Francis Bacon and the Relation between Theology and Natural Philosophy

Abstract

The Reformation in European history was an attempt to remove ecclesiastical authority from political (or secular) authority and culture – a process called secularisation. During the eighteenth and especially nineteenth centuries, however, secularisation gained a different meaning, which is, briefly stated, evolving from religiousness to irreligiousness. Instead of referring to becoming free from religious tutelage, it began to refer to the total isolation of societies from religion. For those who saw secularisation as atheism, having ideas which were supportive of secularisation and having a religious basis was contradictory. For example, Francis Bacon was interpreted as non-secular due to his usage of the Bible as his reference to justify his ideas regarding the liberation of science from theology. Contrarily, in this paper, I argue that Bacon’s philosophy of nature is secular. To do this, alongside addressing Biblical references presented in his works, I will also explore how Bacon freed natural (or secular) knowledge from religious influences by removing final causes from natural philosophical inquiries.