The status and reputation of Sir Francis Bacon (1561–1626) is one of the great puzzles in the history of social thought. What had he actually accomplished to warrant all the accolades? Essentially, he was the metaempiricist, the head coach and cheerleader of fact grubbing, exhorting other people to gather all the facts, writes Murray N. Rothbard (1926–1995).

This audio Mises Daily is narrated by Jeff Riggenbach.