Idols of the Cave

E117020

Idols of the Cave are Francis Bacon’s category of cognitive biases arising from an individual’s personal experiences, education, and temperament that distort their understanding of reality.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Idols of the Cave canonical 5

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf cognitive bias category
concept in the philosophy of science
epistemological concept
philosophical concept
aimsToExplain how individual differences distort perception and reasoning
appliesTo individual knowers
categoryIn Baconian method
contrastedWith Idols of the Marketplace
surface form: Idols of the Market

Idols of the Theatre
Idols of the Tribe
creator Francis Bacon
describedIn Novum Organum
describes how different studies and readings shape bias
idiosyncratic mental tendencies
private fantasies and obsessions that color judgment
field early modern philosophy
epistemology
philosophy of science
goalOfCritique to clear the mind for more objective scientific inquiry
hasCause education
habit
individual temperament
personal experiences
social environment
hasDefinition cognitive distortions arising from an individual’s personal experiences, education, and temperament
hasEffect bias in judgment
distortion of understanding of reality
obstruction of true knowledge
hasMetaphor each person dwelling in a private cave that shapes their view of the world
influenced later discussions of cognitive bias
modern philosophy of science accounts of subjectivity
language Latin
namedAfter the Platonic allegory of the cave
oneOfFour Idols of the Marketplace
surface form: Idols of the Market

Idols of the Theatre
Idols of the Tribe
opposes uncritical reliance on one’s own narrow experience
originalName Idola specus
partOf Bacon’s theory of idols
Novum Organum
publicationYear 1620
purpose to warn investigators about personal biases in inquiry
relatedTo empiricism
scientific method
requires self-examination to mitigate their influence
subClassOf idols of the mind
timePeriod early 17th century
usedIn methodological critiques of subjectivity in science

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (5)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Novum Organum introducesConcept Idols of the Cave
Idols of the Tribe contrastedWith Idols of the Cave
Idols of the Marketplace isOneOf Idols of the Cave
New Organon containsConcept Idols of the Cave
Idols of the Theatre relatedTo Idols of the Cave