Francis Bacon. Coloured portrait of the English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626). His other titles included Baron Verulam and Viscount of St. Albans. Bacon attempted to review all branches of science. He attacked reasoning by deduction, as taught by Aristotle. Bacon argued that scientific laws had to be induced, being established as generalisations drawn out from specific observations. Although Bacon was generally behind the scientific knowledge of his time, his writings made the experimental study of science fashionable. His book New Atlantis inspired a group of scientists to found the Royal Society for Improving Natural Knowledge in 1660.