Beware: The Idols of Mind

According to Francis Bacons The Four Idols, men are plagued

by illusions of the mind referred to as the four idols: the idol of the
tribe, the idol of the cave, the idol of the marketplace, and the idol of
the theatre. Each of these has a different classification as to how and
why humans reason a certain way. When Bacon writes, [] they will
again in the very instauration of the sciences meet and trouble us,
unless men being forewarned of the danger fortify themselves as far as
may be against their assaults (882), he suggests that casting away
these idols will be difficult when he personifies the idols using the word
assaults, giving the idols life and further developing them into living
enemies of our minds. Bacon implies that mankind can overcome
these idols when they are aware and act against them by separating
fact from fiction, venturing their minds beyond preference, expressing
themselves clearly, and rising above the common knowledge.
Separating fact from fiction is the solution to the Idol of the Tribe.
In the Idol of the Tribe, Bacon explains that human natures
imagination often mingles with facts. This makes it easy to believe
that imagined ideas and facts are both truth as an alloy. When man is
able to see only the facts, then we can further explore the truths and
focus on digging deeper within them. The Idol of the Tribe will have no
power over us when we learn to do this.

Mankind can overcome the Idol of the Cave by venturing our

minds beyond our personal preferences of thoughts and interests. Our
personal interests can take over all that we perceive. Instead of
applying our interest to a new idea we come across, we need to focus
on the idea alone in its entirety. This way we can fully understand and
appreciate it as well as give thought to its credibility. Doing this will no
longer restrict us to our own dark cave of interest and open our
willingness to be exposed to a variety of ideas.
Men need to be able to express themselves clearly and with the
correct vocabulary to fully translate a thought. This is how men will
push through the Idol of the Marketplace. Bacon suggests a man
cannot rely on words alone to win a debate when he writes, But
words plainly force and overrule the understanding, and throw all into
confusion and lead men away into numberless empty controversies
and idle fancies(883). Intricate words may sound like a winning
argument when the opponent cannot rebuttal due to incomprehension.
Thus, leaving the matter unsettled or leading people to believe the
wrong idea. What is behind the words is what matters. The simplest
of words can dominate an elegant vocabulary if the meaning is clearly
translated.
Like a play in a theatre, a fictional story will captivate its mass
audience. Bacon suggests that when an idea is widely accepted,
others will continue to accept it without questioning and digging

deeper into the ideas validity. This occurs especially when an idea or
discovery comes from a credible source like Democritus, who
believed the world was flat. In reality, all things must be given careful
consideration and must not immediately be deemed true. If we think
clearly about each idea presented to us despite any bias of whom it
was said, we will avoid the Idol of the Theatre.
We can better ourselves individually and in turn as a species by
becoming free thinkers. When we avoid the four idols that Bacon
refers by thinking critically about ideas and straying away from what is
easy we can become individual thinkers. Man kind will become more
advanced as a whole and we can then prune what is false and
enlighten the truth.