Philosophical Methods: Bacon, Galileo, and Descartes

Philosophers Who Have Spoken of Methods

Francis Bacon

According to Francis Bacon, the purpose of knowledge is dominion over nature and transformation for the benefit of man. Through science, human beings must be able to establish on Earth "his kingdom or domain." This domain first requires a deep understanding of nature and its mechanisms. In his work, the English philosopher sought to overcome the inductive method of Aristotle (syllogism) by replacing it with a new inductive method. The inductive procedure is only effective if one first identifies and rejects prejudice.

Galileo Galilei

The experimental method of Galileo was presented and made public in the book Il Saggiatore, the most philosophical of his works. This method is divided into the following steps:

• Mathematization of nature: All natural phenomena must correspond to numbers if we are to have reliable knowledge.
• The formulation of hypotheses: Before immersing ourselves in reality, hypotheses must be formulated to explain the natural events we observe, and these hypotheses must be expressed mathematically. That is why Galileo's method is often called the hypothetical-deductive method.
• Test or experimental resolution: This involves contrasting the consequences deduced from the hypothesis with reality. In principle, if the tests are positive, it indicates that the hypothesis is true; if the results are negative, the hypothesis is false.

René Descartes

The problem that concerned Descartes was the foundation of knowledge: How do I move forward on the road to knowledge with safety? He recognized the many errors that, over the centuries, had been presented and defended as unquestionable truths. If human reason is useful and effective, then what was the cause of previous philosophical mistakes? If human reason is the same, why can't science and philosophy advance? According to Descartes, science has a method that allows for secure knowledge, but philosophy lacks a proper method. In the Discourse on the Method (1637), Descartes sets out four fundamental rules of his method: evidence (intuition), analysis, synthesis (deduction), and enumeration.

1. First rule: Never accept anything as true without knowing it obviously is.
2. Second: Divide each of the difficulties to be examined into as many parts as possible and as necessary to resolve them best.
3. Third: Conduct my thoughts in order, starting with the simplest objects and the easiest to understand, to ascend slowly to the knowledge of the complex.
4. Fourth: Make enumerations so complete and reviews so general that I would be sure not to omit anything.