Written by Nethra Singhi
The Philosophy of Education is a reflection on the nature, aims and problems of education. It is a branch of applied philosophy that borrows from epistemology, metaphysics, language etc. It looks at both the theoretical and practical aspects of education from a philosophical angle. Now, because educational practice is so vast and varied around the world, there are, of course, variations in the philosophy of education as well.
This series of articles aims at analysing the different theories on education famous philosophers across history had and their application in the modern education system. This article discusses the impact of Roger Bacon in scientific, linguistic and theological studies in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Roger Bacon’s Philosophy
Roger Bacon was an English Franciscan philosopher and educational reformer who was a major mediaeval proponent of experimental science. He was most famously known for being a commentator and translator of Aristotelian philosophy and taught Aristotle’s natural philosophy and metaphysics in university. Although his later works took a turn towards independent scholarship and educational reform, Bacon’s thoughts remained essentially Aristotelian.
Bacon believed that the sciences, maths and astronomy were connected to everyday life, that there had to be utility and practicality in all scientific efforts. He held that there are two aspects of scientific knowledge: implicit, which deals with the knowledge of the principles of science, and explicit, which is the knowledge of conclusions. There was experientia (experience), that all animals had, and then there was experimentum (experiment), a science of principles based on this experience that only humans have. Thus, according to him, “Human art is acquired and is a science of principles based on experience.”
Roger Bacon’s Reform of University Education in the Thirteenth Century
Today, Bacon is remembered for his model on reforming philosophical, scientific and theological studies by incorporating language studies, mathematics and experimental science. His contribution lies not so much in contributing to the sum of knowledge but in his work on fruitful lines of research and methods of experimental study.
The reform of education and society was an important theme in Bacon’s later works. He was influenced by the geopolitical situation of the time (the Mongol invasion of Europe and spreading Islamic influence). Bacon drew connections between the state of affairs in the academy and the state of affairs in society, and believed that the ultimate purpose of academic study was to improve society.
He thought that knowledge and learning were not private affairs, but had a socio-political dimension. Thus he persuaded that the sciences, both secular and divine, should help increase happiness in human society and guide it towards achieving salvation. He believed that “vain and useless academic practice was the cause of the ecclesiastic corruptions of pride, greed, and lust.”
The scholastic practice of his time, according to Bacon, was corrupted by greed and pride. He offered a structural critique of this practice in universities and said that they were too focused on logic and a particular way of grammar that didn’t include the study of foreign languages. He believed university teachers were too vain and conformed to existing teaching norms that were increasingly becoming futile. Bacon believed that neither the philosophy nor the theology of his time adequately embodied the wisdom God gave humans.
He thus proposed a reform program to Pope Clement IV that included theology and most philosophical disciplines. Bacon advocated that the existing curriculum be extensively modified and that translations of philosophical works be done by scholars who were experts in both language and theological material. He wanted to implement disciplines he considered were of real value and contributed to actual learning that his contemporaries were not focused on. These subjects include perspective (optics), experimental science, and alchemy.
The five main scientific disciplines according to Bacon’s reform program were the science of languages. Perspective, moral philosophy, experimental science and alchemy, along with mathematics, which he thought was essential to learn the above five. He believed that the existing scholars and university curriculum neglected or wrongly taught these sciences and thus provided a futile education that led to the corruptions of pride, greed, and lust within the clergy and political rulers. These five sciences, according to Bacon, were more conducive to the advancement of the mind, the body, and society than some of the sciences preferred by his contemporaries, such as logic.
The Impact of Bacon’s Works
Roger Bacon set out themes in his philosophy of language, philosophy of nature, and moral philosophy and theology that influenced fourteenth century writers such as Duns Scotus and William of Ockham, among others and was one of the founding thoughts of early modern philosophy.
However, his works and writings were not given importance until much later, because he was rejected by his contemporaries. Hence research on him is limited and only received interest in the late 1900s. A lot of his work is yet to be studied and critically and historically evaluated, but Bacon is regarded for his strategic scientific vision that aimed at improving humanity.
References
Antolic-Piper, P., 2022. Bacon, Roger. [online] Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Available at: <https://iep.utm.edu/bacon-ro/#H6> [Accessed 8 March 2022].
Crowley, Theodore. “Roger Bacon”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1 Jan. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Roger-Bacon. Accessed 7 March 2022.
Hackett, Jeremiah M. G. “Moral Philosophy and Rhetoric in Roger Bacon.” Philosophy & Rhetoric, vol. 20, no. 1, Penn State University Press, 1987, pp. 18–40, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40237493.
Hackett, Jeremiah. “Roger Bacon.” (2007).
Hackett, Jeremiah. “Roger Bacon on the Classification of the Sciences.” Roger Bacon and the Sciences. Brill, 1997. 49–65.
Mantovani, Mattia. “The First of All Natural Sciences: Roger Bacon on Perspectiva and Human Knowledge.” Vivarium 59.3 (2021): 186–214.
Polloni, N. and Kedar, Y., 2021.” The philosophy and science of Roger Bacon.” Routledge.
