How did Francis Bacon argue that observation should be used to gain knowledge of nature?

In the context of Western philosophy, Francis Bacon argued that knowledge of nature must be gained through a methodical, empirical approach rather than reliance on tradition or "fanciful guessing." He proposed that the "true business of philosophy" is the fresh examination of particulars through a rigorous process of inductive reasoning.123

To ensure observation leads to valid knowledge, Bacon introduced the Baconian method, which requires the following steps:

• Clearing the Mind: One must first discard prejudices and preconceptions—which he termed "idols of the mind"—to prevent errors in judgment.14
• Tables of Discovery: Facts are organized into three types of tables:
  • Presence: Instances where a property is found.13
  • Absence: Similar cases where the property is missing.13
  • Degree: Instances where the property varies in intensity.13
• Elimination: By comparing these tables, one rejects connections that do not hold, allowing for the discovery of true causes and "forms" of natural phenomena.13

Bacon emphasized that induction must work by elimination rather than simple enumeration, stressing the importance of the "negative instance" to disprove false generalizations.3