Clash Of Ideas- Lippmann & Bacon

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Igor Lantsberg Modern Condition Clash of Ideas- Lippmann & Bacon Normally humans cannot look outside their scope of view. Our objective perception of the world is beyond us for we are a part of it. Our world, therefore, acts on us; influencing and shaping us in every way and form. This concept that an image of the world subjectively and involuntarily forms within a mind is termed pseudo-environment by Walter Lippmann in his essay entitled Public Opinion. Lippmann explores this concept of the pseudo-environment as well as the veil that separates true reality from false perception. Although impossible to completely cross, humanity has been able, however, to recognize this separation, and glance over to the other side of truth. English philosopher and scientist Francis Bacon is one of few who were able to break through the layers of illusions that beset human’s minds. After first identifying the problem, Bacon offered a solution which revolves around the idea of gaining scientific evidence. Although forming a pseudo-environment can never be fully avoided, one can believe, based on Bacon’s ideas, that false reality can be, at least, penetrated. Historically, people naively accepted anything as the truth. These held truths, often relayed by fathers, priests, and kings, were messages that, according to Lippmann’s philosophy, formed their pseudo-environments. These messages, rational or not, had no basis in fact, but people still trusted, relied, and acted by them. Lippmann offers a great example of this notion: “if his atlas tells him that the world is flat he will not sail near what he believes to be the edge of our planet in fear of falling off” (Lippmann, 16). Lippmann, surely, was greatly influenced by Bacon because the English philosopher, likewise, believed that humans were naturally limited of fully comprehending an idea or an image, which causes them
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