Spirits and the Prolongation of Life in Francis Bacon: Commonality and Difference between the Inanimate and the Animate

Abstract

This study reconsiders Francis Bacon’s ideas on spirits, death, and the prolongation of life through a chronological examination of his works. His conception of death has often been considered unique because it presupposed a common material basis for the dissolution of inanimate things and the death of human beings. However, his focus on this commonality seems to have faded gradually – though not completely – as his works progressed, from De viis mortis to his later works, including Historia vitae et mortis. He became increasingly conscious of the difference between the inanimate and the animate. While De viis mortis insisted on the role of inanimate spirits in aging and death, Historia vitae et mortis tended to consider vital spirits as the chief cause of human death. My suggestion in this article is that as Bacon’s ideas developed, they came closer to traditional conceptions of aging and death.