Circa 1214/1220 - Circa 1292
Natural Philosopher

Experimental Method. An early advocate of employing direct, accurate observation and related mathematical analysis to test the theories of earlier scientists, Roger Bacon also wrote important works on logic, semantics, and semiotics.

Education and Career. Little is known about Bacon's life. Some scholars believe he was born around 1220 while others place his birth date at about 1214. He studied at Oxford University and then began a career as a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris in about 1237. For about a decade he lectured there on Aristotle and pseudo-Aristotelian texts, and on the "new" logic, which was more complex than the old Aristotelian logic. Thirteenth-century scholars employed the new logic to develop a logica modernorum (modern logic), which involved some new methods of semantics. In about 1248 Bacon left teaching and for the next nine years devoted his financial resources to the...