Matter?s quantity and the order of nature in Francis Bacon

SILVIA MANZO

Bucarest

Conferencia; Lunch-Seminar; 2016

Institute for Research in the Humanities (IRH-ICUB), Universidad de Bucarest

I shall delve into Bacon?s concept of the summary law of nature. I will show that Bacon?s concept of the summary law of nature merges a materialistic and a providential import. The first one appears in the content of the summary law of nature as entailing that matter?s appetite for self-conservation rules body transformations in terms of proportional changes in matter?s quantity. This materialistic import, however, is complemented with the providential import according to which matter needs the legislative command of God for the ordered world to occur. From this interpretation, I will contend that Baconian matter is not plenipotentiary, because the summary law of nature imposes rules on matter?s transformations possibilities in accordance with God?s design for nature. Finally, I will set Bacon?s concept of the summary law of nature against the background of the early modern views on the laws of nature, in order to evaluate its historical relevance.