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Francis Bacon's New Atlantis in the Foundation of Modern Political Thought
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2013
Summary
Francis Bacon, long considered a minor figure in the founding of modern political thought, is now recognized as one of its foremost thinkers. Bacon not only championed a new type and method of scientific inquiry, he also developed a plan for how modern society could be re-ordered to accommodate and promote scientific progress. Bacon’s scientific writings cannot be wholly understood apart from his political writings, and many of his works combine the two topics so subtly that it is difficult to even place them in a definitive category; in this book, Kimberly Hurd Hale identifies the thread in Bacon’s body of work that links modern science and liberalism.
Hale provides a detailed analysis of New Atlantis, examining Bacon’s place in the founding of modern political philosophy and the ways he relates to Plato, Machiavelli, and Hobbes. Hurd argues that Bacon’s demonstration of scientific rule in the New Atlantis is not meant as a blueprint for modern society; rather it shows us the dangers of a scientific society devoid of liberty. By examining what is troubling about the New Atlantis, this book explains what problems lead to the emergence of Atlantean societies, i.e. societies that are prosperous, ambitious, and doomed. It shows that Bacon’s portrait of Bensalem may provide the light necessary to guide those of us living in a world shaped by modern science through the dangerous seas.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2013
ISBN-Print
978-0-7391-8150-8
ISBN-Online
978-0-7391-8151-5
Publisher
Lexington, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
151
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Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Contents No access
List of Abbreviations No access
Acknowledgments No access
1 Introduction No access Pages 1 - 12
2 Plato’s Atlantis No access Pages 13 - 32
3 Bacon’s Project No access Pages 33 - 60
4 The Mind and the Body No access Pages 61 - 96
5 The Rule of Scientists No access Pages 97 - 118
6 Science, Technology, and the Founding of Modern Political Philosophy No access Pages 119 - 138
