Francis Bacon Research Articles

Scientific Knowledge in Bacon Philosophy: Insights from Dialectical Materialism

Francis Bacon occupies a central position in the history of the philosophy of science, representing a pivotal shift from medieval to early modern scientific thought. Therefore, in the contemporary context, understanding Bacon's philosophy is crucial for appreciating the foundations of modern science and its ongoing evolution. The purpose of the article is to examine the enduring relevance of Francis Bacon's philosophy of science, particularly in the context of his emphasis on empirical methodology, experimentation, and the socio-cultural dimensions of scientific knowledge. By analyzing Bacon's contributions, the study aims to elucidate his methodological innovations and their implications for contemporary scientific practice and theory. The work uses thematic and comparative analysis to determine the role of F. Bacon's philosophy in the analysis of the concept of knowledge.The research highlights Bacon's seminal contributions to the philosophy of science, emphasizing his advocacy for empirical methodology, systematic experimentation, and the socio-cultural context of scientific inquiry. By critiquing the methodological limitations of scholastic philosophy and advocating for a methodological overhaul grounded in experience and observation, Bacon laid the groundwork for modern experimental science. In the conclusion, his integration of dialectical materialism and interdisciplinary perspectives underscores the significance of collective scientific endeavor and the foundational role of natural history in establishing the ontological basis of scientific knowledge. By elucidating Bacon's vision for a science that serves the general welfare of society, the study underscores the continued importance of his insights for addressing contemporary challenges and advancing scientific knowledge for the betterment of humanity.

Why Should Mainstream Social Researchers Be Interested in Action Research?

The essay tries to argue why conventional researchers are obliged as researchers to be interested in certain forms of action research. The 60 years of ignorance have been illegitimate. The essay starts by listing two commonly encountered arguments paraphrasing Karl Marx and Francis Bacon via Kurt Lewin. It tries to show why a certain simplified reading of Marx cannot provide the necessary arguments. It then presents different variants of action research in order to single out approaches that according to this author require attention from mainstream social researchers. The action research approach emerging as central, by demonstrating its presence and effectiveness within mainstream research as well, is immanent critique. The method of research methodology is immanent critique. Immanent critique has to be demystified, however. When it is brought down to earth, immanent critique is really the kind of dialogical and experiential learning approach associated with apprenticeship learning and with organisational learning. This conclusion, making self-reflective practitioner-research the “hard-core” of action research, even internal to mainstream research, also requires a revision of the experimentalist-as-interventionist credo of action research.

Francis Bacon and Bullfighting

This article explains how the physical and philosophical world of the corrida might nuance our understanding of life and work of the Anglo-Irish artist Francis Bacon, and vice-versa. To this end, the analysis is split into three sections. The first offers a biographical sketch of Bacon’s interest in taurine subject-matter. This background context paves the way for an ethical and aesthetic comparison between the working practices of the painter and the matador. The third and last section interprets his final painting, Study of a Bull, as a vision of fear and pity to suggest Bacon blurred distinctions between man and beast as he neared death.

A Lesson with Francis Bacon Forced Me to See Outside the Software Box

Abstract Computers became more standard in the early 1980s, and science and technology were influencing artists like the author. He began using a supercomputer and FORTRAN 77 software to define a non-Euclidean geometry model using conformal mapping to create art. A series of twisted and curved space images was manifested, reflective of Albert Einstein’s theories of general and special relativity. It was the author’s encounter with Edward Teller, “father of the H-bomb,” that led the author to artist Francis Bacon. It was a private lesson with the artist that forced the author out of the box and into his own visual world.

Creating life in the laboratory: Francis Bacon's journey from living spirits to animate bodies

This article aims to reconstruct a complex inquiry into the nature of life delineated in Francis Bacon's ‘last writings’, a series of manuscripts discovered at the end of the twentieth century. I show that these fragmentary texts can be understood if we place them in the larger context of Bacon's posthumous works: the Sylva Sylvarum and the Historia densi et rari . Taken together, these texts unveil Bacon's last bold project of a History and inquisition into the nature of animate and inanimate [ Historia et inquisitio de animato et inanimato ], an investigation focusing on the possibility of creating life in the laboratory. I show that Bacon's last project marks a revaluation of earlier definitions and explanations regarding the nature of life, as well as a change in the vocabulary. I suggest that some of these changes might have originated in practice; and I show how various recipes, observations and experiments recorded in Bacon's late writings can illuminate and justify some of his new terminology.

The Influences of Heidegger’s Philosophy of Beauty in Francis Bacon's Paintings

The Influences of Heidegger’s Philosophy of Beauty in Francis Bacon's Paintings

Энергетическая эволюция и трансформация человека в русских и зарубежных утопиях

The article analyzes the relationships between the sources of energy and of human culture in Russian and foreign utopias. The author considers the main way of correlation between the evolution of energy and anthropological evolution, which involves their mutual influence. Utopian texts demonstrate this interdependence quite clearly. Technological stagnation is combined with the totalitarian structure of society in the early utopias: in texts by Plato, Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella (in Francis Bacon’s utopia it is the pursuit of modernization). Bacon’s model is reproduced in the novel Andromeda Nebula by the Soviet writer Ivan Yefremov, however, the discovery and the implementation of innovative energy sources in this utopia is accompanied by a qualitative change of human beings and society. In Ayn Randʼs novel Atlas Shrugged the motif of the “perpetuum mobile” is organically combined with the motif of human transformation. Nikolai Chernyshevsky also wrote about the “perpetuum mobile”: in his stories he emphasized the inextricable link between “energy” and “anthropology”. Analysis of current trends in the development of this topic (as seen, for example, in Kim Stanley Robinsonʼs novel The Ministry for the Future) allows us to conclude that totalitarian narratives in utopia are being revived. These totalitarian narratives impose on humankind the inevitability of rapid energy transition.

Abraham Cowley against Bacon's "Idols of the Mind"

ABSTRACT: This essay examines the contributions of Abraham Cowley's poetry to the development of Royal Society scientific methods in the seventeenth century, particularly through Cowley's clarification of the forms of cognitive bias that Francis Bacon called "idols of the mind." We should understand many of Cowley's poetic choices and stylistic recommendations as part of an effort to illustrate and shape the cognitive habits necessary for experimental science in the Baconian tradition. Beyond stylistic recommendations, Cowley was interested in understanding what makes for accurate perception and reasoned judgment, both of which were essential to poets and experimental scientists alike in this formative period. This essay places Cowley's poetry in the context of seventeenth-century conventions for style and perception among experimental scientists and concludes by examining how Thomas Sprat, Royal Society historian and Cowley's literary executor, understood the value of Cowley's poetry to Royal Society epistemological aims.

Techniques of Discovery: Cryptography and Design

Among the core technologies forming the rich archaeology of computation, cryptography is perhaps a subject that has received little attention in architectural studies thus far. However, there are fruitful considerations to draw from a closer inspection of the vast repertoire of techniques that cryptography has developed over a period of about seven centuries. First of all, a deeper historical perspective will help frame cryptography as a technology for discovery rather than solely protecting military and diplomatic secrets. Secondly, these considerations can be of relevance to design as they offer thoughts for both conceptual reflections and practical applications. At a conceptual level, the symbolic, discrete computation accompanying the evolution of cryptographic methods – such as Alberti’s one in 1467 – marked a radical departure from the iconic semiotics of analogue machines. The non-mimetic nature of symbolic computation provided the technological means to significantly widen its range of applications and enhanced speculative thinking. Understood along these lines, cryptography found more general applications beyond concealing diplomatic secrets to provide a rigorous method for inquiry into unknown domains in order to make ‘noisy data’ intelligible. Finally, symbolic computation also provided more advanced techniques for abstraction that were also instrumental for constructing notational drawings, whose emergence coincided with the introduction of more advanced mathematical instruments in the renaissance.
 The essay will discuss the key paradigmatic moments in the history of cryptography such as the polyalphabetic techniques proposed by L. B. Alberti in 1467 and the use of binary cryptography by Francis Bacon in 1605. Despite their distance from the present, these experiments provide a useful segue into a discussion on how the notion of cypher as a conceptual instrument accompanying the introduction of Machine Learning models in architectural and urban design.

THE AESTHETIC REGIME IN THE MODERN ERA: ART AND DISCOURSE ON ART

The article traces the changes in the aesthetic conventions of Modern art in accordance with the dynamics of literary development in Great Britain. The study focuses on three key areas: the impact of “the ancients and moderns” quarrel on European philosophical and literary thought; the nuances of critical and literary discourse in Enlightenment-era Great Britain; and the reception of the Enlightenment aesthetic values and novelties in Victorian criticism, linking them to the emergence of twentieth-century modernism. The subject involves the evolution of Enlightenment aesthetics and poetics in Great Britain, particularly the departure from classical art and literature models, and the emergence of concepts like imagination, novelty, and the reader’s subjective experience of art. Seminal literary-critical essays of the eighteenth century, including works by Joseph Addison, Henry Home, Richard Hurd, and Leslie Stephen’s monograph ‘History of English Thought in the Eighteenth Century”, are analyzed. The paper also examines philosophical texts by Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, and Marquis de Condorcet to understand the oscillatory nature of philosophical thought before and during the Age of Enlightenment. The study contextualizes “the ancients and moderns” debate on models for literary excellence and accentuates its role in shaping the discourse of aesthetics and artistic creativity. Contributions by Enlightenment figures such as Addison, Home, and Hurd are explored, emphasizing how they reshaped the discourse of aesthetics by redefining the nature of beauty, the sublime, and the principles of artistic criticism, thereby influencing the literary and artistic productions of their time and beyond. Particular attention is paid to the critical views of Stephen who wrote about the “fluctuating mode” of the literature of the second half of the eighteenth century, illustrating his peculiar subjectivism as an exponent of the Victorian worldview (Stephen saw Sterne’s novels as a serious moral threat), and simultaneously reflecting the normative aesthetic views of the second half of the nineteenth century. The paper also demonstrates how the antinomianism in aesthetic thinking, which challenged traditional norms and values as seen in “the ancients and moderns” quarrel, was further evolved in the works of Friedrich Schiller and Friedrich Schlegel, the latter articulating the antinomy of “classic versus romantic”. This tradition of antinomian thinking, coupled with the rejection of the idea of linear progression in cultural evolution, a call for a reassessment of values amidst a paradigm shift in culture and the breakdown of traditional ethic and aesthetic systems, finds a notable and unique expression in Friedrich Nietzsche’s works, that significantly influenced the transition from Modernity to Postmodernity. In summary, it is argued that the Modern Age was the time of the emergence of a new aesthetic sensibility, and its aesthetic pluralism and anti-classical literary ideas were pivotal in redefining concepts of progress, novelty, and human consciousness in art and literature. This laid the groundwork for modernist art and literature, characterized by a departure from tradition and a quest for new artistic expressions of human experience.

Francis Bacon and the book of nature: interpretation of nature and relationship between science and religion

Resumo: No artigo, explora-se a concepção da natureza como livro, em Francis Bacon. Por um lado, utilizando essa imagem e confrontando a leitura do livro da natureza e a leitura dos livros dos autores consagrados, Bacon contrapõe duas vias completamente distintas da filosofia natural: a interpretação da natureza em contraste com a via da antecipação da mente. Por outro, ao se referir ao livro revelado e ao livro das criaturas como dois volumes distintos da mesma autoria, Bacon pleiteia a especificidade da investigação científica da natureza e sua relativa autonomia, em relação ao âmbito da religião, ao mesmo tempo que mostra o caráter de continuidade e complementação dos dois livros.

On Occasion: The Essay’s Moment

This essay argues that the essay is written under the sign of occasion. The allegorical figure of Occasio, known in Greek as Kairos, figured the moment of opportunity which must be seized for success in rhetoric, politics, and life; failure to grasp the occasion leads to Metanoia, or regret. The first sections show how the early essayists Michel de Montaigne, Francis Bacon, and Robert Boyle shaped the essay as an occasional genre. The final sections turn to the contemporary writer and photographer Teju Cole, to show how photography engages with the decisive moment of Occasio, and how Cole’s ‘lyric essay’ Blind Spot, composed of texts and photographs, reinscribes the themes of occasion, seizure, and regret which animated the early essay.

PAUL LEUCKFELD (1859–1930) AND THE INDUCTIVE PHILOSOPHY OF WILLIAM WHEWELL (1794–1866)

This article presents a little-studied issue of critical analysis of the main provisions of the inductive philosophy of the English thinker William Whewell (1794–1866) within the framework of university philosophy, in particular in the publications of the famous Kharkiv professor Pavlo Emilievych Leuckfeld (1859–1930). In this context, the main stages of Pavlo (Paul) Leuckfeld's creative and scientific path are indicated at the beginning, in particular his studies at the 2nd Kharkiv Gymnasium (1871–1878) and at the Faculty of History and Philology of Kharkiv University (1878–1883). Further, attention is focused on his teaching activities at Kharkiv University (1884–1918), in particular on his fellowship since 1884, teaching the history of philosophy and logic as a private docent (since 1886), extraordinary professor (since 1893) and ordinary professor of philosophy (since 1899). His participation in international philosophical and psychological congresses, in particular in Munich (1896), Geneva (1904), Heidelberg (1908), and the peculiarities of his scientific fellowship at the University of Graz (Austria) with the authoritative professor Alexius Meinong are also indicated. In addition, attention is paid to the main features of Pavlo Leuckfeld's teaching and publications during his “Simferopol (Crimean) period”, when he was a professor of philosophy and psychology there. Pavlo Leuckfeld's publications were devoted to three main areas: 1) logic and the history of logic, 2) psychology and pedagogy, and 3) the history of philosophy. Among the publications of the first direction, two of his monographs were of great importance: “Various Trends in Logic and the Main Tasks of this Science” (1890) and “Logical Doctrine of Induction in the Main Historical Moments of Its Development” (1896). In these works, he analyzed the relevant positions of famous ancient and English philosophers (Aristotle, Francis Bacon, John Herschel, and John Stuart Mill). An important place in his analysis is occupied by the critical interpretation of the inductive philosophy of William Whewell, presented in particular in the third edition of the three-volume work “History of the Inductive Sciences, from the Earliest to the Present Time” (1857). In this sense, the features of this work of the English philosopher were first pointed out, and then the main theses of Paul Leuckfeld in presenting his understanding of the position of William Whewell.

Francis Bacon and the practices of measurement

ABSTRACT The instrumental character of Francis Bacon’s natural and experimental histories was often noted, but never fully investigated. In this paper I aim to reconstruct the theoretical and methodological background which supports this feature. I claim that we can read large parts of the second book of Bacon’s Novum organum as a guide to laboratory practices; and that it was read in this manner by some of Bacon’s seventeenth century followers. Key to this guide is Bacon’s theory of prerogative instances which, in turn, provides the grounding for a whole theory of instruments of detection and instruments of measurement. I show, in particular, how Bacon suggested that such instruments can be used for ‘charting’ virtues and powers; a process in which instruments of detection can be transformed into instruments of measurement. I also show that Bacon’s views on instruments entail an elaborated conception of measurement which departs from the ethos of artisanal perfection. Instead of pursuing the ‘best results’, Bacon’s instrumental natural and experimental histories aim to offer a large enough corpus of correlations, estimates and calculations which, taken together, can represent more or less accurately changes and variations of natural virtues and powers.

‘Dripping venison memory’: the radical ekphrasis of Max Porter’s The Death of Francis Bacon

ABSTRACT This paper explores the radical ekphrasis employed by Max Porter within his 2021 novella, The Death of Francis Bacon. Blurring prose, poetry and quasi-fictional biography, the text greatly elaborates upon more traditional and classical forms of ekphrasis, exploring all new methods of adopting the form. Alongside Porter's linguistic-aesthetic mosaic there is a theoretical acuity to his assimilation which resonates greatly with Gilles Deleuze's 1981 creative-critical study, Francis Bacon: The Logic of Sensation. Porter demonstrates the great potentiality of his innovative expansion of the form as a means to enhance our understanding of an artwork and to give an intimate glimpse into the processes undertaken by the artist, testing the ground for literary methods which evoke Bacon’s iconic style of painting, as well as pondering how to capture a true sense of his philosophical impetus. Porter seems particularly interested in considering the process of readership itself; the very act of conjuring mental images while reading - particularly through literary metaphor - and how this experience can be manipulated in writing to reflect Bacon’s visual aesthetics.

Hydroponics and Synergetic Technologies: A Deep Dive into Small and Medium-Scale Applications

Hydroponics, the practice of soilless plant cultivation, has undergone significant transformation over the years, evolving from its roots in ancient civilizations to its modern, high-tech systems. This paper explores this journey, focusing on technological advancements that have not only refined the principles of hydroponics but have also democratized its accessibility. Early accounts of hydroponic-like practices can be traced back to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Floating Gardens of the Aztecs, and historical records in China and Egypt. The formalization of hydroponics, however, took place in the 20th century, although the concept had been introduced much earlier by Sir Francis Bacon in 1627. Technological leaps in nutrient solutions have been pivotal; German botanists Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop's work in 1860 set the scientific basis for soilless culture. Modern hydroponic systems such as Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Aeroponics, and Deep Water Culture (DWC) employ pumps, timers, and nutrient reservoirs for efficient cultivation. These systems have scaled hydroponics from a lab-scale practice to a commercial-scale operation, making it accessible to both hobbyist gardeners and large-scale agriculturalists. Another transformative development is in the area of hydroponic lighting. High-Pressure Sodium (HPS) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) lights offer sustainable and efficient alternatives to natural light, thus enabling year-round, indoor hydroponic farming. The automation of hydroponic systems via computer-controlled environments has drastically reduced the manual labor required, making it accessible to individuals without specialized horticultural skills. Lastly, the paper delves into synergistic technologies like smart monitoring systems, Internet of Things (IoT), and renewable energy sources that are setting new paradigms for hydroponics. Smart sensors and analytics provide real-time data for nutrient and environmental control, while IoT devices offer remote management capabilities. Renewable energy sources like solar and wind power bring sustainability to hydroponic setups, thereby reducing the carbon footprint. These technologies collectively create an environment that is conducive not just for optimal plant growth, but also for operational sustainability and efficiency.

Climate Change as Dark Magic in <em>Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir</em> Animation

Animations, in their various genres, are an important amalgamation of art and technology that suggest new ways of thinking, feeling, and experiencing contemporary issues (Wells; Whitley). Animations can provide a commentary on the current planetary crisis, such as climate change, by offering a radically altered reality (Lundberg et al. 9). In the case of environmental animations, these issues become more evident because at their core is the production of knowledge, subjectivities, and speculations about the future of the planet and humanity. These problematisations usually arise from the centrality of non-human entities as narrative subjects (Starosielski). However, even in other genres of animation, such as fantasy, superhero fiction, and comedy, where non-human beings may or may not be at the narrative’s centre, it is possible to find suggestions regarding environmental issues emerging from characters, episodes, and specific events (see, for example, Vital, “Lapis Lazuli”; Vital, “Water”). Such is the case with Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (2015–Present), where climate change is addressed in the episodes Stormy Weather 1 and Stormy Weather 2 with the supervillain Climatika, offering an original commentary on human responsibility in causing climate changes. This article examines how climate change in this animated series is constructed as black magic through these episodes, shown between Seasons 1 and 3. Black magic is understood as where people will use non-human phenomena to fulfil their dark intentions against the forces of light, often to the individuals’ benefit (Thacker). Despite its anthropocentric roots, the relationship between climate change and black magic in the animation is analysed using Jane Bennett’s concept of enchantment in the modern world. According to this concept, nature—often perceived as inert, passive, and instrumental—actively impacts on human life, regardless of human beings’ alienation from non-human entities’ affective power (Bennett). Thus, in the animation, although Aurore Beauréal, driven by selfish motivations, seeks to control time by becoming the supervillain Climatika, the effect of this manipulation proves to be completely contingent on fostering a world-without-us feeling, which has also been present in other animations and media. Negative Emotions, Akumatisation, and Black Magic Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir (Miraculous: Les aventures de Ladybug et Chat Noir) is a French 3D animated series created by Thomas Astruc, co-produced with South Korea, Japan, Italy, Brazil, and Portugal, and involving the studios Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, SAMG Animation, SK Broadband, TF1, and Gloob. It is a superhero fiction series that tells the adventures of Marinette Dupain-Cheng (Ladybug) and Adrien Agreste (Cat Noir), two teenage students who possess jewels (Miraculous) that connect them to magical creatures (Kwamis). These characters mostly lead normal lives, keeping their superhero identities a secret (including from each other, fuelling a confused platonic love from Cat Noir for Ladybug and Marinette for Adrien). During crises, the Kwamis grant superpowers to both of them to protect Paris from the evil villain Hawk Moth (whose alter ego is Gabriel Agreste, Adrien’s father). The series is one of the most popular animations today, aired in over 120 countries and winner of several international awards (Aguasanta-Regalado). Hawk Moth possesses the Butterfly Miraculous, which enables him to create akumas (butterflies with the power to sense individuals with intense negative emotions, such as anger, distress, envy, and sadness, and akumatise them). At first, this butterfly grants Moth the ability to communicate telepathically with its target when it lands on and possesses an important object of the victim. Therefore, the villain makes an irresistible proposal to grant superpowers to the victim (usually in an attempt to reverse an unfortunate situation the victim faces) and, in return, the victim is expected to defeat Ladybug and Cat Noir. Akumatisation is a clear allegorical reference to demonic possession in the mythological terms of Judeo-Christian culture, while the akumatised villains are, less evidently, related to the image of the witch in Renaissance Europe. According to Carolyn Merchant, there was a consensus in the sixteenth century that witches, by making a pact with the devil, acquired the power to alter the weather drastically, produce diseases, destroy crops, and spread famine. Furthermore, some scientists of the time connected the behaviour of witches to an excess of melancholic humour, which was related to anxieties, sadness, and other extreme negative emotions that made them vulnerable to the devil’s attacks (Merchant 140). Therefore, in the episodes Stormy Weather 1 and Stormy Weather 2 there appears to be a manifestation of two out of the three levels of possession in the akumatised character, as indicated in the main demonology manuals of the sixteenth century. The first level, which is that of individual possession, affects the victim on psychological and physical levels, and their intentions and actions become controlled or inspired by the evil spirit. The third level involves the possibility of climatological possession, with the induction of extreme weather phenomena such as droughts and floods (Thacker 62). Aurore Beauréal—the villain of episodes Stormy Weather 1 and Stormy Weather 2—transforms into Climatika, resembling the witches of Renaissance Europe with all their powers of black magic. That is, a psychological and moral disposition induces Aurore Beauréal to undergo a radical metamorphosis to gain control over the world and achieve her objectives. This world control, driven by selfish objectives, which could be achieved through technological and scientific artifices, is depicted in the series as something stemming from the darkest depths of our beings—an innate desire for dominance and control for personal ends, a form of black magic. One of the dilemmas found in superhero fiction series and films in addressing climate change is the exploitation of exceptionally catastrophic weather events but concealing the long-term human actions that lead to transformations in the environment (McGowan). The other dilemma is the simplification of the environmental issue by transferring the possibility of its resolution to a hero. One interpretation is that the hero of these texts represents the status quo of corporations that contribute to the problem, but in sponsoring these series or films are not held accountable, or the climate problem is too readily fixed (Chatterji). However, the Miraculous animation addresses these dilemmas by examining extreme weather events and placing them directly in the hands of a character who is an ordinary yet ambitious individual, and like any person has emotional instabilities. Miraculous, then, explicitly expresses the anthropogenic nature of climate change and indicates the impossibility of effectively controlling the cosmos by those who, driven by their negative desires, resort to artifices to dominate planetary forces. Finally, the efforts of the superheroes Ladybug and Cat Noir prove insufficient to prevent Climatika’s return, who emerges as even more powerful due to a set of factors that promote and intensify the negative emotions of Aurore Beauréal. Therefore, Miraculous can highlight the human face of climate change and its inability to be easily overcome. Climatika: Revenge of the Weather Witch The first season starts with the story of Aurore Beauréal, a young student who dreams of becoming the weather girl for the KIDZ+ channel. In a contest involving numerous candidates, only she and Mireille Caquet (another student) entered the final. The fact that Caquet is an extremely shy and calm young woman led Beauréal to believe that she would easily win the competition over Caquet, due to Beauréal having a more outgoing nature and assertive exploration of her physical appearance. Nevertheless, Aurore suffered an unexpected and humiliating defeat (with a difference of half a million votes) that was seen nationwide. Hawk Moth senses the vibrations of extreme anger and sadness from Aurore Beauréal and sends an akuma to her, transforming her into Climatika (Stormy Weather). The aesthetics of Climatika are related to the stereotype of the modern teenage witch in contemporary fantasy stories. She is depicted wearing a pleated mini skirt and a short dark blue blouse with puffy sleeves—a retro trend from the 1980s lending a romantic and feminine touch to the composition. The wand or the magic broomstick is replaced by an umbrella, from which she casts her weather control powers, and her expression is that of a person possessed by a demon. In this sense, there are similarities with the character Lapis Lazuli from Steven Universe, who also had an aesthetic related to the witch stereotype, but within the 1960s–1970s hippie culture. Moreover, Lapis Lazuli’s powers are associated with the occult and evil, as she can control the entire hydrological cycle (Vital, “Water”). The similarities end here, as Lapis Lazuli herself is an alien and water elemental who destabilises and disrupts the attempts of control and domination promoted by the characters representing modern science and the State. However, Climatika uses a technical device (black magic) to control the weather and achieve her revenge goals. She causes catastrophic climatic events and promotes horror in the name of a global order that satisfies her desires. The instrumentalisation that Climatika promotes through black magic subtly brings her closer to the scientists who sought to investigate and control nature for human progress during the early days of the Scientific Revolution. In the sixteenth century, scientists such as Francis Bacon commonly used metaphors involving the torture of witches and the exploitation of nature to uncover their secrets, to control and alter the world for the advancement and well-being of humans (Merchant). However, black magic, whether through a satanic or pagan path, also has anthropocentric roots, manifesting as a tool that humans can use to enforce their intentions or as an internal force available for self-benefit (Thacker 29). In the case of Climatika, the hydrological cycle was understood as a tool responsive to her emotions and supposedly at her service. The presence of the phenomenon brings it closer to the stereotype of the witch serving the forces of evil and can also act as an allegory for the scientist who fulfils the State’s or private corporations’ obscure purposes at the expense of others. Not by chance, Hawk Moth, when transforming Aurore into Climatika, proclaims, “tu vas devenir ma miss méteór” (you will become my weather girl), a sentence that plays on Aurore’s work in scientific journalism for weather forecasts, while the hidden meaning behind the statement is about the witch manipulating the weather. Climatika will boast about being the only weather girl who gets all the forecasts right (as she is the one who influences the weather events). Although Climatika takes an anthropocentric stance towards the climate, her case highlights how hydro-meteorological phenomena affect Aurore Beauréal to the point where she aspires to be the weather girl and, if not possible, to become a witch who controls the hydrological cycle. Aurore, at first, wished to be the spokesperson for meteorology, studying the weather and climate. When she fails, she aspires for more: to become the weather girl, merging herself with meteorological phenomena and using climatic factors to organise the world to satisfy her desires. She appears oblivious to the way the weather affects her, although it is central to her life. She considers herself free and in control of herself and the world. The perception of the modern world as disenchanted, characterised by reason, freedom, and control, results in an alienation from the affective power of non-human phenomena (Bennett). This alienation leads to an arrogant attitude, such as that of Aurore Beauréal, who transforms into Climatika and believes she can finally be recognised as the weather girl with her new hydrokinesis powers. However, despite all the chaos that Climatika promotes by inducing hurricanes, hailstorms, and lightning, dramatically affecting the lives of the inhabitants of Paris and all of France, she fails in the face of Ladybug and Cat Noir. Finally, Aurore will have to deal with the defeat against Mireille Caquet and public censorship for transforming into Climatika, the weather witch. Cosmic Pessimism and Planetary Catastrophe in the Return of Climatika In the seventeenth episode of the third season, there is a prime example of what Aurore Beauréal went through after being defeated and the akumatisation being undone. Her schoolmate, Chloé Bourgeois, publicly humiliates her for having low grades and not having emotional control, becoming a failed villain. Hawk Moth takes advantage of the opportunity left by Bourgeois and tells Aurore that she will always be and continue to grow in power as Climatika, transforming her once again. Being emotionally affected, Climatika’s powers amplify significantly, and she uses volcanic explosions and moves the planet away from the sun’s orbit to cool it down, destroying all of humanity and proving her true power. In this episode, Stormy Weather 2, Climatika manages to establish herself as a global threat, inducing a dramatic climate change. Fear and horror spread throughout the world as people embrace each other to stay alive in the apocalyptic cold. Even the heroes, Ladybug and Cat Noir, feel haunted by the immense power of Climatika and find themselves in an intimate moment reminiscing about all the challenges they have overcome in the past, and the growth they have experienced over time while fighting together against the forces of evil. It is in sharing these memories that they find the power to come together once again, regaining the trust and confidence that help them to face and defeat Climatika. Thus, because of suppressed affections, unfulfilled desires, the combined force of words, and extreme social and meteorological events, negative and selfish emotions emerged and re-emerged, fuelling the return of Climatika—the regional and later planetary climate threat. Moreover, in the case of Ladybug and Cat Noir, the affective power of their bodily and physical encounter generated memories, along with deep positive emotions and words of trust, affection, and unity. These provided the means to change the course of events and prevent the realisation of the climate catastrophe (they no longer felt overcome and could battle Climatika). The two episodes suggest that the emergence of the climate catastrophe is a result of the feelings of disenchantment amongst people in the world and the combination of human alienation from the affective power of things, and the power that events and things gain in their encounters worldwide. The suggestion is the development of an ethics of generosity as a response to climate change that involves sharpening the perception of the affective power of things and encounters between humans in public spaces, as well as between humans and non-humans in everyday life (Bennett). Nonetheless, the episodes Stormy Weather 1 and Stormy Weather 2 display a type of cosmic pessimism perceptible through the emotional failures and revenge of Aurore Beauréal and Climatika. Cosmic pessimism indicates distrust regarding the impossibility of controlling and organising a world that does not require order. This world does not manifest itself for us or in itself but as a world-without-us (Thacker, Cosmic). Control does not make Aurore more respected, although she is feared when she manifests as Climatika. As Climatika, she inflicts on other people the suffering caused by the catastrophic disruption of their routines due to the manifestation of the effects of climate change. Conversely, the disappointment of the double failure to become the weather girl and the subsequent bullying becomes an oppressive reality for Aurore that induces more fear and horror due to her inability of being able to organise the world according to her desires. Thus, climate change is manifested in Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir as a result of the failed attempt to control the world (represented by the metaphor of black magic) and the impossibility of organising the world according to human desires. Conclusions Ladybug and Cat Noir manage to save the day in the episodes Stormy Weather 1 and Stormy Weather 2. However, the return of Climatika manifests itself as persistence, which suggests two important points. First, heroes or exceptional individuals cannot handle the complexity involved in the climate crisis because the crisis results from multiple factors, including human emotions, under the pressure of a system emphasising competition for prominence, efficiency, and social recognition. Climatika was defeated but returned for the same reason: the primacy of the ideal of success and recognition in a universe of pure abstract value that is based on the alienation of emotions. Second, profound uncertainties arise from the current climate crisis. Anthropogenic climate change is manifested through completely contingent effects, where the expectation of controlling and ordering the world according to human desires is disrupted, resulting in a sense of cosmic pessimism due to the world-without-us feeling. The indifference of the universe to human desires becomes explicit, exposing the failure of the abstraction of self and world control—the foundation of modern ontology and capitalism. Therefore, Climatika highlights climate change as a form of black magic: an intensive attempt to control and manipulate the world driven by selfish feelings that deepen the alienation regarding the power and indifference of the elements that compose the planetary atmosphere.

A Study on the ‘Figure’ and the ‘Deconstruction’ in Francis Bacon’s Painting

A Study on the ‘Figure’ and the ‘Deconstruction’ in Francis Bacon’s Painting

Studying with a teacher: education beyond the logic of progress

Abstract The article presents a thought experiment aimed at indicating a possibility for thinking education beyond the logic of progress. In its first part, the argument reconstructs the entanglement of the modern idea of progress (as found in Francis Bacon and Comenius) and education, while tracking down the specific coupling of obedience and conquest at work. Through such an analysis a link between the ideas of progress and of emancipation is determined, which leads to the acknowledgement of the difficulty of the task of imagining education outside of the logic of progress. In the second part an attempt is made to match this task by suggesting that when studying with a teacher, the logic of progress is deactivated. A phenomenological analysis of the practices involved in studying with a teacher points to a specific way of living together that such a collective study involves. This way of living together is formed by continual exercises in the humble equality realized through shared attention to something worthy of study: this stems from attentiveness to what exists, and it develops an attitude of care and respect for being as such.

Valerius Terminus. Treatise by Francis Bacon

The paper is a preface to F. Bacon’s «Valerius Terminus» treatise. The article deals with basic facts of the treatise’s history, as well as the history of its study and the links between it and the other philosophical writings by F. Bacon.