WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
Novum organon renovatum / Being the second part of the philosophy of the inductive sciences cover

Novum organon renovatum / Being the second part of the philosophy of the inductive sciences

Chapter 3: NOVUM ORGANON RENOVATUM.
By William Whewell
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

Philosophy & EthicsResearch Methods/Statistics/Information Sys

About This Book

The author critiques and seeks to update Francis Bacon's program for a universal method of scientific discovery, arguing that while no mechanical art can produce invention or genius, studying historical scientific progress reveals recurring methods and principles. He surveys advances across the physical sciences to extract practical procedures—forms of induction, classification, gradation, use of curves, means, least squares, and residues—and offers guidance on observation, hypothesis-testing, and the interplay of ideas and facts. He emphasizes that metaphysical clarification accompanies empirical work, that different sciences require different approaches, and that method can refine but not replace individual sagacity in discovery.

 

NOVUM ORGANON RENOVATUM.

The name Organon was applied to the works of Aristotle which treated of Logic, that is, of the method of establishing and proving knowledge, and of refuting errour, by means of Syllogisms. Francis Bacon, holding that this method was insufficient and futile for the augmentation of real and useful knowledge, published his Novum Organon, in which he proposed for that purpose methods from which he promised a better success. Since his time real and useful knowledge has made great progress, and many Sciences have been greatly extended or newly constructed; so that even if Bacon’s method had been the right one, and had been complete as far as the progress of Science up to his time could direct it, there would be room for the revision and improvement of the methods of arriving at scientific knowledge.

Inasmuch as we have gone through the Histories of the principal Sciences, from the earliest up to the present time, in a previous work, and have also traced the History of Scientific Ideas in another work, it may perhaps be regarded as not too presumptuous if we attempt this revision and improvement of the methods by which Sciences must rise and grow. This 4 is our task in the present volume; and to mark the reference of this undertaking to the work of Bacon, we name our book Novum Organon Renovatum.

Bacon has delivered his precepts in Aphorisms, some of them stated nakedly, others expanded into dissertations. The general results at which we have arrived by tracing the history of Scientific Ideas are the groundwork of such Precepts as we have to give: and I shall therefore begin by summing up these results in Aphorisms, referring to the former work for the historical proof that these Aphorisms are true.