Francis Bacon introduced his contemporaries to a new way of investigating nature. He called it “natural and experimental history.” Despite its rather traditional name, Bacon’s natural and experimental history was a new discipline: it comprised new ideas, new practices and new models of collaborative research. This new discipline was, in many ways, a surprisingly successful project. It provided early modern naturalists with tools, methods and models for both investigating nature and writing about their subject. It also offered a set of norms and values for guiding research. And yet, this new discipline was not a science of nature — it was more like an art. This book aims to trace the emergence, evolution and reception of Francis Bacon’s art of experimental natural history.
BOOK REVIEW:
- Claire Crignon, in: Dix-Septieme Siecle. oct 2017, Vol. 69 Issue 277, p. 771-773
ISBN: 978-606-8266-92-3 (ebook)
ISBN: 978-606-8266-93-0 (paperback)
