Parliament, held some very important positions in the government. King James I thought highly of him and his ideas. But that’s not why we remember Francis Bacon nowadays. Now he is best known for his philosophic writings, as he developed the philosophy of science. Bacon was not a great scientist himself, but he taught scientists to use experiment and observation as their main methods instead of theory as scientists had done before. So we can say that he gave a start to modern inductive science. That’s why the 18th century philosophers Voltaire and Didrot called him “the father of modern science”. Sir Isaak Newton and many other scientists and philosophers read Bacon’s books and learned from them.
In 1626 Bacon decided to make a scientific experiment. He wanted to know if cold could help to keep food fresh and unspoiled. They say he was experimenting with chickens, putting them on the ice outside his house. The weather was bad, he caught a cold and soon died.
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