The Violence of Impediments

Francis Bacon and the Origins of Experimentation

Bibliographic Data

ID3224200
AuthorsCarolyn Merchant (University of California, Berkeley, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume99
Issue4
Pages731-760
Publication date2008-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIsis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-1753 • E-ISSN: 1545-6994
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/597767
OpenAlexW1619027892
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited7

Francis Bacon's use of metaphors to characterize his nascent concept of experimentation must be interpreted within the historical context of his time. His approach to experimentation is one in which nature is constrained by the "violence of impediments" and is made new by "art and the hand of man." His language about nature should be placed in the context of the history of the contained, controlled experiment, a concept that emerges from juridical practice, from the idea of nature in bonds, and from the tradition of the secrets of nature in settings such as the courtroom, the anatomy theater, and the laboratory

Archaeology · Cognitive science · Context (archaeology · Epistemology · Sociology · Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies · History · History of Science and Medicine · Philosophy · Psychology · Science Education and Perceptions

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