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Persona #311

Roger Bacon

c. 1214–1292
English Franciscan friar, philosopher, proto-scientist

Scientia experimentalis — mathematics and observation as the keys to unlocking the book of nature

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where personas disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid (32 attributes) is shown.

Attribute Roger Bacon
Time · Extent Both
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Finite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature not engaged
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Finite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Mediated
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Partial
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Personal
Observer · Moral Authority Reason
Observer · Theological Method Rational
Energy · Extent Finite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Non-conserved
Information · Granularity not engaged

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each persona's writings reveal about their stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

Roger Bacon

Both — God's eternity and the created temporal order. Linear, uni-directional within nature. Bacon's interest in calendar reform presupposes precise temporal measurement.

Space

Roger Bacon

Finite, three-dimensional, local. Bacon's optics studies light propagation through physical media; his geography assumes the Ptolemaic spherical cosmos.

Matter

Roger Bacon

Substantival, conserved, local. Bacon's "multiplication of species" is a theory of how forms propagate through matter; his alchemy assumes material conservation and transformation.

Observer

Roger Bacon

Embodied, active, empirical. The observer gains knowledge through direct sensory experience and mathematical analysis, not merely through textual authority.

Energy

Roger Bacon

Finite, substantival, conserved. The theory of species multiplication treats light and causal influence as a form of energetic propagation through media.

Information

Roger Bacon

Knowledge is gained through experience and preserved in texts. Bacon's programme of language learning and textual correction implies that information is fragile and requires active preservation.

Internal Tensions

Where each persona's working synthesis strains against itself.

Roger Bacon

Bacon's commitment to experimental science sits in tension with his Franciscan obedience and his conviction that all knowledge serves the Church. He criticised scholastic authorities (Albertus Magnus, Alexander of Hales) fiercely while remaining institutionally bound to the very system he attacked. His reputation as a proto-modern scientist is partly anachronistic: his alchemy, astrology, and prophetic interests are thoroughly medieval.