In the 1960's the Dupont Company adopted the slogan: "Better Living Through Chemistry." The catchy motto quickly caught on in an era when science reigned supreme. The space race had captured everyone's imagination and people reveled in the new plastics and fibers produced by a proud chemical industry. Environmental concerns were not yet on the agenda.
Although Dupont probably did not realize it, the clever slogan was not original. In fact, some seven hundred years earlier, Roger Bacon, considered by many to be the first modern scientist, professed that for him the purpose of alchemy was not to make gold, but "to make things better by art rather than by nature." Sort of an early version of better living through alchemy!
Bacon was certainly an interesting character. He was a Franciscan monk whose life was supposed to be devoted to the study of theology, not mathematics, optics or alchemy. Yet, it was these scientific endeavors that fascinated Bacon. The pursuit of these practical aspects of life brought the scholar into direct conflict with the church which did not believe that its monks should be engaged in the study of science.
Theology and science could, however, exist side by side, Bacon maintained. Certainly "inner knowledge" of a divine origin should be nurtured, but it was also important to gain practical knowledge. This, he said, could only be done through observation and experiment. It was not through divine inspiration that man would discover that fire burns, it was by putting a hand in a flame!
Bacon undoubtedly had firsthand experience with burned hands. He extensively investigated the explosive nature of a substance made by combining saltpeter, charcoal and sulfur. In fact, Bacon was the first person to describe the properties of "black powder" in writing and is therefore credited with the introduction of this primitive form of gunpowder into Europe.聽
This Franciscan friar was driven by the desire to make observations. So, it comes as no surprise that he developed an interest in lenses and actually documented how looking through a lens made small writing appear larger. The earliest description of glasses! He also noted that the moon looked larger through an appropriately formed lens and thus preceded Galileo's use of a telescope by several centuries. Bacon also speculated about submarines and described machines that would fly in the future by mechanically flapping wings. A remarkable man!
Bacon's contributions to science obviously had practical importance but perhaps his most important legacy is the emphasis he placed on experimentation and observation. Calling Roger Bacon the first real scientist can certainly be justified, but we still must not place him on too high a pedestal. Bacon also believed that good health could be caught just like disease, and that old men could recover their vitality by lying with a young virgin and inhaling her breath. Perhaps he can be forgiven for harboring this notion, because after all, as a Franciscan friar, he could not put the theory to the experimental test!
