Kepler as a Baconian

One passage that I found very interesting in the Pesic chapter relates to Tycho Brahe's obsession with keeping his observations secret and Kepler's response: "Kepler had to sign a document promising to keep secret all information that he was given, though he deplored this practice as an 'evil, shameful custom of the times'; he would have preferred to communicate his thoughts 'to the masters of science so that by their hints I immediately make progress in our divine art.' After his death, Tycho's family hounded Kepler to insure that their proprietary rights were not stolen. Despite (or perhaps because of) this careful secrecy, Tycho himself did not grasp the implications of his own observations" [Pesic, p. 98]. This passage seems to portray Kepler as an exemplary model of the Baconian scientist. In keeping his observations secret, Tycho likely hoped that having sole possession of this data would allow him alone to determine the true model of the universe. However, like a true Baconian, Kepler denounces such an approach and recognizes the need to rely on others for help in unraveling the secrets of the world. Moreover, Kepler is not a slave to tradition and is not afraid even to reject the conclusions of his mentor. Thus, he exhibits the Baconian ideal in that he bases his explanations on what he observes and does not manipulate his data so that it may adhere to some traditionally accepted view. Still, even he cannot break away completely from Aristotelian physics, as his geometric universe demonstrates. His overall approach towards science does, however, reflect many Baconian ideals and does indeed lead to important conclusions that had never been thought of before.