WeBuzz
Reader discussion: New Atlantis
Public reader discussion about New Atlantis in the WeRead Catalog by Francis Bacon.
Atlantis: The Antediluvian World (1882) by Ignatius Donnelly - 1st edition with signed handwritten letter
By curiousBookmark
A couple more things from my stash. The big one here is an 1882 first edition of *Atlantis: The Antediluvian World*. I guess it’s kind of the original “alternative history/archaeology” blueprint for this whole Atlantis-type talk, since a lot of people had hinted at Plato’s version before, but Donnelly is the one who really got it going and made it blow up.
The other item is a signed, handwritten letter from Donnelly to *The Dial*. He’s basically thanking them for the good review of *Atlantis* written by Alexander Winchell (the geologist Donnelly kept referencing), and he even included $1.50 for a subscription. The funny part is that Winchell later turned around and tore into Donnelly’s sequel, *Ragnarok*, a few years later.
Also, just in case anyone doesn’t know: Donnelly was a 19th-century Minnesota populist politician—served in the state House and was lieutenant governor. He wrote a ton of stuff across different topics too, like science, history, religion, and even early sci-fi.
In *Atlantis*, he lays out his idea that a super advanced civilization existed before recorded history, and that it helped drive a bunch of early cultural/philosophical/scientific developments. He thought it got wiped out in some kind of disaster (like a volcano or meteor impact). And yeah, the meteor/eruption stuff is explored more in his 1883 follow-up *Ragnarok: the Age of Fire and Gravel*.
Even though archaeologists and historians have basically discredited his Atlantis theories, people still latch onto the lost civilization idea, and Donnelly definitely helped popularize it. It’s still showing up in books and entertainment now, and it even seems to inspire newer writers and researchers (Hancock’s the one people mention a lot).
"New Atlantis," Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, by Sir Francis Bacon, 1627
By atombeacon789
Had no idea that kind of on-a-string tech went back that far. And the whole “a ship sailing under water” thing looks way more spot-on than I thought it would.
Books about optimistic future societies / transitions to utopias, post-scarcity, etc.
By echoanchor1988
Honestly, with everything going on in the world right now, I could use a break from all the doom and gloom. Are there any books that are more about optimistic futures for humanity—like what things could look like and how we’d even get there?
I’m open to non-fiction or fiction, but if it’s fiction I’d rather not have anything with super heavy romance as a focus. I want the overall vibe to be hopeful, though it’s totally fine if there are some rough patches and problems along the way. The future society doesn’t have to be perfect—just better than what we have now.
Things I already have on my list (just not read yet) are *Looking Backward* by Edward Bellamy and the *Culture* books by Ian Banks.
Completed Plato's republic and it's one of the most fascinating books I have come across. It's kinda horrifying how much of it is still true to this today
By bean_stone
Sometimes it feels a bit too self-focused, and I’ll catch myself wanting to just yell at Socrates like, “can we get to the point already?” But honestly, it’s still really fascinating. I can see why people put it on such a high pedestal, especially since it was written back then. It doesn’t even feel that ancient to me. The pace is kind of slow, but I like seeing how they take something that sounds dry and make you realize there’s a ton to think about. It starts out pretty manageable, then gets pretty tangled after around book 5 or 6, at least for me. Overall, I liked it a lot—I’d definitely read more ancient Greek stuff.
Books about Atlantis that understand the concept of fiction?
By key2001
I really like the whole Atlantis concept—this super advanced lost civilization that basically vanished from history. But it feels like every Atlantis story ends up with some strange, cranky vibes. Does anyone know of any good fiction books about Atlantis that don’t feel full of weirdos?
Why do many readers classify Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein as the first science fiction novel? For me, there are many novels written before it that can also be classified as science fiction too.
By lilacOlive343
Just watched del Toro’s Netflix Frankenstein and… wow. This feels like a real masterpiece to me. I’d probably rate it like a 9/10 easily. He’s really done it again.
The ending doesn’t really match Mary Shelley’s original novel, but I’m not even sure that’s what matters here. I keep seeing people say Shelley’s 1818 version is basically the first real science fiction novel, but I’m not totally convinced. To me, there are earlier books that could fit into sci-fi too. Like Kepler’s *Somnium* from 1634 and Bacon’s *The New Atlantis* from 1627.
So I’m curious—do you think Shelley’s *Frankenstein* is the first sci-fi novel, or were earlier writers already setting things up before her?
Anyone know if New Atlantis by Francis Bacon was an inspiration for 2112?
By curiousBookmark
I get that Neil was really into philosophy, like Ayn Rand and all that. So far the book is kind of painting this future where there’s this scientific priesthood and it feels almost utopian—run by guys in long robes. Not totally sure what to make of it yet.
Please give a list of books related to Professor Jiang’s concepts, ideas and influences
By CopperBartizan2004
Like the title says—could someone point me to a list of books that match what Prof Jiang is talking about, or anything that’s influenced his thinking? Thanks in advance!
Was Francis bacon apart of the secret society?
By bottle
He apparently found some super secret hog-smoking stuff and was trying to make a beef jerky kind of thing, just using smoked hogs. I still can’t believe what breakfast food he ended up stumbling on—like, you would never guess.
What were some of the first Sci-Fi books?
By QuietFrog301
I’m mostly into the whole early/founding vibe of futuristic space and space novels, more than the other sci-fi subgenres.
What do you think about the idea that Atlantis is (was) America ?
By SkyBookmark7
I’m kind of hoping for your answers. Thanks!
ONLINE BOOK "New Atlantis by Francis Bacon" purchase spanish english amazon сhapter selling for download
By lazyYarn66
I’m not really sure what to make of Lauren Brooks, honestly.
The philosopher Francis Bacon identifies four causes that lead people to become atheist: diversity in religions, scandals involving religious leaders, perceptions of religious practices, and the times we live in.
By Bottle66
Just a reminder of the first rule here: read the post before you jump in. Like actually go through what was shared, get what the arguments are saying, and then reply to that directly. If you didn’t read it or don’t want to engage with it, then either start your own thread or just don’t comment. They’ll probably delete stuff that feels like it’s not really responding to what’s in the post.
Also, they’re not looking for quick one-liners, random side stories, or memes—don’t be surprised if those get removed. Messing up the rules more than once (or doing it in a big way) can get you banned.
And heads up: this is basically a shared notifications account, so don’t reply because your message won’t really go anywhere.
Could the name "New Atlantis" be a hint to a possible fate of the city?
By Bolter49
You know how Atlantis is basically a real-world legend—some city that sank and got wiped out. I’m wondering if New Atlantis could end up in the same kind of trouble depending on what people decide. Am I just overthinking it, or is there something to this?
Francis Bacon's New Atlantis and Religion
By Panther7
I’m trying to figure out how Bacon connects religion and science in New Atlantis and The Great Instauration. My read is that he’s pushing for a more material, step-by-step way of finding truth instead of the more philosophical, “big ideas” kind of thinking that seems closer to religion, but I don’t feel like I have enough concrete examples yet. If someone’s got a better handle on it, I’d really appreciate any thoughts or passages to look at.
New Atlantis is a reference to a novel by Sir Francis Bacon of the same name. In the novel, Bacon describes the society as a benevolent technocracy.
By indigo_field1992
From what I’ve gotten through in the summary, it feels really focused on those “enlightenment” ideas. Like, the gist is that society would basically be perfect if intellectuals ran things and knowledge mattered most. Not sure how much I’m buying that, but that’s the vibe I’m getting from the overview.
New Atlantis by Francis Bacon [Philosophy](1621)
By Garden
So I read about *New Atlantis* (1627) and it’s kind of interesting, but it’s also incomplete, which makes it feel unfinished in a weird way. Bacon basically sketches out this hopeful future where people put a lot into learning and knowledge, and it’s all set on this made-up island, Bensalem, that a European crew finds after getting lost in the Pacific somewhere west of Peru.
The whole story is pretty light on plot and more about slowly showing you how the place works—like the people supposedly live by things like generosity, piety, and public spirit. And the big focus is this state-run scientific place called Salomon’s House. I’m not totally sure how the whole thing would feel if it were longer, but even with what we have, it definitely reads like an early model for a research university, with both the practical and the more pure science side.
Quack Theory is starting to add up
By fork
Francis Drake ended up taking a bunch of Spanish ships and coming back with a lot of gold, supposedly on Queen Elizabeth’s orders. Then there’s this whole other angle where Elizabeth is tied to Francis Bacon somehow, and Drake allegedly gave his captains stuff for the Queen and it just… disappeared.
I’ve also been looking into the theory that Drake didn’t keep all that gold on him at all, and instead hid tons of it on Oak Island and told Elizabeth. After she died, I’m guessing he looped Bacon in on the whole pit/storage deal, and then Bacon supposedly had the Rosicrucians move his manuscripts and even the “Shakespeare” copies, plus his part in the Latin-to-English Bible translation, into some separate vault section at Oak Island.
Honestly it feels like a huge claim, but if it’s even partly right, that’s a pretty big deal. Thoughts?
A new theory on Francis Bacon and the Island as a whole
By luckypencil7
I was listening to a podcast about Sir Francis Bacon, and then it hit me out of nowhere that I could connect it to Lost. I went looking for it afterward (Google and a bunch of searching), but I didn’t see anything about Bacon anywhere, at least not that I could find. So either I’m stretching hard, or maybe there’s something real here.
Lost already throws in a ton of Enlightenment/philosopher stuff pretty openly—Locke, Bentham, Rousseau, Hume, all of that, plus the show keeps touching big philosophy themes and even uses names like Tabula Rasa and The Greater Good. There’s a whole page on the Lost wiki for the philosophers it references, so it’s not subtle. But it’s kind of weird that Bacon seems totally absent from that list.
Then I remembered Bacon’s novel *The New Atlantis*. He writes about a made-up island called Bensalem that sounds a lot like Lost’s island. The basic vibe is: the outside world can’t really see it, but the people there are aware of the outside. It’s also found after a boat wrecks there, and the place has its own “learned” society—Bacon talks about the island having this pretty “clean”/protected culture, they speak Scholastic Latin (with Greek and Hebrew too), and there’s a big state-run research institution—Saloman’s House—that’s basically all about science experiments and pushing human knowledge. There are even inventors trying to mess with stuff like perpetual motion and other “physics won’t allow it” ideas. That whole setup feels pretty similar to what Lost does.
One more thing I can’t fully ignore: “Ben Linus” feels like it could be a nod to “Bensalem” (like Ben/Salem is close), but I know that might be reaching.
So yeah… am I seeing patterns that aren’t there, or is it possible Bacon is actually referenced and I just happened to notice it first? What do you all think?