Springer Francis Bacon on Motion and Power: 218 (International Archives of the History of Ideas Archives internationales d'histoire des idées, 218)

This book offers a comprehensive and unitary study of the philosophy of Francis Bacon, with special emphasis on the medical, ethical and political aspects of his thought. It presents an original interpretation focused on the material conditions of nature and human life. In particular, coverage in the book is organized around the unifying theme of Bacon’s notion of appetite, which is considered in its natural, ethical, medical and political meanings. The book redefines the notions of experience and experiment in Bacon’s philosophy of nature, shows the important presence of Stoic themes in his work as well as provides an original discussion of the relationships between natural magic, prudence and political realism in his philosophy. Bringing together scholarly expertise from the history of philosophy, the history of science and the history of literature, this book presents readers with a rich and diverse contextualization of Bacon’s philosophy. Review “Francis Bacon on Motion and Power gathers twelve contributions by the best specialists of Baconian thought in Europe, the United States, and South America in a very unified manner. … As Giglioni underlines in a very concise and striking sentence, Bacon offers a “critique of impure reason”. It is no small merit of this volume that it helps us grasp the originality and specificity of one of the major thinkers of early modernity.” (Claire Crignon, Journal of the History of Philosophy, Vol. 56 (03), July, 2018) From the Back Cover This book offers a comprehensive and unitary study of the philosophy of Francis Bacon, with special emphasis on the medical, ethical and political aspects of his thought. It presents an original interpretation focused on the material conditions of nature and human life. In particular, coverage in the book is organized around the unifying theme of Bacon’s notion of appetite, which is considered in its natural, ethical, medical and political meanings. The book redefines the notions of experience and experiment in Bacon’s philosophy of nature, shows the important presence of Stoic themes in his work as well as provides an original discussion of the relationships between natural magic, prudence and political realism in his philosophy. Bringing together scholarly expertise from the history of philosophy, the history of science and the history of literature, this book presents readers with a rich and diverse contextualization of Bacon’s philosophy. About the Author Guido Giglioni is the Cassamarca Lecturer in Neo-Latin Cultural and Intellectual History at the Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London. He has published on Jan Baptiste van Helmont (Immaginazione e malattia, Milan 2000) and Francis Bacon (Francesco Bacone, Rome 2011), and edited a volume on Francis Glisson’s manuscript papers (Cambridge 1996). He has written a number of articles on Renaissance philosophy and medicine, on such authors as Marsilio Ficino, Girolamo Cardano and Tommaso Campanella. He is currently working on Francis Bacon’s philosophy (ERC Starting Grant ‘Francis Bacon and the Medicine of the Mind’). James A.T. Lancaster is an intellectual historian, who received his PhD from the Warburg Institute in London. He is currently a Teaching Fellow in the Department of History at Royal Holloway, where he is in the process of writing a book on the interrelation of religion and the natural world in the thought of Francis Bacon. In addition, as a board member of the Oxford Francis Bacon (OFB), James has been responsible for compiling the most comprehensive bibliography to date of both editions of the works of, and secondary sources on, Francis Bacon. His publications include: ‘The Semantic Structure of Evolutionary Biology as an Argument Against Intelligent Design’ in Zygon: The Journal of Religion and Science; ‘Natural Knowledge as a Propaedeutic to Self-Betterment: Francis Bacon and the Transformation of Natur