Bacon’s scientific program chiefly benefited the middle-class male entrepreneur.
Evidence
Bacon has been eulogized as the originator of the concept of the modern research institute, a philosopher of industrial science, the inspiration behind the Royal Society (1660), and as the founder of the inductive method by which all people can verify for themselves the truths of science by the reading of nature’s book. But from the perspective of nature, women, and the lower orders of society emerges a less favorable image of Bacon and a critique of his program as ultimately benefiting the middle-class male entrepreneur. Bacon, of course, was not responsible for subsequent uses of his philosophy. But, because he was in an extremely influential social position and in touch with the important developments of his time, his language, style, nuance, and metaphor become a mirror reflecting his class perspective. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 657
Categorization
- XREF: Directly relevant to the law/institutions thread: how legal and epistemic authority serve emerging class interests. — connects to: Bacon’s science reinforced early capitalism’s growth and progress tendencies — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 740; Bacon’s scientific program served capitalist and state interests, not the poor’s — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 701; Bacon welded natural magic, mining, and patriarchy into an ethic of nature exploitation. — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature: Women, Ecology,…, 656
Broader Connections
- Bacon’s scientific program served capitalist and state interests, not the poor’s
#corroborates(0.88) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 701 - Bacon’s science reinforced early capitalism’s growth and progress tendencies
#corroborates(0.85) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 740 - Bacon welded natural magic, mining, and patriarchy into an ethic of nature exploitation.
#expands(0.75) — Carolyn Merchant, The Death of Nature, 656