| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Immortalist" |
| Date: |
19 May 2006 11:48:01 AM |
| Object: |
Baconian Idols Confuse Knowledge of Reality |
In the Novum Organum (the new instrumentality for the acquisition of
knowledge) Francis Bacon classified the intellectual fallacies of his
time under four headings which he called idols. He distinguished them
as
(1) idols of the Tribe
(2) idols of the Cave
(3) idols of the Marketplace
(4) idols of the Theater.
An idol is an image, in this case held in the mind, which receives
veneration but is without substance in itself. Bacon did not regard
idols as symbols, but rather as fixations. In this respect he
anticipated modern psychology.
These are characteristic errors, natural tendencies, or defects that
beset the mind and prevent it from achieving a full and accurate
understanding of nature. Bacon points out that recognizing and
counteracting the idols is as important to the study of nature as the
recognition and refutation of bad arguments is to logic.
A Baconian idol is a potential deception or source of misunderstanding,
especially one that clouds or confuses our knowledge of external
reality and each presents its own special hazards and difficulties.
(1) The Idols of the Tribe
These are the natural weaknesses and tendencies common to human nature.
Because they are innate, they cannot be completely eliminated, but only
recognized and compensated for. They arise within the mind of the
individual.
They are deceptive beliefs inherent in the mind of man, and therefore
belonging to the whole of the human race. They are abstractions in
error arising from common tendencies to exaggeration, distortion, and
disproportion. Thus men gazing at the stars perceive the order of the
world, but are not content merely to contemplate or record that which
is seen. They extend their opinions, investing the starry heavens with
innumerable imaginary qualities. In a short time these imaginings gain
dignity and are mingled with the facts until the compounds become
inseparable. This may explain Bacon's epitaph which is said to be a
summary of his whole method. It reads, "Let all compounds be
dissolved."
Some of Bacon's examples are:
Our senses - which are inherently dull and easily deceivable. (Which
is why Bacon prescribes instruments and strict investigative methods to
correct them.)
Our tendency to discern (or even impose) more order in phenomena than
is actually there. As Bacon points out, we are apt to find similitude
where there is actually singularity, regularity where there is actually
randomness, etc.
Our tendency towards "wishful thinking." According to Bacon, we
have a natural inclination to accept, believe, and even prove what we
would prefer to be true.
Our tendency to rush to conclusions and make premature judgments
(instead of gradually and painstakingly accumulating evidence).
(2) The Idols of the Cave
Unlike the idols of the tribe, which are common to all human beings,
those of the cave vary from individual to individual. They arise, that
is to say, not from nature but from culture and thus reflect the
peculiar distortions, prejudices, and beliefs that we are all subject
to owing to our different family backgrounds, childhood experiences,
education, training, gender, religion, social class, etc.
The mind is symbolically a cavern. The thoughts of the individual roam
about in this dark cave and are variously modified by temperament,
education, habit, environment, and accident. Thus an individual who
dedicates his mind to some particular branch of learning becomes
possessed by his own peculiar interest, and interprets all other
learning according to the colors of his own devotion. The chemist sees
chemistry in all things, and the courtier ever present at the rituals
of the court unduly emphasizes the significance of kings and princes.
Examples include:
Special allegiance to a particular discipline or theory.
High esteem for a few select authorities.
A "cookie-cutter" mentality - that is, a tendency to reduce or
confine phenomena within the terms of our own narrow training or
discipline.
(3) The Idols of the Market Place
These are errors arising from the false significance bestowed upon
words, and in this classification Bacon anticipated the modern science
of semantics, hindrances to clear thinking that arise, Bacon says, from
the "intercourse and association of men with each other." It is the
popular belief that men form their thoughts into words in order to
communicate their opinions to others, but often words arise as
substitutes for thoughts and men think they have won an argument
because they have out talked their opponents.
The main culprit here is language, though not just common speech, but
also (and perhaps particularly) the special discourses, vocabularies,
and jargons of various academic communities and disciplines.
He points out that "the idols imposed by words on the understanding
are of two kinds": "they are either names of things that do not
exist" (e.g., the crystalline spheres of Aristotelian cosmology) or
faulty, vague, or misleading names for things that do exist (according
to Bacon, abstract qualities and value terms - e.g., "moist,"
"useful," etc. - can be a particular source of confusion).
Words often betray their own purpose, obscuring the very thoughts they
are designed to express.
(4) The Idols of the Theatre
Like the idols of the cave, those of the theatre are culturally
acquired rather than innate. And although the metaphor of a theatre
suggests an artificial imitation of truth, as in drama or fiction,
Bacon makes it clear that these idols derive mainly from grand schemes
or systems of philosophy.
Idols of the Theater are those which are due to sophistry and false
learning. These idols are built up in the field of theology,
philosophy, and science, and because they are defended by learned
groups are accepted without question by the masses. When false
philosophies have been cultivated and have attained a wide sphere of
dominion in the world of the intellect they are no longer questioned.
False superstructures are raised on false foundations, and in the end
systems barren of merit parade their grandeur on the stage of the
world.
A careful reading of the Novum Organum will show. Bacon used the
theater with its curtain and its properties as a symbol of the world
stage. It might even be profitable to examine the Shakespearean plays
with this viewpoint in mind.
Three particular types of philosophy:
Sophistical Philosophy - that is, philosophical systems based only on
a few casually observed instances (or on no experimental evidence at
all) and thus constructed mainly out of abstract argument and
speculation. Bacon cites Scholasticism as a conspicuous example.
Empirical Philosophy - that is, a philosophical system ultimately
based on a single key insight (or on a very narrow base of research),
which is then erected into a model or paradigm to explain phenomena of
all kinds. Bacon cites the example of William Gilbert, whose
experiments with the lodestone persuaded him that magnetism operated as
the hidden force behind virtually all earthly phenomena.
Superstitious Philosophy - this is Bacon's phrase for any system of
thought that mixes theology and philosophy. He cites Pythagoras and
Plato as guilty of this practice, but also points his finger at pious
contemporary efforts, similar to those of Creationists today, to found
systems of natural philosophy on Genesis or the book of Job.
http://www.iep.utm.edu/b/bacon.htm
http://www.sirbacon.org/links/4idols.htm
http://www.ditext.com/broad/bacon.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/francis-bacon
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/mcluhan-studies/v1_iss3/1_3art1.htm
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| User: "Tron" |
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| Title: Re: Baconian Idols Confuse Knowledge of Reality |
19 May 2006 04:38:38 PM |
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Highly interesting thoughts.
"Immortalist" <reanimater_2000@yahoo.com> skrev i melding
news:1148057281.269890.87110@j55g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
....
Particularly this one.
Reminded me of the Constructivists, wh, if nothing else, are amusing to read
(Watzlawick et al.).
The overlap with Bacon is that Constructivism seems to be a good description
of how we actually do arrive at the certainties and givens of our virtual
reality; i.e. it is a empirically valid descriptive epistemology. Bacon etc.
would then present a normative critique of Constructivism's possibility of
error.
(2) The Idols of the Cave
Unlike the idols of the tribe, which are common to all human beings,
those of the cave vary from individual to individual. They arise, that
is to say, not from nature but from culture and thus reflect the
peculiar distortions, prejudices, and beliefs that we are all subject
to owing to our different family backgrounds, childhood experiences,
education, training, gender, religion, social class, etc.
The mind is symbolically a cavern. The thoughts of the individual roam
about in this dark cave and are variously modified by temperament,
education, habit, environment, and accident. Thus an individual who
dedicates his mind to some particular branch of learning becomes
possessed by his own peculiar interest, and interprets all other
learning according to the colors of his own devotion. The chemist sees
chemistry in all things, and the courtier ever present at the rituals
of the court unduly emphasizes the significance of kings and princes.
Examples include:
Special allegiance to a particular discipline or theory.
High esteem for a few select authorities.
A "cookie-cutter" mentality - that is, a tendency to reduce or
confine phenomena within the terms of our own narrow training or
discipline.
(4) The Idols of the Theatre
.....
A careful reading of the Novum Organum will show. Bacon used the
theater with its curtain and its properties
Betxha (I hope you read Albanian ..?) this last one is a typo for "its
curtain and its props".
T
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