| The broad theme underlying this dissertation is the relationship of Christianity to modern science and the civilization founded upon it. Francis Bacon (1561-1626) is one of the great architects of this scientific project, and perhaps, as he claimed, its very founder. Focusing largely upon The Great Instauration, The New Organon and The New Atlantis, I examine in particular the hope to which Bacon's scientific project directs us, comparing it with the Christian hope. Hope is a feature which is inherent in each, and the difference between these hopes indicates the difference in spirit and character which separates them.; The Christian hope, by contrast, is God Himself, the highest good, and is from Him. The hope which Bacon presents is the conquest of nature through modern natural science for the relief of our earthly estate. It is as boundless as the nature of things allows, and entirely self-reliant. By obeying nature, i.e. her true laws of operation brought to light by the inductive method, we may command her. Bacon's hope, however, requires a political dimension. Specifically human nature, and thus morals and politics, must also be conquered. This raises the obvious difficulty of moral guidance not only in these particular fields but in the project as a whole.; In New Atlantis, where this hope is proclaimed, we see a happy land: bodily comforts and conveniences, extraordinary humanity, religious and civil peace, honours for the ambitious. While the European travellers are mesmerized, Bacon himself is more sober. Dark features lurk beneath the surface of the tale: dreadful inventions, excess, deception and control.; While the fantastic capacity of this science for supplying basic human needs cannot be denied, it comes at a political and spiritual cost. Political life becomes exceedingly perilous and scientific accomplishment worthless when the scope of innovation becomes boundless, unrestrained even by moral scruple and religious tradition. Furthermore, while the fruits of this science clearly facilitate acts of charity, the philosophic pre-suppositions of that science and the orientation which it requires and engenders undermine the Faith by jeopardizing the spiritual concerns which are decisive for Christianity. |
