On Bacon's criticism and inheritance of ancient wisdom
CHENG Zhimin
Abstract：As a buccinator of modern science,Francis Bacon held a unique"River"theory in his view of history,which denied the absolute authority of the ancients in intellectual knowledge,and criticized those moderns who regarded ancient wisdom as the sole truth.This seemingly extreme view led many scholars to define Bacon as a mere"anti-ancient"or"radical modern".However,after in-depth investigation of Bacon's historical situation and his thought between the lines,we find that Bacon's destruction of historical authority is not meant to prove that modern people were superior to the ancients,but to make modern people completely detach himself from the empty and lofty speculation of the ancients,and no longer have blind faith in the ancient idols that have been deified by later generations.In Bacon's view,the criterion for judging excellence and inferiority is not the antiquity or modernity of history,but the ability to get close to nature and the things themselves,because only the"light of nature"can lead us to stand firm in the new world.
Keywords：Francis Baconview of historyquarrel of the ancients and the modernsreformation
Publication Date：2025-03-15
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：9( 1-8,70 )