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Evidently Bacon believed that in order for a genuine advancement of learning to occur, the prestige of philosophy and particularly natural philosophy had to be elevated, while that of history and literature in a word, humanism needed to be reduced. Meanwhile, poesy the domain of everything that is imaginable or conceivable is set off to the side as a mere illustrative vehicle. This notion of surpassing ancient authority is aptly illustrated on the frontispiece of the volume containing the New Organon by a ship boldly sailing beyond the mythical pillars of Hercules, which supposedly marked the end of the known world.
The New Organon is presented not in the form of a treatise or methodical demonstration but as a series of aphorisms, a technique that Bacon came to favor as less legislative and dogmatic and more in the true spirit of scientific experiment and critical inquiry. Bacon points out that recognizing and counteracting the idols is as important to the study of nature as the recognition and refutation of bad arguments is to logic.
Thus a Baconian idol is a potential deception or source of misunderstanding, especially one that clouds or confuses our knowledge of external reality. Bacon identifies four different classes of idol. Each arises from a different source, and each presents its own special hazards and difficulties. These are the natural weaknesses and tendencies common to human nature.
Because they are innate, they cannot be completely eliminated, but only recognized and compensated for. Unlike the idols of the tribe, which are common to all human beings, those of the cave vary from individual to individual. They arise, that is to say, not from nature but from culture and thus reflect the peculiar distortions, prejudices, and beliefs that we are all subject to owing to our different family backgrounds, childhood experiences, education, training, gender, religion, social class, etc. Like the idols of the cave, those of the theatre are culturally acquired rather than innate.
And although the metaphor of a theatre suggests an artificial imitation of truth, as in drama or fiction, Bacon makes it clear that these idols derive mainly from grand schemes or systems of philosophy — and especially from three particular types of philosophy:. According to Bacon, his system differs not only from the deductive logic and mania for syllogisms of the Schoolmen, but also from the classic induction of Aristotle and other logicians.
As Bacon rightly points out, one problem with this procedure is that if the general axioms prove false, all the intermediate axioms may be false as well. In effect, each confirmed axiom becomes a foothold to a higher truth, with the most general axioms representing the last stage of the process. Thus, in the example described, the Baconian investigator would be obliged to examine a full inventory of new Chevrolets, Lexuses, Jeeps, etc. And while Bacon admits that such a method can be laborious, he argues that it eventually produces a stable edifice of knowledge instead of a rickety structure that collapses with the appearance of a single disconfirming instance.
Indeed, according to Bacon, when one follows his inductive procedure, a negative instance actually becomes something to be welcomed rather than feared. For instead of threatening an entire assembly, the discovery of a false generalization actually saves the investigator the trouble of having to proceed further in a particular direction or line of inquiry. Meanwhile the structure of truth that he has already built remains intact. Although he himself firmly believed in the utility and overall superiority of his method, many of his commentators and critics have had doubts.
For one thing, it is not clear that the Baconian procedure, taken by itself, leads conclusively to any general propositions, much less to scientific principles or theoretical statements that we can accept as universally true. For at what point is the Baconian investigator willing to make the leap from observed particulars to abstract generalizations?
After a dozen instances? One can thus easily imagine a scenario in which the piling up of instances becomes not just the initial stage in a process, but the very essence of the process itself; in effect, a zealous foraging after facts in the New Organon Bacon famously compares the ideal Baconian researcher to a busy bee becomes not only a means to knowledge, but an activity vigorously pursued for its own sake.
Every scientist and academic person knows how tempting it is to put off the hard work of imaginative thinking in order to continue doing some form of rote research. The assessment is just to the extent that Bacon in the New Organon does indeed prescribe a new and extremely rigid procedure for the investigation of nature rather than describe the more or less instinctive and improvisational — and by no means exclusively empirical — method that Kepler, Galileo, Harvey himself, and other working scientists were actually employing.
In fact, other than Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer who, overseeing a team of assistants, faithfully observed and then painstakingly recorded entire volumes of astronomical data in tidy, systematically arranged tables, it is doubtful that there is another major figure in the history of science who can be legitimately termed an authentic, true-blooded Baconian. Science, that is to say, does not, and has probably never advanced according to the strict, gradual, ever-plodding method of Baconian observation and induction.
It proceeds instead by unpredictable — and often intuitive and even though Bacon would cringe at the word imaginative — leaps and bounds. Galileo tossed unequal weights from the Leaning Tower as a mere public demonstration of the fact contrary to Aristotle that they would fall at the same rate.
He had long before satisfied himself that this would happen via the very un-Bacon-like method of mathematical reasoning and deductive thought-experiment. Harvey, by a similar process of quantitative analysis and deductive logic, knew that the blood must circulate, and it was only to provide proof of this fact that he set himself the secondary task of amassing empirical evidence and establishing the actual method by which it did so.
One could enumerate — in true Baconian fashion — a host of further instances. But the point is already made: In summary, then, it can be said that Bacon underestimated the role of imagination and hypothesis and overestimated the value of minute observation and bee-like data collection in the production of new scientific knowledge. And in this respect it is true that he wrote of science like a Lord Chancellor, regally proclaiming the benefits of his own new and supposedly foolproof technique instead of recognizing and adapting procedures that had already been tested and approved.
On the other hand, it must be added that Bacon did not present himself or his method as the final authority on the investigation of nature or, for that matter, on any other topic or issue relating to the advance of knowledge. Like Leonardo and Goethe, he produced important work in both the arts and sciences. Like Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson, he combined wide and ample intellectual and literary interests from practical rhetoric and the study of nature to moral philosophy and educational reform with a substantial political career.
Like his near contemporary Machiavelli, he excelled in a variety of literary genres — from learned treatises to light entertainments — though, also like the great Florentine writer, he thought of himself mainly as a political statesman and practical visionary: Like nearly all public figures, he was controversial. Similarly adulatory if more prosaic assessments were offered by learned contemporaries or near contemporaries from Descartes and Gassendi to Robert Hooke and Robert Boyle. The response of the later Enlightenment was similarly divided, with a majority of thinkers lavishly praising Bacon while a dissenting minority castigated or even ridiculed him.
In a similar gesture, Kant dedicated his Critique of Pure Reason to Bacon and likewise saluted him as an early architect of modernity. Hegel, on the other hand, took a dimmer view.
While no historian of science or philosophy doubts his immense importance both as a proselytizer on behalf of the empirical method and as an advocate of sweeping intellectual reform, opinion varies widely as to the actual social value and moral significance of the ideas that he represented and effectively bequeathed to us. On the other hand, those who view nature as an entity in its own right, a higher-order estate of which the human community is only a part, tend to perceive him as a kind of arch-villain — the evil originator of the idea of science as the instrument of global imperialism and technological conquest.
He praises Bacon as the great inventor of the idea of science as both a communal enterprise and a practical discipline in the service of humanity. Clearly somewhere in between this ardent Baconolotry on the one hand and strident demonization of Bacon on the other lies the real Lord Chancellor: In the end we can say that he was one of the giant figures of intellectual history — and as brilliant, and flawed, a philosopher as he was a statesman. After being knighted by the king, he swiftly ascended the ladder of state and from filled a succession of high-profile advisory positions: Bacon may be cured in several ways, and may be smoked or unsmoked; unsmoked bacon is known as "green bacon".
The term bacon on its own generally refers to side bacon, which is the most popular type of bacon sold in the US. Back bacon is known as "Canadian bacon" or "Canadian-style bacon", and is usually sold pre-cooked and thick-sliced. The United States and Canada have seen an increase in the popularity of bacon and bacon-related recipes, dubbed " bacon mania ".
The sale of bacon in the US has increased significantly since Recipes spread quickly through both countries' national media , culinary blogs , and YouTube. Commentators explain this surging interest in bacon by reference to what they deem American cultural characteristics. Sarah Hepola, in a article in Salon. Hepola concludes by saying that "Bacon is American". Alison Cook, writing in the Houston Chronicle , argues the case of bacon's American citizenship by referring to historical and geographical uses of bacon.
On 1 February , The Ohio Pork Council released a report that demand for pork belly bacon product is outpacing supply. As of December national frozen pork belly inventory totaled Bacon dishes include bacon and eggs, bacon, lettuce, and tomato BLT sandwiches, Cobb salad , and various bacon-wrapped foods, such as scallops , shrimp , [40] [41] [42] and asparagus. Recently invented bacon dishes include chicken fried bacon , chocolate covered bacon , and the bacon explosion. Tatws Pum Munud is a traditional Welsh stew, made with sliced potatoes, vegetables and smoked bacon.
Bacon jam and bacon marmalade are also commercially available.
In the US and Europe, bacon is commonly used as a condiment or topping on other foods, often in the form of bacon bits. Streaky bacon is more commonly used as a topping in the US on such items as pizza , salads , sandwiches , hamburgers , baked potatoes , hot dogs , and soups.
In the US, sliced smoked back bacon is used less frequently than the streaky variety, but can sometimes be found on pizza, salads, and omelettes. Bacon fat liquefies and becomes bacon dripping when it is heated. Once cool, it firms into lard if from uncured meat, or rendered bacon fat if from cured meat. Bacon fat is flavourful and is used for various cooking purposes. Traditionally, bacon grease is saved in British and southern US cuisine , and used as a base for cooking and as an all-purpose flavouring, for everything from gravy to cornbread [45] to salad dressing.
If streaky pork belly bacon sliced in cubes is being used for lard preparation, as traditionally in Germany, the parts with higher melting temperatures are roasted and stay in the lard. The result is Griebenschmalz, a famous spread. Bacon, or bacon fat, is often used for barding roast fowl and game birds , especially those that have little fat themselves. Barding consists of laying rashers of bacon or other fats over a roast; a variation is the traditional method of preparing filet mignon of beef, which is wrapped in rashers of bacon before cooking.
The bacon itself may afterwards be discarded or served to eat, like cracklings. The fat and protein content varies depending on the cut and cooking method. Studies have consistently found the consumption of processed meat to be linked to increased mortality , and to an increased risk of developing a number of serious health conditions including cancer , cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. Several alternatives to and substitutes for bacon have been developed for those who cannot or prefer not to eat standard pork bacon. Turkey bacon is a popular alternative to bacon.
The meat for turkey bacon comes from the whole turkey and can be cured or uncured, smoked , chopped, and reformed into strips that resemble bacon. Macon is another alternative to bacon, produced by curing cuts of mutton in a manner similar to the production of pork bacon. Vegetarian bacon , also referred to as fakon , veggie bacon , or vacon , is a product marketed as a bacon alternative that is available in supermarkets.
Bacon Today states that bacon has a very valuable amount of protein that is "valuable to maintaining our energy levels and a fully functioning, healthy body". On the other hand, as with most meat products, producers of bacon have received heavy criticism for how their pigs are treated. Many petitions and protests have been made trying to raise awareness and change how producers treat their pigs.
Many of these protests have turned out successful: Walmart spokesperson Diana Gee said, " As soon as we were made aware of the allegations, we immediately reached out to Seaboard to begin investigating the issue Pending our review, we will take any action necessary.
The popularity of bacon in the United States has given rise to a number of commercial products that promise to add bacon flavouring without the labour involved in cooking it or the perceived negative qualities of bacon. Bacon bits are a frequently used topping on salad or potatoes, and a common element of salad bars. Bacon bits are made from small, crumbled pieces of bacon; [1] in commercial plants they are cooked in continuous microwave ovens.
Similar products are made from ham or turkey, and analogues are made from textured vegetable protein , artificially flavoured to resemble bacon. There is also a wide range of other bacon-flavoured products, including a bacon-flavoured salt Bacon Salt , [1] [69] Baconnaise a bacon-flavoured mayonnaise , [1] [70] Bacon Grill a tinned meat, similar to Spam and bacon ice cream. Bacon has been gaining popularity over the past decade.
Epic Meal Time , a cooking show based on YouTube , features bacon in many of their episodes. In one episode entitled Bacon Tree , Epic Meal Time creates a tree made out of bacon using over 2, strips of bacon. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the meat. For other uses, see Bacon disambiguation.
So there you have it, two unusual methods for making crispy bacon. Links to related articles. Today I Found Out. Archived from the original on 2 March Archived from the original on 22 March Small bacon cubes called "Grieben" or "Grammerln" in Austria and southern Germany have been a rather important ingredient of various southern German dishes. I like the cold oven method better.
Dietary recommendations for saturated fat and Health effects of salt. Bacon portal Food portal. Retrieved 30 April Plus it tastes good. In our grandparents and our parents day, they used the bacon fat to brown cut up cooked potatoes in. It give them a great flavor. Just use the bacon fat in place of shortning or oil. I put bacon on a cookie sheet lined with tin foil shiny side down , place it into a cold oven, turn it on degrees, and cook for between minutes I think I just check it every once in a while depending on thin or thick sliced.
We do not use a microwave for anything. This is how I cook our bacon, I place it in a cold oven and cook it that way. Hubs preheats the oven and cooks the bacon. I like the cold oven method better. We use one paper towel to contain any splatter and the plastic device goes easily into the dishwasher for cleanup. All the grease runs down and is collected in the Baconator for disposal or other use.
I bake it in the oven on a stoneware cookie sheet, and I pour off the grease to make gravy. It takes 20 minutes at degrees and the bacon comes out flat and crisp. You do need to blot with paper towels, but it takes a lot less. Because packaged bacon is usually not cut into evenly thin slices, it was difficult to have all the pieces come out evenly done. Since I freeze my bacon in individual slices there are only 2 of us in the household so this makes the bacon last longer , I threw it into the microwave frozen one day.
It comes out perfectly every time! Love reading all of your tips Jillee!!! Vote Up 1 Vote Down. Vote Up 0 Vote Down.