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Say several words about the writer, his role in philosophy, science and as a
cultural worker.
Paper Body:
Francis Bacon… A vivid and mysterious figure in the history of philosophy who acknowledged himself as the author of Shakespeare's works. And till our days more and more investigations are made to know if he really wrote the world famous masterpieces under the name of Shakespeare. Let this question be solved by the researches of Bacon's inheritance, as today we are more interested in one of his latest work "New Atlantis". Though it is not so famous as his other works such as "Novum Organum" but as well very important for the development of philosophy and literature.
Before starting to discuss "New Atlantis" I'd like to say a few words about him as a person and his philosophic ideas because they are closely connected with the discussed book.
Francis Bacon was a great man, despite his stormy life and mistakes. He was a contradictory person and we can only surprise by his combination of meanness, betrayal and bribery with deep thought. How often we use the expression "modern science" without even knowing that it was Bacon who made it such almost 400 years ago. This new modern science provided the foundation for modern political science, which completely separated religion and philosophy. For Bacon, nothing existed in the universe except individual bodies. Although he did not offer a complete theory of the nature of the universe, he pointed the way that science, as a new civil religion, might take in developing such a theory.
He was also the founder of new form of English materialism and all experimental science of that time. The main idea of his philosophy (as well as his works) - "knowledge is power". Francis Bacon managed to define precisely not exactly the aim of knowledge but its role in the future world of technology and above all - in capitalist England. He is acknowledged a genius because he laid the bases of scientific ideology.
In "New Atlantis" Francis Bacon writes about the role of science, about its neutrality. And no wonder that the main concept of his philosophy - true knowledge that gives people real power and possibility to change the face of the world.
If we decide to characterize the book in a few words we can say that it is a story about an imaginary place on the island, the people of which shut them off the rest of the world, declaring their State sacred and blessed by God. Even the name of their State Bensalem means, "perfect son" in Hebrew. Bensalem seems to combine the blessedness of Jerusalem and the pleasures and conveniences of Babylon.
The society of the New Atlantis is a scientific society. It is dominated by scientists and guided by science. It is important to note that the main task of its citizens is to secretly gather and bring in the latest knowledge and inventions of the world, which are of great importance for New Atlantis. They gather everything that world has on one island: richest gardens, deposits of mineral resources and precious stones, perfume houses, engine houses, different instruments for astrology, astronomy, even "certain chambers, which we call chambers of health, where we qualify the air as we think good and proper for the cure of divers diseases and preservation of health" and a lot of other things which we can hardly imagine.
Science is placed so high in Bensalem that instead of having statues of God and his works (although they think themselves as people, blessed by God), they erect statues of inventors of the western world. They do, however, have "certain hymns and services, which (we) say daily, of laud and praise to God for his marvelous works". Bacon states that there are religious laws that man must obey whether or not they appeared reasonable. But, even this is done "for the illumination of (their) labors and the turning of them into good and holy uses". Describing this Bacon wants to show us the turning point from religion to science and that science becoming the new civil religion. From this comes the ability of human rule over Nature.
The story tells us about the group of people who loose their way to China because of the winds, and after several days without provision they find a flat island about which they neither know nor hear. Several inhabitants of this land meet them and at first forbid them to land, but when they know that they are also Christians they give place for leaving and food to 51 people as well as the wonderful pills in order to help sick people recover very quickly. They are allowed to stay for six weeks, during which they know a lot of interesting facts about this mysterious and unknown to the rest of the world island. The more newcomers know the more surprised they are. One of the most wonderful thing is that the inhabitants know much about the world and its business and yet nobody in Europe (despite the latest discoveries) hears about it.
The first thing that astonish the heroes is that though this state is remote from civilization it has very highly developed knowledge and the latest inventions known in the world. The explanation is very simple: every twelve years the king of the island sends two ships with "three of the fellows or brethren of Salomon's House" whose aim is to bring "knowledge of the affairs and state of those countries to which they were designed; and especially of the sciences, arts, manufactures, and inventions of all the world; and withal to bring unto us books, instruments, and patterns in every kind"
