Primary sourceBook1620
The Great Instauration
Francis Bacon · 1620
Bacon's 1620 plan for renewing human knowledge, laying out his vision for science and learning.
Bacon's own 1620 text setting out his programme for reforming science and knowledge.
About this source
What it is
This is the full text of The Great Instauration, written by Francis Bacon in 1620. It sets out his plan for rebuilding human knowledge on new foundations.
Why it matters
Bacon argued that the human mind had been getting in its own way for centuries, relying on faulty methods instead of careful observation. This work is one of the clearest statements of his project to reform science, and it shaped how later thinkers approached the study of nature.
Look closer
- Why does Bacon address both present and future generations in his opening?
- What problems does he say the human intellect creates for itself?
- How does his language suggest confidence in a new method?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Francis Bacon on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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