프랜시스 베이컨과 자연의 수사학

Abstract

Francis Bacon was one of the most important people in our discussing the natural science and the scientific method in the bridging era between Renaissance and early modern. The influence of his thought and works on the early modern scientists, including Newton, Boyle, Hooke, and countless other continental scientists, was stronger than what we know. Today we approve the authority of science and hold scientists in respect. This was not true in the middle and the early modern ages. The dramatic shift of the common attitude on science and scientist, I argue, was possible through the efforts of Francis Bacon. In this paper I question how he succeeded in public communication, changed the attitude of contemporaries, and acquired the social identity of science and scientist. I argue that the great success of Bacon was depending on the his rhetoric. He made active use of rhetorical strategy to communicate with contemporaries. The 'Instuaratio Magna', compared to restoration of the lost paradise, the 'book of nature', to the 'book of God', the 'scientia potentia', to the pure knowledge of Adam, are the examples.