Deprogramming Baconianism
The meaning of desiderata in the eighteenth century
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20316631 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Vera Keller (0000-0002-9933-4590, Robert D. Clark Honors College, University of Oregon, 1293 University Street, Eugene, OR 97403, USA, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 72 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 119-137 |
| Publication date | 2018-06-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Notes and Records the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0035-9149 • E-ISSN: 1743-0178 |
| Publisher | The Royal Society (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1098/rsnr.2018.0008 |
| OpenAlex | W2801259993 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
The historiographical construct of the ‘Baconian programme’ rose to prominence in the mid-twentieth century. It has since shaped views of Bacon and his followers, particularly concerning Bacon's utilitarianism. It has also set expectations concerning how defined and prescriptive Bacon's vision of the future ought to be for later Baconians. Yet, neither Bacon nor those who claimed to follow him thought of his work in programmatic ways. The early modern view of Bacon's futuristic writing allowed his followers great agency in re-sketching it to fit changing times. This essay first follows the rise of a ‘Baconian programme’ in historiography. It then returns to the past to outline some of the rich vocabulary for future-oriented writing deployed by the first generation of Bacon's self-proclaimed followers. Finally, testing how Bacon's plans appeared over a longer durée, it skips forward to Peter Shaw (1694–1763) and Joseph Priestley (1733–1804). Shaw employed one of Bacon's futuristic terms (desiderata), dropped another (optativa) and developed the significance of a new category (hint). Shaw's case illustrates the creativity that even Bacon's most ardent followers expected to be within their rights. Baconianism invited future redrafting and haphazard invention, rather than adherence to a predictive programme
Agency (philosophy) · Construct (python library) · Creativity · Epistemology · Historiography · Meaning (existential) · Political science · Sociology · Utilitarianism · Computer Science · Historical Philosophy and Science · Law · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,71 |
| Citation span | 2019 - 2022 (4) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |