Chapter 18 Section 05

one four Anyone can see from the above tables how impoverished we are in the history of nature and experiment; dubious credibility and authority) in place of proven history and proven examples, and is often compelled to use words such as "needs to be tested" or "further investigation is to be done". one five The work and tasks in the above three tables, I say, are examples for understanding. Once this work of enumerating examples has been done, induction must be put into action by itself.For having gone through all and one by one of those cases, the problem is to find the one that always exists and does not exist according to the presence or absence of the nature of the given, always increases or decreases with the increase or decrease of the quality of the given, and which, as mentioned above, becomes A quality of a particular episode underlying a more general quality. ①However, if the human mind from the very beginning does this work in the way it tends to do in its free-flowing state, ②then the result will be fantasies and speculations, and ill-defined If we have notions, we will be principles which need to be revised every day; and we must have, like the scholastics, a mind which struggles only for vanities. ③Of course, the results obtained will no doubt also depend on the faculties and strengths of the understanding at work.God, the Giver and Designer of the Forms, of course had a positive knowledge of the Forms directly from the beginning of speculation; and perhaps the same is true of the angels and other wise beings. ④ But this is undoubtedly something that humans cannot do; for humans, it can only be recognized that he starts from the negative things at the beginning, and finally reaches the positive things after exhausting the work of elimination. ① See Article 4 and Article 20 of Volume Two. - translator

②See volume 46, 1052. - translator ③ Fleur points out that this refers to debates in the scholastic schools, where both sides of an issue are defended, no matter how false or monstrous one of them may seem.Kachin also noted that Oxford University still retains the remains of this principle of debate when doing theological exercises. ④ It was a generally accepted doctrine at that time that all knowledge within the reach of angels was acquired at once.Kachin pointed out that this looks a lot like Plato.The so-called "wise man" is a noun in the school of scholasticism, which refers to the existence of a higher level of human beings, who can always know by nature without going through any process.People need to make negative investigations, which just shows the weakness of human intelligence.

- translator one six Therefore, we must make a complete decomposition and division of nature, not with fire, but with the heart, which can be said to be a kind of sacred fire.It would appear that the first work of true induction (in terms of the method of discovery) is to take the property which is present in a certain case and it does not, or the property which is present in a certain case. The quality which does not appear and which does appear, or the quality which in a certain case the given quality decreases and it increases, or the quality in which the given quality increases in a certain case and it decreases, is rejected or excluded. 1 Indeed, when this work of exclusion or exclusion has been properly done, after all frivolity has evaporated, there will in the end be left a solid, true, well-defined positive formula.This is easy to say, but the road to get there is tortuous and intricate.But I will try not to miss any point that will help us get there. ①For examples, see Volume 2, Article 18. - translator

one seven Since I have bestowed upon formulas such extraordinary functions, I will not hesitate to warn and admonish people not to apply what I have said to the formulas to which their speculations have hitherto been accustomed. ①①See Articles 51 and 56 of Volume 1. - translator First of all, what I am talking about now is not compound forms, not forms such as lion, eagle, rose, gold, and so on. As I have said, it is a combination of simple qualities according to the general course of the universe. ① That is to wait until we have entered into the hidden processes and hidden structures and discovered them in terms of their expression in so-called substances or concrete properties. ②①See Volume 2 and Article 5. - translator

②Fleur pointed out that Bacon had intended to make these inquiries in the subsequent part.See the last section of Volume 2, Article 21 and Article 52. - translator In the second place, even in terms of mere qualities, I hope that I will not be thought to be speaking of abstract forms and ideas which are either wholly undefined or ill-defined in matter. ①When I speak of formulas, I mean nothing but the laws and determinations of absolute reality, that is, the laws and determinations which govern and constitute any simple quality in any matter (such as heat, light, weight) and which can control these properties. The law and determination of what is felt.In this way, the so-called law of heat or light is the same thing as the law of heat or light.Besides, I never detach myself from the thing itself and the action.So when I say "reject rareness" or "rareness does not belong to the program of heat" in the program of studying heat

When , this is equivalent to saying "it is possible to add the property of heat to a dense object", or it is equivalent to saying "it is possible to remove or exclude the property of heat from a thin object". ① Kachin pointed out that this is a Platonic formula.A similar phrase was used by Bacon in "De Augmentis Scientiarum", Book III, Chapter IV. - translator It may be thought that what I mean by French is also somewhat abstract, since it mixes and connects many heterogeneous things (for example, the heat of the heavens and the heat of fire seem to be of a very different nature; roses or similar So it seems to be the case with the fixed redness of the rainbow, or with the redness which appears in opals or diamonds; and also with the different kinds of death, as drowning, hanging, stabbing, apoplexy, enfeebling, etc. ; but they are respectively identical in the qualities of heat, redness, and death).If any one holds this view, he may be assuredly told that his mind was captivated by custom, by the rough appearance of things, and by the opinions of men.Know that, however distinct and different those things may be, they are one in that law or law that governs heat, redness, and death; There is no possibility of emancipation from the general course of nature, no possibility of extension and enhancement to new efficiencies and new modes of action: these are beyond doubt.

But although on the one hand I have spoken of this unity of qualities,1 which is the most crucial point, on the other hand I shall go into the divisions and threads of qualities, both in general and in deeper and more subtle ways. Yes, they should be mentioned where they should be mentioned. ① See Volume 2 and Article 3. - translator one eight Now I will give an example of the method of elimination or exclusion with respect to some properties of the formula which are not belong to the heat as seen from the above three lists.At the same time, it should be pointed out that not only is each entire list sufficient to exclude any one property, but any particular case contained in each list is also sufficient.For from what has been said above, it is clear that any one contradictory instance is sufficient to overthrow a conjecture about the formula. ①However, for the sake of clarity and to show the usefulness of several tables more clearly, I sometimes use double or multiple cases to exclude them. ① This refers to the contrast between terrestrial nature and celestial nature.The scholastics believe that all earthly properties cannot be decomposed and reduced to one or more of the four elements, so they are also called elemental nature or elementary nature; while all celestial bodies are another completely different kind of substance (called elemental nature). composed of the fifth element).So Bacon said here that since the rays of the sun, one of the celestial bodies, are hot, the formula of the nature of heat cannot contain the nature of elements.

Fleur also noted in the last section of Article 20 of Volume II that recent analysis of the situation has shown that the so-called celestial objects and earthly or elemental objects are in fact roughly the same chemical synthesis.Kachin also pointed out at the same place that modern astronomy and chemistry have enabled us to judge that there is no material difference between the celestial bodies and the earth; Would expect something else. - translator Examples of excluding or repelling certain properties from the formula of heat (1) The properties of the four elements are rejected due to the sun's rays.

(ii) The nature of repelling the celestial bodies, due to fire in general, and chiefly to subterranean fires (which are the most distant and quite independent of the celestial rays). (3) Since objects of all kinds (minerals, plants, animal skins, water, oil, air, and others) gain warmth whenever they come near fire or other hot objects, specific or more subtle objects are rejected. organization. (4) Since burning iron or other metals transfer heat to other objects without losing their own weight or mass, it rejects the transfer or mixing of the mass of other hot objects. (5) Since boiling water and air, as well as metals and other solids, can be heated without burning or burning red, they reject light or light.

(6) Also due to the rays of the moon and other celestial bodies (except the rays of the sun), light and brightness are repelled. (7) Also due to the comparison between the burning iron and the alcohol flame (the former is more hot and less luminous, the latter is more luminous and less hot), so light and light are rejected. (8) Since burning gold and other metals have the greatest density on the whole, they reject rarity. (9) Also because the air is mostly cold but remains rare, it rejects rarity. (10) Since burning iron does not swell, but remains within its original perceptible volume, it rejects the proper or expanding motion of the body as a whole. ① Kachin pointed out that this is wrong.Iron expands when heated. - translator

(11) Also due to the expansion of air in the cold and heat meter or similar instruments, it is obvious that there is a proper movement or an expansion movement, but the heat does not increase significantly, ① so the standard movement or expansion movement of the object as a whole is rejected. ① Fleur pointed out that the only reason for the expansion of air is the increase in its temperature; but the amount of air contained in the thermometer is too small, and the increase in temperature is imperceptible.Bacon said in Volume 2, Article 3, Item 28 that air is the easiest to accept heat, but it is even more surprising that he made this mistake here. - translator (12) Since all bodies are easily heated without any destruction or perceptible change, the violent transmission of destructive properties or any new properties is rejected. (13) The refusal of motion of bodies as a whole, whether expanding or contracting, because of the coincidence and agreement of certain similar effects of heat and cold. (14) Since heat is caused by the friction of bodies, it rejects a self-subjective property. ①By quality for itself, I mean that which actively exists in the nature of things by itself, without being the result of any prior quality. ① Here, Bacon not only saw the modern theory of heat (that is, the theory of the power of heat——translator ), and also first saw the evidence on which the theory was based.Wensu (calorie, a plastid that has long been hypothesized to be the cause of heat—translator ) is proved not to exist, that is to say, heat is proved not to originate from a certain substance scattered in nature, mainly based on some experiments concerning friction.The discovery of this proof, according to Joule and Thomson (see "Contributions to Physical and Medical Knowledge" by Beddoes, pp. 14), is mainly attributed to Sir Humphrey Davy; but although Davy's experiments have avoided The source of the error was not noticed by Bacon, but he is still justly indebted to him for the observation of frictional heat. There are other properties which should be excluded; this list is not exhaustive, but is given only as an example. All and every property enumerated above is excluded from the formula of heat.When people act on heat, they can completely ignore them. one nine We have laid the foundation for true induction in the process of elimination, but true induction is not complete until a positive thing is obtained.The exclusion itself is by no means complete, nor could it have been at all in the beginning.For exclusion is obviously the rejection of certain simple qualities; and how can the process of exclusion be carried out accurately, since we have no solid and true concept of some simple qualities?Take some of the concepts in the above table (such as the properties of the four elements, the properties of celestial bodies, and the rarity), they are vague and unclear.Therefore, knowing full well and not forgetting the greatness of the work I am engaged in (to make the human understanding an adversary of things and of nature), I am not content to stop at the rules I have laid down, but to Still further devising and furnishing some more powerful aids for the use of the understanding, that is what I shall now elaborate on. I will show that, in interpreting nature, the mind should try to be so prepared and inclined to be in the When the appropriate stage and degree of exactness has established its footing and stops (especially at the beginning stage), it can also remember that what is present is largely dependent on what remains behind of.