Primary Materials by Francis Bacon
Bacon, Francis. “Early Writings 1584-1596.” In The Oxford Francis Bacon, Vol. 1. Oxford University Press, 2012.
Bacon, Francis. New Atlantis and the Great Instauration. Wiley-Blackwell, 1991.
Bacon, Francis. Novum Organum. Edited by Robert Leslie Ellis and James Spedding. Routledge, 1900.
Bacon, Francis. The Advancement of Learning. Modern Library, 1851.
Bacon, Francis. “The Essayes or Counsels, Civill and Morall.” In The Oxford Francis Bacon, Vol. 15. Clarendon Press, 2000.
Bacon, Francis. Essays. Dent, 1958.
Bacon, Francis. “The Historie of the Raigne of King Henry the Seventh and Other Works of the 1620s.” In The Oxford Francis Bacon, Vol. 8. Oxford University Press, 2011.
Bacon, Francis. “The Instauratio Magna: Last Writings.” In The Oxford Francis Bacon, Vol. 13. Clarendon Press, 2000.
Bacon, Francis. “The Instauratio Magna: Part III: Historia Naturalis and Historia Vit.” In The Oxford Francis Bacon, Vol. 12. Clarendon Press, 2007.
Bacon, Francis. The Letters and Life of Francis Bacon. Edited by James Spedding. 7 vols. Works, Collected and Edited by James Spedding, Robert Leslie Ellis and Douglas Denon Heath,v. 8-14. London: Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, 1861.
Bacon, Francis. The Works. Edited by Robert Leslie Ellis, Douglas Denon Heath, and James Spedding. 15 vols. London, 1857.
Bacon, Francis. The Works. Edited by James Spedding, Robert Leslie Ellis, Douglas Denon Heath, and William Rawley. 15 vols. Boston: Taggard & Thompson, 1861. Francis Bacon.
Bacon, Francis. The Works. Edited by J. Spedding, R. L. Ellis, and D. D. Heath. 7 vols., 1889.
Secondary Sources about Bacon
Gaukroger, Stephen. “Experimental Natural Philosophy.” In The Emergence of a Scientific Culture: Science and the Shaping of Modernity, 1210-1685, 352–67. Oxford University Press UK, 2006.
This section of the book focuses on a large shift that happened in the community of natural philosophers in the 17th century, specifically a move toward experimental natural philosophy and a rejection of Aristotelianism. He largely credits the initial steps of this to Francis Bacon and discusses some of his theories but more where he fits into the discussion of that time and the shift in how natural philosophy was viewed in order to create our more modern world.
Hesse, M. B. “Francis Bacon’s Philosophy of Science.” In A Critical History of Western Philosophy, edited by D. J. O’Connor, 141–52. New York: Free Press, 1964.
This section of the book analyzes the major theoretical contributions of Francis Bacon in the realm of the philosophy of science, taking note of the assumptions made while also providing footnotes that give context to some of his points. Hesse skews more critically throughout the chapter, deconstructing some of Bacon’s most important arguments to show where they are unsound or fallacious. Despite this criticism, this section also gives Francis Bacon due credit and discusses his contributions and influence to both philosophy and the scientific field.
Malherbe, Michel. “Bacon’s Method of Science.” In The Cambridge Companion to Bacon, edited by Markku Peltonen, 75–98. Cambridge Companions to Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
This section of the book gives specific focus to the analysis of Bacon’s inductive and experiential methods of scientific learning and understanding. Malherbe gives this subject additional context as to what Bacon was responding to when he wrote it as well as just going through aspects of his theory. The author believes that it’s important to analyze Bacon’s theory despite his failures because of the importance of inductive reasoning which Bacon gave popularity to.
Urbach, Peter. Francis Bacon’s Philosophy of Science : An Account and a Reappraisal. La Salle, Ill. : Open Court, 1987.
Urbach’s book is an attempt to reexamine Francis Bacon from the lens of contemporary philosophy and scientific understanding in order to show his importance and relevance despite some of Bacon’s disproven theories and inconsistencies throughout his body of work. This book examines the current interpretations of Bacon and then tries to produce and consistent Baconian theory for use in the modern discussion of the Philosophy of Science by examining the criticized aspects of his work and giving them a more charitable interpretation.