Iconoclastic philosophy:

approximations between Francis Bacon's doctrine of the Idola Fori and the thesis of the illnessing of language in Ricardo Timm de Souza's Critique of Idolatrous Reason

Abstract

This paper aims to briefly consider the problem of idolatry from the perspective of two philosophers, namely Francis Bacon and Ricardo Timm de Souza. Based on the Baconian concept of idol, presented in the Novum Organum, the aim is to establish points of convergence with the theme of idolatry in the project of the Critique of Idolatrous Reason by the Brazilian philosopher Ricardo Timm de Souza. Firstly, Francis Bacon's doctrine of the Idola will be presented. Secondly, the concept of idolatry in Ricardo Timm de Souza's project will be presented. Finally, safeguarding the radical differences between the two philosophical projects, an attempt will be made to bring together the thesis of the the falling ill of language in Ricardo Timm de Souza's work and Bacon's treatment of the Idola Fori, the idols originating from language. The research found that the incapacity for semantic enlargement in the narrowing of language and consequent petrification of language presented by Ricardo Timm de Souza can find resonance in Francis Bacon's theory of the Idola Fori. Despite the similarities, the two philosophers' perspectives on the problem of idolatry at the linguistic level contain a fundamental distinctive element: while Bacon reduces idolatry to a condition intrinsic to words and their vulgar genesis, Ricardo Timm de Souza derives the falling ill of language from a psychological component deeply rooted in the way society functions.