The Lost City: Examining the Relationship Between Science
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2012 The lost city: examining the relationship between science, philosophy and the Atlantis myth Kimberly Hurd Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Hurd, Kimberly, "The lost city: examining the relationship between science, philosophy and the Atlantis myth" (2012). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 3585. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/3585 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. THE LOST CITY: EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE, PHILOSOPHY AND THE ATLANTIS MYTH A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Political Science by Kimberly Hurd B.A., Washington and Lee University, 2005 M.A., Boston College, 2007 August 2012 To Lexington ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank every professor I have had throughout my undergraduate and graduate education. I would especially like to Eduardo Velasquez for introducing me to the study of political philosophy, and James R. Stoner, Jr. for seeing me through to the end. This dissertation would not have happened without them. Thank you to the members of my dissertation committee for their guidance and insights. I would also like to thank my friends and family for their support. Lastly, thank you to my husband Matt, for countless hours spent convincing me that one day I would finish this thing… iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………….………….iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS…….……………………………………………………………………………………………….v ABSTRACT………………………….…………………………………………………………………….……………………….vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………………….……………1 2 PLATO’S ATLANTIS………………………….………………………………………………………….……..…15 3 BACON’S PROJECT: THE NEW ATLANTIS IN CONTEXT..............................................39 4 THE MIND AND THE BODY: CRITIQUING THE SOCIETY OF BENSALEM……………….……72 5 THE RULE OF SCIENTISTS……………………………………………………………………………………...118 6 SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND THE FOUNDING OF MODERN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY………………………………………………………………………………………….……147 7 CONCLUSION: THE LIMITS OF ENLIGHTENMENT….……………………………….….……….…168 BIBLIOGRAPHY……………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………175 VITA……………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………..…………..179 iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS The following abbreviations will be used throughout the text in reference to Francis Bacon’s works: AL = Advancement of Learning Essays = The Essays (third edition) GI = Great Instauration History = History of the Reign of Henry VII NA = New Atlantis NO = Novum Organum (New Organon) WoA = Wisdom of the Ancients v ABSTRACT Francis Bacon, long considered a minor figure in the founding of modern political thought, is now recognized as one of its foremost thinkers. Bacon not only championed a new type and method of scientific inquiry, he also developed a plan for how modern society could be re-ordered to accommodate and promote scientific progress. Bacon’s scientific writings cannot be wholly understood apart from his political writings, and many of his works combine the two topics so subtly that it is difficult to even place them in a definitive category. My project expands on the previous literature with a detailed analysis of the New Atlantis, which marks Bacon’s turn to a poetic form in presenting the final image of his new science and the possible political consequences of science’s ambition. I examine the place of the New Atlantis in Bacon’s larger project and Bacon’s place in the founding of modern political philosophy, briefly showing the ways his thought relates to Plato, Machiavelli and Hobbes. While the link between modern science and liberalism is not immediately clear, my project demonstrates that a clear thread can be found linking the two. Bacon’s demonstration of scientific rule in the New Atlantis is not meant as a blueprint for modern society; rather it shows us the dangers of a scientific society devoid of liberty. I begin my project by asking why Bensalem is considered an Atlantis by Bacon. Does it represent a correction of Plato’s ancient myth and by extension Plato himself, as has been argued by the leading studies of the matter? Or does it, as I argue, show the limits of science’s ability to shape a society without destroying it? By examining what is troubling about the New Atlantis, I can explain what problems lead to the emergence of Atlantean societies, i.e. societies that are prosperous, ambitious, and doomed. My project shows that Bacon’s portrait of Bensalem may provide the light necessary to guide those of us living in a world shaped by modern science through the dangerous seas. vi CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION From these and all along errors of the way in which our wandering predessors went, And like th' old Hebrews many years did stray In deserts but of small extent Bacon, like Moses, led us forth at last. The barren wilderness he past, Did on the very border stand Of the blest promis'd land, And from the mountain's top of his exalted wit, Saw it himself and shew'd us it. ---- Abraham Cowley (1667)1 Long considered a minor figure in the founding of modern political thought, Francis Bacon (1561-1626) is now recognized as one of its foremost thinkers. Bacon not only championed a new type and method of scientific inquiry, he also developed a plan for how modern society could be re-ordered to accommodate and promote scientific progress. Unlike most political philosophers, Bacon actively engaged in the task of governing. Bacon served as Lord Chancellor under James I from 1618-1621, when he was removed from office amidst accusations of receiving bribes. In fact, Joseph Cropsey maintains that Bacon is “the only philosophic man of first rank to have come so close to regality as in fact to have sat vicegerent while the monarch was absent from the realm.”2 Bacon’s tenure as Lord Chancellor is perhaps the closest the world has come to witnessing a philosopher king. It ended with Bacon in disgrace, exiled from court. He continued writing after his dismissal; the History of the Reign of Henry VII, the expanded edition of the Essays, and the New Atlantis were all written during this time, though the New Atlantis was not published until after his death. Bacon’s attempt to personally guide the political development of England failed, but his political and philosophical influence resonates throughout the centuries. Bacon’s scientific writings cannot be wholly understood apart from his political writings, and many of his works combine the two topics so subtly that it is difficult to even place them in a definitive 1 Cowley, “Ode to the Royal Society”. 2 Cropsey, p. 14 1 category. In recent decades, several exemplary students of political philosophy have turned their attention to Bacon’s thought. Their efforts demonstrate the scope and success of Bacon’s plan for a new scientific Europe, as well as pointing to the doubts that Bacon himself harbored about such a future. My project expands on their efforts with a detailed analysis of the New Atlantis, which marks Bacon’s turn to a poetic form to present the final image of his new science and the possible political consequences of science’s ambition. I examine the place of the New Atlantis in Bacon’s larger project and Bacon’s place in the founding of modern political philosophy, briefly showing the ways his thought relates to Plato, Machiavelli and Hobbes. While the link between modern science and liberalism is not immediately clear, my project demonstrates that a clear thread can be found linking the two. Bacon’s demonstration of scientific rule in the New Atlantis is not meant as a blueprint for modern society; rather it shows us the dangers of a scientific society devoid of liberty. The New Atlantis serves as the apex of Bacon’s Great Instauration, his plan for establishing a modern science that could serve as the basis for a new kind of political society. Unlike his other works, the New Atlantis is fiction. It tells of a company of European sailors stranded on a previously unknown island called Bensalem. This island appears to be a land of miraculous technology and wealth. It is ruled by a scientific institute called Salomon’s House. The New Atlantis initially reads as a utopian tale; it references Plato’s Atlantis myth and presents Bensalem as an improvement on the old Atlantean society. Upon closer examination, however, Bacon’s portrait of scientific rule becomes more troubling, and further removed from the type of society he advocates elsewhere. His actual proposed society would not differ externally from the traditional one of England, but would be governed internally by scientific principles and be dedicated to furthering man’s understanding of the natural world and human nature. The New Atlantis presents his vision of where his current course could lead; it expresses both his great hope and his deep reservations. It is not merely a way to make his philosophy palatable to the 2 public; the poetic form