But Idols of the Marketplace are the most troublesome of all--- idols which have crept into the understanding through the alliances of words and names (Book 1.59)
Bacon claims that the Idols of the Marketplace are the most dangerous type of his four idols which keep men from understanding the truth. Why, though, are they the most dangerous, rather than Idols of the Tribe, Idols of the Cave, or Idols of the Theater, each of which he spends a significant amount of time discussing? What is it about the false ideas that come from one's peers that makes them so dangerous, and why are these people more influential than those considered experts, oneself, or even human nature itself?
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