弗蘭西斯·培根喺佢著作《新工具論》入面反對四因說，認為佢只不過“同人嘅本性有關，而唔係同宇宙嘅本性有關；由呢度開始，哲學就畀呢種奇怪嘅方式玷污咗。”
Francis · Bacon, in his New Instrumentalism, objected to the Four Causes, arguing that he was merely "concerned with the nature of man, not with the nature of the universe; from here on, philosophy was tainted in this strange way." ”