著者

下野 葉月

出版者

日本科学史学会

雑誌

科学史研究 (ISSN:21887535)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.50, no.257, pp.11-17, 2011 (Released:2021-07-22)

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Francis Bacon, known for his modern enterprise to isolate philosophy from theology, had religious motivations embedded in his "new philosophy." How was he able to balance this ostensible contradiction ? fn examining this issue, I will reconsider his definition of theology and philosophy, as well as what he considered the ominous mixture of the two. Central to this examination would be his idea of "reason" and how he thought it should be applied to philosophical and theological endeavors respectively : while reason is confined to its "secondary" or relative use in drawing theological lessons, in natural philosophy, its "primary" or absolute use is allowed to illuminate boundless realm of knowledge. I argue that he made the definition of theology and philosophy clear to achieve some religious ends : first to dissipate religious contentions of the time, secondly to criticize the widespread Paracelsian interpretation of Genesis, and lastly to establish his "new philosophy." In order to fully understand his program for the reform of learning, the often forgotten domain of theology must be taken into account. Only then does it become possible to approach the uniqueness of his "new philosophy."