The methodological foundation for the Scientific Revolution can be credited to English philosopher and statesman Francis Bacon (1561-1626) as much as to anyone else. Rejecting the medieval Aristotelianism still taught at university, he insisted on the necessity of inductive reasoning from a wide experimental basis as opposed to apriorist deductivism and generalizations over insufficient empirical data. His Novum Organum lays the foundation for the modern scientific method, though he did not leave enough room for hypothesis and for the mathematical—which was championed by Descartes. A devout Anglican, Bacon sought to unleash modern technological power for humanitarian reasons and to manifest divine creativity: “Knowledge is the rich storehouse for the glory of the Creator and the relief of man’s estate.”

Bacon was known during his lifetime in relation to the law and politics—his scientific, literary, and philosophical works were composed in his spare time. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth, he served as a liberal-minded reformer in Parliament. Under King James, he played a crucial role in the British colonization of North America, was elevated to the House of Lords (as Baron Verulam), and became Lord Chancellor in 1618. Created Viscount St. Albans in 1621, Bacon suffered a complete reversal of political fortune when he was convicted of bribery later that year, though this was a matter of scapegoating, as his indiscretion was not beyond the pale of accepted practice in his day. His fall from power freed Bacon up to write a great amount of literary material, as well as natural philosophy. The New Atlantis stems from this period.