|
|
bacon and Swift Preparing for the Future Through out the years of human existence there have always been issues that come from the study of science and technology. The human race has to make important decision about these issues. The ways these decisions have been made through the years has varied. The two English writers, Francis Bacon and Jonathan Swift, discussed some of these issues. Bacon・s approach to discussing these problems was through a very structured method. He did this in his essay Ovum Organism where he describes the four idols of the humanity. On the other hand, Swift used satire to illustrate his views by story form. Gulliver・s Travels is a story by Swift that discusses his political views and social views. The Four Idols discussed by Francis Bacon in his essay Ovum Organism are: Tribe, Cave, Market, and Theater. The ：Idols of the Tribe； hinder people・s understanding because of human nature. Some examples of this are people: trying to make things fit into patterns, looking for evidence to support their conclusions, having trouble conceiving of the finite or infinity, are affected by what they want to believe, having since fool them, and lacking to generalize or be abstract. The ：Idols of the Cave； hinder people・s understanding because of individual shortcomings. Four individual shortcomings are: favoring ideas that support previous conclusions, differences or similarities, antiquity or novelty, the part to the exclusion of the whole and vice versa. The third, the ：Idols of the Marketplace； hinders people・s understanding because of words. This idol comes from people imagining and naming things that do not exist and giving multi-meaning of one word. The last of Bacon・s idols is the ：Idols of the Theater,； which hindering understanding based on a system of philosophy, theology, or tradition (Points Made by Francis Bacon in The Four Idols). Bacon・s writing is very organized and step format. He goes through each point in detail before moving on to the next point. This structure is seen in his creating of the Scientific Method, which he developed. The Scientific Method is a general set of steps that direct scientist in their approach to their studies. Jonathan Swift・s Gulliver・s Travels is a story about a surgeon, named Gulliver, who takes voyages all over the world. Every voyage results in him being shipwrecked or banished and abandon. He makes it safely to land; however, the islands that he seeks refuge on have never been explored before.
|
