Francis Bacon’s empirical method of induction is called the Baconian method. He outlined it in Novum Organum, published in 1620 as part of his planned project to reform and expand human knowledge.
Bacon argued that investigators should begin with carefully collected observations and experiments rather than leap from a few examples to sweeping conclusions. His preferred induction compared cases in which a phenomenon was present, absent, or observed at different intensities. By eliminating explanations that failed these comparisons, researchers could gradually approach an underlying law or “form.”
In his discussion of heat, Bacon proposed tables of presence, absence, and degrees. He also described “instances with special powers,” including unusual or especially revealing cases that could accelerate investigation. The method was therefore more structured than simply generalizing from repeated observations.
The Baconian method influenced the historical development of experimental science, but it is not identical to the modern scientific method. Modern research commonly combines induction with hypothesis formation, mathematical modeling, deduction, and attempts at falsification. Bacon’s approach is best understood as an important early program for systematic empirical inquiry.