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{{Otherpeople}}{{Infobox_Philosopher | <!-- Scroll down to edit this page --> <!-- Philosopher Category --> region = Western Philosophy| era = [[19th-century philosophy]]| color = #B0C4DE |  <!-- Image --> image_name =Spencer1.jpg | image_caption =Herbert Spencer |  <!-- Information --> name =Herbert Spencer | birth =27 April, 1820 | death =8 December, 1903 | school_tradition = [[Evolutionism]], [[Positivism]],|[[Classical liberalism]] | main_interests = [[Evolution]], [[Positivism]], [[Laissez-faire]], [[utilitarianism]] | influences = [[Charles Darwin]], [[Auguste Comte]], [[John Stuart Mill]], [[George Henry Lewes]], [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]], [[Thomas Huxley]]| influenced = [[Charles Darwin]], [[Henry Sidgwick]], [[William Graham Sumner]], [[Thorstein Veblen]], [[Emile Durkheim]], [[Alfred Marshall]], [[Henri Bergson]], [[Nikolay Mikhaylovsky]], [[Auberon Herbert]] | notable_ideas = [[Survival of the fittest]]|}}'''Herbert Spencer''' ([[April 27]], [[1820 ]] – [[December 8]], [[1903]]) was a highly influential an [[England|English]] [[philosopher]] and ; prominent [[Classical liberalism|classical liberal]] [[political theorist]]; and sociological theorist of the [[Victorian era]]. He had  Spencer developed an encyclopedic rangeall-embracing conception of [[evolutionism|evolution]] as the progressive development of the physical world, writing on topics biological organisms, the human mind, and human culture and societies. The lifelong [[bachelor]] contributed to a wide range of governmentsubjects, including [[ethics]], education[[religion]], economics[[politics]], sociology[[philosophy]], [[biology]], [[sociology]], psychology and anthropology[[psychology]].  He originated some is best known for coining the [[phrase]], "[[survival of the ideas fittest]]," which he did in ''Principles of evolution picked up by Biology'' (1864), after reading [[Charles Darwin]]. Spencer's main theme was that powerful forces ''[[On the Origin of social evolution were systematically making mankind better and betterSpecies]]''. In politics he was a 19th century liberal<ref name=sotf>{{cite web |url=http://educ.southern.edu/tour/who/pioneers/spencer.html |title=Pioneers of Psychology [2001 Tour] -School of Education & Psychology |accessdate=2007-similar to modern libertarians08-29 |format= |work=}}<br>&nbsp;{{cite web |url=http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=maurice_stucke |title=Better Competition Advocacy |accessdate=2007-who opposed to government intervention of any sort and provided the arguments that conservatives still use to oppose socialist and liberal proposals08-29 |author=Maurice E. He is most famous as a champion of individualism and Stucke |authorlink= |coauthors= |date= |format=pdf |work= |publisher= |pages= |language= |archiveurl= |archivedate= |quote=Herbert Spencer in his rejection ''Principles of any form Biology'' of collectivism1864, vol. Spencer insisted on an ethical and humane approach to future social development1, p. 444, wrote “This survival of the fittest, which prohibited dominance and aggression towards dependent persons or groupsI have here sought to express in mechanical terms, even if it could be demonstrated is that which Mr. Darwin has called ‘natural selection’, or the long-term result would be beneficialpreservation of favoured races in the struggle for life.<ref>Francis (2007) p. 337”}}</ref> Sciabarra (1999) calls This term strongly suggests [[natural selection]], yet as Spencer "The First Libertarianextended evolution into realms of sociology and ethics, he made use of [[Lamarckism]] rather than natural selection."

Herbert Spencer was born into a poor but well-educated familyin [[Derby]], [[England]], on [[April 27]], [[1820]], the son of William George Spencer (generally called George). He was home-schooled by his Spencer’s father was a religious dissenter who drifted from [[Methodism]] to [[Quaker]]ism, and who seems to have transmitted to his uncle Thomas Spencer, son an evangelical clergyman who had been educated at Cambridge Universityopposition to all forms of authority. Starting at age 17 he spent four years He ran a school founded on the progressive teaching methods of [[Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi]] and also served as Secretary of the [[Derby Philosophical Society]], a civil engineer building railwaysscientific society which had been founded in the 1790s by [[Erasmus Darwin]], and the highly systematic engineering mode grandfather of analysis characterized his intellectual approachesCharles.

He never marriedSpencer was educated in empirical science by his father, while the members of the Derby Philosophical Society introduced him to pre-Darwinian concepts of biological evolution, particularly those of Erasmus Darwin and after 1855 Jean Baptiste Lamarck. His uncle, the Reverend Thomas Spencer, vicar of Hinton Charterhouse near [[Bath, England|Bath]], completed Spencer’s limited formal education by teaching him some mathematics and physics, and enough [[Latin]] to enable him to translate some easy texts. Thomas Spencer also imprinted on his nephew his own firmly free-trade and anti-statist political views. Otherwise, Spencer was a perpetual hypochondriac an autodidact who complained endlessly acquired most of pains his knowledge from narrowly focused readings and maladies that no physician could diagnoseconversations with his friends and acquaintances.<ref> Duncan, ''Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer'' pp.53-55</ref>

Working as As both an adolescent and a journalist in London, young man Spencer came found it difficult to know settle to any intellectual or professional discipline. He worked as a civil engineer during the leading intellectuals railway boom of the day. They were fascinated by his ideaslate 1830s, and amused by while also devoting much of his extreme eccentricitiestime to writing for provincial journals that were nonconformist in their religion and radical in their politics. For exampleFrom 1848 to 1853 he served as sub-editor on the free-trade journal ''[[The Economist]]'', during which time he preached hard work but was notoriously lazy. He preached published his first book, ''[[Social Statics]]'' (1851), which predicted that humanity would shortly become completely adapted to the survival requirements of living in society with the fittest at consequential withering away of the same time he thought his own body was being destroyed by mysterious diseasesstate.

==Spencer's ideas==Spencer's ideas appeared first in magazine articles and were published in a series of books that he constantly rewrote and revised. His most important ideas Its publisher, [[John Chapman (on evolution, especiallypublisher) appeared in the 1850s and 1860s|John Chapman]], and after 1870 or so he had little new introduced him to say.===Social Statics===His first book ''Social Statics'' (1850) his salon which was a utopian portrayal attended by many of an ideal society. He believed that human society was governed by fixed natural laws, and the government should be limited to enforcing those natural laws. He stressed the need for society to adjust to the material environment leading radical and proclaimed a libertarian principle progressive thinkers of "equal freedom" for each individual, limited only by "the similar freedoms of all." He denied the legitimacy of private property in landcapital, argued for the equality of men and women as a moral idealincluding [[John Stuart Mill]], and said children should be educated through persuasion and rational argument rather than discipline and coercion. ===Evolution===In 1852 Spencer published a major article that articulated the idea of biological evolution and which had a major influence on [[Charles DarwinHarriet Martineau]]'s theory of evolution which appeared in 1859. In ‘The development hypothesis’, Spencer attacked "special-creationism", [[George Henry Lewes]] and proclaimed an evolutionary model of the natural worldMary Ann Evans ([[George Eliot]]), based on a process of continuous small changes: "Surely if a single cell … may become a man in the space of twenty years … there is nothing absurd in the hypothesis that … a cell may, in the course of millions of years, give origin to the human racewith whom he was briefly romantically linked." Spencer's second book, ''The Principles of Psychology,'' (1855) said that himself introduced the human mind was the product of environmentally generated organic evolution; it came under attack for its atheism and materialism. ===Education===His essays on educationbiologist [[Thomas Henry Huxley]], who would later win fame as 'Darwin’s Bulldog'Education: Intellectual, Moral and Physical'' (1861) ridiculed the usual practice of cramming, the dominance of Latin and Greek in the upper class schools, and excessive attention to the stories of kings and queens. He recommended instead a program of "self-development", based on problem-solving, empirical geometry, healthy exercise, drawing from observation, and natural science. He said children should be taught and disciplined, not by artificial grades and punishments but by having to accept the consequences of their actions, with the "impersonal agency of Nature" replacing "the personal agency of parents."===Synthetic Philosophy===Spencer spent forty years writing a series of books and articles explaining who remained his "Synthetic Philosophylifelong friend." The books sold very well and, especially in the 1870s, had a major impact on European and American thinkers. He focused on However it was the evolution friendship of biological organisms, Evans and human society itself, by which he meant the inevitable movement from the simple to the complex. Thus simple one-celled organisms became complex multi-celled organisms over time. Likewise the simple way of life of "primitive" peoples evolved into the complex institutional arrangements of the modern world. Evolution was progress, he believed, and always moved forward.===Sociology and Ethics===In Lewes that acquainted him with John Stuart Mill’s ''The Principles A System of SociologyLogic'' (1876) and ''The Principles of Ethics'' (1879) proclaimed a universal law of socio-political development: societies moved from a military organization to a base in industrial production. As society evolved, he argued, there would be greater individualism, greater altruism, greater co-operation, with [[Auguste Comte]]’s [[Positivism]] and a more equal freedom for everyone. The laws of human society would produce which set him on the changes, and he said the only role for government was military police, and enforcement of civil contracts in courts. Many libertarians adopted road to his perspective. ===Runs out of ideas===Scientists by the 1870s were focused on laboratory life’s work; Spencer never followed the new research and scientists ignored his increasingly outdated ideashe strongly disagreed with Comte. In biology<ref> Duncan, for example, Spencer clung to Lamarckianism long after other scientists rejected it as a model ''Life and Letters of how evolution worked. In the social realm, Herbert Spencer's ignorance of history made it easy for scholars to prove that his theories of evolution simply did not match the historical record. For example, he believed that industrialization would automatically reduce warfare; instead it led to high powered armies and navies and to warfare on a much vaster scale, as in the two world wars' p.113</ref>

==Creates conservative political arguments==As a consequence The first fruit of his faith friendship with Evans and Lewes was Spencer's second book, ''Principles of Psychology'', published in 1855, which explored a physiological basis for psychology. The book was founded on the fundamental assumption that the human mind was subject to natural laws and that these could be discovered within the cosmic force framework of evolution Spencer became general biology. This permitted the champion adoption of a social philosophy developmental perspective not merely in terms of [[laissez faire]]the individual (as in traditional psychology), with but also of the smallest possible role for species and the governmentrace. The individualism underlying his philosophy is succinctly expressed in his book on Through this paradigm, Spencer aimed to reconcile the [[associationist psychology]] of Mill’s ''Ethics,Logic'':"Every man is free to do what he wills, provided he infringes not the equal freedom notion that human mind was constructed from atomic sensations held together by the laws of the association of ideas, with the apparently more 'scientific' theory of any other man."<ref> See [http://books.google.com/books?id=CzBWAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22herbert+spencer%22+ethics&lr=&num=30&as_brr=0#PPA46[phrenology]],M1 text online pwhich located specific mental functions in specific parts of the brain. 46 section 272]</ref>

Politics in Britain moved in directions that Spencer disliked, and his arguments provided ammunition for conservatives and individualists in Europe and America argued that they still use both these theories were partial accounts of the truth: repeated associations of ideas were embodied in the 21st century. By the 1880s he was denouncing "the new Toryism" (that isformation of specific strands of brain tissue, and these could be passed from one generation to the social reformist wing next by means of Prime Minister the [[William E. GladstoneLamarckism|Lamarckian]])mechanism of use-inheritance. In The ''The Man versus the StatePsychology'' (1884) , he attacked Gladstone and modestly believed, would do for the Liberal party human mind what [[Isaac Newton]] had done for losing its proper mission (they should be defending personal libertymatter.<ref> Duncan, he said) ''Life and instead promoting paternalist social legislation. Letters of Herbert Spencer denounced Irish land reform, compulsory education, laws to regulate safety at work, prohibition and temperance laws, free libraries, and welfare reforms'' p. His main objections were threefold: the use of the coercive powers of the government75</ref> However, the discouragement given to voluntary self-improvement, book was not initially successful and the disregard last of the "laws 251 copies of life." The reforms, he said, were tantamount to "socialism", which he said its first edition was about the same as "slavery" in terms of limiting human freedom. Spencer vehemently attacked the widespread enthusiasm for annexation of colonies and imperial expansion, which subverted all he had predicted about evolutionary progress from ‘militant’ to ‘industrial’ societies and statesnot sold until June 1861.

Spencer anticipated many of 's interest in psychology derived from a more fundamental concern which was to establish the analytical standpoints universality of later conservative theorists like [[Hayek]]natural law<ref> Duncan, especially in ''Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer By David Duncan'' p. 537</ref>. In common with others of his "law generation, including the members of equal liberty"Chapman's salon, his insistence on he was possessed with the limits idea of demonstrating that it was possible to predictive knowledgeshow that everything in the universe - including human culture, his model language, and morality - could be explained by laws of a spontaneous social orderuniversal validity. This was in contrast to the views of many theologians of the time who insisted that some parts of creation, in particular the human soul, were beyond the realm of scientific investigation. Comte's ''Systeme de Philosophie Positive'' had been written with the ambition of demonstrating the universality of natural law, and Spencer was to follow Comte in the scale of his warnings about ambition. However, Spencer differed from Comte in believing it was possible to discover a single law of universal application which he identified with progressive development and was to call the "unintended consequences" principle of collectivist social reforms[[evolutionism|evolution]].

==Religion==Although raised in a devout Methodist family, [[Image:Spencer never joined a churchHerbert Age 38. He helped inspire [[Charles Darwinjpg|right|thumb|Spencer at age 38]]'s theory of [[evolution]], and coined the terms "the [[Survival of the fittest]]"<ref>''fit'' - meaning suitable, or the right size and shape, '''not''' ''fit'' as in athletically strong (although some have inferred this interpretation).</ref> and "the Descent of Man."

His father commented In 1858 Spencer produced an outline of what was to become the System of Synthetic Philosophy. This immense undertaking, which has few parallels in 1860::"It appears the English language, aimed to me demonstrate that the laws principle of nature are to him what revealed religion is to usevolution applied in biology, psychology, sociology (Spencer appropriated Comte's term for the new discipline) and morality. Spencer envisaged that any willful infraction this work of those laws is ten volumes would take twenty years to complete; in the event it took him twice as much a sin, as to us is disbelief in what is revealed."<ref> Duncan, ''Life long and Letters consumed almost all the rest of Herbert Spencer,'' p 491 </ref> his long life.

Though "he did not accept the dogmas of any creed, he wasDespite Spencer's early struggles to establish himself as a writer, in by the truest sense, religious," said David Duncan, his closest aide. "In private life," said another friend, "1870s he refrained from obtruding his heterodox views upon others, nor have I ever known him give utterance to any language which could possibly be construed as 'scoffing.' . The name had become the most famous philosopher of the Founder of Christianity always elicited his profound respect."age<ref> Duncan, ''Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer,'' p 492 . 497</ref>. His works were widely read during his lifetime, and by 1869 he was able to support himself solely on the profit of book sales and on income from his regular contributions to Victorian periodicals which were collected as three volumes of ''Essays''. His works were translated into German, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian, Japanese and Chinese, and into many other languages and he was offered honors and awards all over Europe and North America. He also became a member of the [[Athenaeum]], an exclusive Gentleman's Club in London open only to those distinguished in the arts and sciences, and the [[X Club]], a dining club of nine founded by [[Thomas Henry Huxley|T.H. Huxley]] that met every month and included some of the most prominent thinkers of the Victorian age (three of whom would become presidents of the [[Royal Society]]).

SpencerMembers included physicist-philosopher [[John Tyndall]] and Darwin's cousin, like many scientists of the time, was a banker and biologist [[deistSir John Lubbock]], which is to say he did not believe in a personal . There were also some quite significant satellites such as liberal clergyman [[GodArthur Stanley]] ''per se'', but only in ''a'' god. In ''The Principles of Sociology'' (1876) and ''The Principles of Ethics'' (1879) he claims to have discovered the evolution Dean of religious belief Westminster; and institutions guests such as [[Charles Darwin]] and [[Hermann von Helmholtz]] were entertained from what their origins time to time. Through such associations, Spencer had a strong presence in the cult heart of ancestors by primitive peoples the scientific community and was able to secure an influential audience for his own conception views. He never married, and despite his growing wealth and fame never owned a house of an "unknowable" God-like First Causehis own.

Eventually, The last decades of Spencer 's life were characterized by growing disillusionment and loneliness. He never married, and after 1855 was a perpetual hypochondriac who complained endlessly of pains and maladies that no physician could diagnose. By the 1890s his readership had begun to desert him while many of his closest friends died and he had come to doubt the confident faith in progress that he had made the center-piece of his philosophical system. His later years were also ones in which his political views became an increasingly conservative. Whereas ''Social Statics'' had been the work of a radical democrat who believed in votes for women (and even for children) and in the nationalization of the land to break the power of the aristocracy, by the 1880s he had become a staunch opponent of female suffrage and made common cause with the landowners of the [[agnosticLiberty and Property Defence League]] in against what they saw as the sense he could not describe God'socialism' of the administration of [[William Ewart Gladstone]]. Spencer's political views from this period were expressed in what has become his most famous work, but was sure something like God existed''The Man versus the State.''

[[Image:Spencer said the longstanding disputes between science and religion were based on a misunderstanding and failure to see the logical boundaries between the "Knowable" and the "UnknowableHerbert grave." Everything jpg|right|200px|thumb|Grave of Herbert Spencer in the "Knowable" sphere belonged to science, he argued, while everything in the "Unknowable" sphere belonged to religion, including the existence [[Highgate Cemetery]]. It is a coincidence that his grave is near that of GodKarl Marx.]]

==Influence==The exception to Spencer had a major influence on world thinkers in Europe, Asia and Latin America, especially British and American thinkers of the 1870s, including such prominent conservatives as 's growing conservativism was that he remained throughout his life an ardent [[Andrew CarnegieAnti-imperialism|opponent of imperialism]] and [[William Graham SumnerAnti-militarism|militarism]]. Spencer's influence faded His critique of the [[Boer War]] was especially scathing, and it contributed to his declining popularity in Britain and America after 1890.<ref> Duncan, but he was rediscovered by American conservatives in the 1930s ''Life and his ideas about government remain influential among conservativesLetters of Herbert Spencer'' p.464</ref>

===Social darwinism===In 1902, shortly before his death, Spencer was an early contributor nominated for the [[Nobel Prize for literature]]. He continued writing all his life, in later years often by dictation, until he succumbed to theories poor health at the age of 83. His ashes are interred in the eastern side of London's [[social DarwinismHighgate Cemetery]] facing [[Karl Marx]]'s grave. At Spencer's [[funeral]], the idea that evolutionary ideas applied Indian nationalist leader [[Shyamji Krishnavarma]] announced a donation of £1,000 to establish a lectureship at [[University of Oxford|Oxford University]] in tribute to societies as well as people. Spencer developed and his ideas before Darwinwork.<ref> Duncan, ''Life and "social darwinism" dealt only with the progressive betterment Letters of human societyHerbert Spencer,'' p. 537 </ref>

== The System of Synthetic Philosophy ==The basis for Spencer's individualistic version has nothing in common with collectivist forms appeal to many of "social darwinism" his generation was that promoted a war he appeared to offer a ready-made system of belief which could substitute for conventional religious faith at a time when orthodox creeds were crumbling under the death among races, as the Nazis preachedadvances of modern science. Root (2008) and Leonard (2009) Spencer's philosophical system seemed to demonstrate that Spencer did not support it was possible to believe in the later German versions ultimate perfection of "social darwinism" and was not responsible for humanity on the distortionsbasis of advanced scientific conceptions such as the [[first law of thermodynamics]] and [[biological evolution]].

In essence Spencer’s philosophical vision was formed by a combination of [[Deism]] and [[Positivism]]. On the one hand, he had imbibed something of eighteenth century Deism from his father and other members of the Derby Philosophical Society and from books like [[George Combe]]’s immensely popular ''The Constitution of Man'' (1828). This treated the world as a cosmos of benevolent design, and the laws of nature as the decrees of a 'Being transcendentally kind.' Natural laws were thus the statutes of a well governed universe that had been decreed by the Creator with the intention of promoting human happiness. Although Spencer lost his Christian faith as a teenager and later rejected any 'anthropomorphic' conception of the Deity, he nonetheless held fast to this conception at an almost sub-conscious level. At the same time, however, he owed far more than he would ever acknowledge to Positivism, in particular in its conception of a philosophical system as the unification of the various branches of scientific knowledge. He also followed Positivism in his insistence that it was only possible to have genuine knowledge of phenomena and hence that it was idle to speculate about the nature of the ultimate reality. The tension between Positivism and his residual Deism ran through the entire System of Synthetic Philosophy. Spencer followed Comte in aiming for the unification of scientific truth; it was in this sense that his philosophy aimed to be 'synthetic.' Like Comte, he was committed to the universality of natural law, the idea that the laws of nature applied without exception, to the organic realm as much as to the inorganic, and to the human mind as much as to the rest of creation. The first objective of the Synthetic Philosophy was thus to demonstrate that there were no exceptions to being able to discover scientific explanations, in the form of natural laws, of all the phenomena of the universe. Spencer’s volumes on biology, psychology, and sociology were all intended to demonstrate the existence of natural laws in these specific disciplines. Even in his writings on ethics, he held that it was possible to discover ‘laws’ of morality that had the status of laws of nature while still having normative content, a conception which can be traced to Combe’s ''Constitution of Man''. The second objective of the Synthetic Philosophy was to show that these same laws led inexorably to Progress. In contrast to Comte, who stressed only the unity of scientific method, Spencer sought the unification of scientific knowledge in the form of the reduction of all natural laws to one fundamental law, the law of evolution. In this respect, he followed the model laid down by the Edinburgh publisher [[Robert Chambers]] in his anonymous ''[[Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation]]'' (1844). Although often dismissed as a lightweight forerunner of [[Charles Darwin]]’s ''[[The Origin of Species]]'', Chambers’ book was in reality a programme for the unification of science which aimed to show that [[Laplace]]’s [[Nebular Hypothesis]] for the origin of the solar system and Lamarck’s theory of species transformation were both instances (in Lewes' phrase) of 'one magnificent generalization of progressive development.' Chambers was associated with Chapman’s salon and his work served as the unacknowledged template for the Synthetic Philosophy. ==BibliographyConcept of evolution==The first clear articulation of Spencer’s [[evolutionism|evolutionary]] perspective occurred in his essay 'Progress: Its Law and Cause' published in Chapman's ''[[Westminster Review]]'' in 1857, and which later formed the basis of the ''First Principles of a New System of Philosophy'' (1862). In it he expounded a theory of evolution which combined insights from [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]]'s essay 'The Theory of Life' – itself derivative from [[Friedrich von Schelling]]'s [[Naturphilosophie]] – with a generalization of [[Karl Ernst von Baer|von Baer]]’s law of embryological development. Spencer posited that all structures in the universe develop from a simple, undifferentiated, homogeneity to a complex, differentiated, heterogeneity, while being accompanied by a process of greater integration of the differentiated parts. This evolutionary process could be found at work, Spencer believed, throughout the cosmos. It was a universal law, applying to the stars and the galaxies as much as to biological organisms, and to human social organization as much as to the human mind. It differed from other scientific laws only by its greater generality, and the laws of the special sciences could be shown to be illustrations of this principle. This attempt to explain the [[evolution of complexity]] was radically different to that to be found in Darwin’s ''[[Origin of Species]]'' which was published two years later. Spencer is often, quite erroneously, believed to have merely appropriated and generalized Darwin’s work on [[natural selection]]. But although after reading Darwin's work he coined the phrase '[[survival of the fittest]]' as his own term for Darwin's concept,<ref name=sotf/> and is often misrepresented as a thinker who merely applied the Darwinian theory to society, he only grudgingly incorporated natural selection within his overall system. The primary mechanism of species transformation that he recognized was [[Lamarckism|Lamarckian]] use-inheritance which posited that organs are developed or are diminished by use or disuse and that the resulting changes may be transmitted to future generations. Spencer believed that this evolutionary mechanism was also necessary to explain 'higher' evolution, especially the social development of humanity. Moreover, in contrast to Darwin, he held that evolution had a direction and an end-point, the attainment of a final state of 'equilibrium.' ==Sociology==The evolutionary progression from simple, undifferentiated homogeneity to complex, differentiated, heterogeneity was exemplified, Spencer argued, by the development of society. He developed a theory of two types of society, the militant and the industrial, which corresponded to this evolutionary progression. Militant society, structured around relationships of hierarchy and obedience, was simple and undifferentiated; industrial society, based on voluntary, contractually assumed social obligations, was complex and differentiated. Society, which Spencer conceptualized as a 'social organism' evolved from the simpler state to the more complex according to the universal law of evolution. Moreover, industrial society was the direct descendant of the ideal society developed in ''Social Statics'', although Spencer now equivocated over whether the evolution of society would result in anarchism (as he had first believed) or whether it pointed to a continued role for the state, albeit one reduced to the minimal functions of the enforcement of contracts and external defence. ==Ethics==[[Image:Herbert Spencer.jpg|right|180px|thumb]]The end point of the evolutionary process would be the creation of 'the perfect man in the perfect society' with human beings becoming completely adapted to social life, as predicted in Spencer’s first book. The chief difference between Spencer’s earlier and later conceptions of this process was the evolutionary timescale involved. The psychological – and hence also the moral – constitution which had been bequeathed to the present generation by our ancestors, and which we in turn would hand on to future generations, was in the process of gradual adaptation to the requirements of living in society. For example, aggression was a survival instinct which had been necessary in the primitive conditions of life, but was maladaptive in advanced societies. Because human instincts had a specific location in strands of brain tissue, they were subject to the Lamarckian mechanism of use-inheritance so that gradual modifications could be transmitted to future generations. Over the course of many generations the evolutionary process would ensure that human beings would become less aggressive and increasingly altruistic, leading eventually to a perfect society in which no one would cause another person pain. However, for evolution to produce the perfect individual it was necessary for present and future generations to experience the 'natural' consequences of their conduct. Only in this way would individuals have the incentives required to work on self-improvement and thus to hand an improved moral constitution to their descendants. Hence anything that interfered with the 'natural' relationship of conduct and consequence was to be resisted and this included the use of the coercive power of the state to relieve poverty, to provide public education, or to require compulsory vaccination. Although charitable giving was to be encouraged even it had to be limited by the consideration that suffering was frequently the result of individuals receiving the consequences of their actions. Hence too much individual benevolence directed to the 'undeserving poor' would break the link between conduct and consequence that Spencer considered fundamental to ensuring that humanity continued to evolve to a higher level of development. Spencer adopted a [[utilitarian]] standard of ultimate value – the greatest happiness of the greatest number – and the culmination of the evolutionary process would be the maximization of utility. In the perfect society individuals would not only derive pleasure from the exercise of altruism ('positive beneficence') but would aim to avoid inflicting pain on others ('negative beneficence'). They would also instinctively respect the rights of others, leading to the universal observance of the principle of justice – each person had the right to a maximum amount of liberty that was compatible with a like liberty in others. 'Liberty' was interpreted to mean the absence of coercion, and was closely connected to the right to private property. Spencer termed this code of conduct 'Absolute Ethics' which provided a scientifically-grounded moral system that could substitute for the supernaturally-based ethical systems of the past. However, he recognized that our inherited moral constitution does not currently permit us to behave in full compliance with the code of Absolute Ethics, and for this reason we need a code of 'Relative Ethics' which takes into account the distorting factors of our present imperfections. == Agnosticism ==Spencer's reputation among the Victorians owed a great deal to his [[agnosticism]], the claim that it is impossible for us to have certain knowledge of God. He rejected [[theology]] as representing the 'impiety of the pious.' He was to gain much notoriety from his repudiation of traditional religion, and was frequently condemned by religious thinkers for allegedly advocating atheism and materialism. Nonetheless, unlike Huxley, whose agnosticism was a militant creed directed at ‘the unpardonable sin of faith’ (in Adrian Desmond’s phrase), Spencer insisted that he was not concerned to undermine religion in the name of science, but to bring about a reconciliation of the two.  Starting either from religious belief or from science, Spencer argued, we are ultimately driven to accept certain indispensable but literally inconceivable notions. Whether we are concerned with a Creator or the substratum which underlies our experience of phenomena, we can frame no conception of it. Therefore, Spencer concluded, religion and science agree in the supreme truth that the human understanding is only capable of 'relative' knowledge. This is the case since, owing to the inherent limitations of the human mind, it is only possible to obtain knowledge of phenomena, not of the reality ('the absolute') underlying phenomena. Hence both science and religion must come to recognize as the 'most certain of all facts that the Power which the Universe manifests to us is utterly inscrutable.' He called this awareness of 'the Unknowable' and he presented worship of the Unknowable as capable of being a positive faith which could substitute for conventional religion. Indeed, he thought that the Unknowable represented the ultimate stage in the evolution of religion, the final elimination of its last anthropomorphic vestiges. == Political views==Spencerian views in 21st century circulation derive from his political theories and memorable attacks on the reform movements of the late 19th century. He has been claimed as a precursor by [[Libertarians]] and [[philosophical anarchists]].  Politics in late Victorian Britain moved in directions that Spencer disliked, and his arguments provided so much ammunition for conservatives and individualists in Europe and America that they still are in use in the 21st century.  By the 1880s he was denouncing "the new Toryism" (that is, the social reformist wing of Prime Minister [[William E. Gladstone]]). In ''The Man versus the State'' (1884), he attacked Gladstone and the Liberal party for losing its proper mission (they should be defending personal liberty, he said) and instead promoting paternalist social legislation. Spencer denounced Irish land reform, compulsory education, laws to regulate safety at work, prohibition and temperance laws, free libraries, and welfare reforms. His main objections were threefold: the use of the coercive powers of the government, the discouragement given to voluntary self-improvement, and the disregard of the "laws of life." The reforms, he said, were tantamount to "[[socialism]]", which he said was about the same as "slavery" in terms of limiting human freedom. Spencer vehemently attacked the widespread enthusiasm for annexation of colonies and imperial expansion, which subverted all he had predicted about evolutionary progress from ‘militant’ to ‘industrial’ societies and states.  Spencer anticipated many of the analytical standpoints of later libertarian theorists such as [[Friedrich Hayek]], especially in his "law of equal liberty", his insistence on the limits to predictive knowledge, his model of a spontaneous social order, and his warnings about the "unintended consequences" of collectivist social reforms.   ===Social Darwinism===Spencer created the [[Social Darwinist]] model that applied the law of the survival of the fittest to society. Humanitarian impulses had to be resisted as nothing should be allowed to interfere with nature's laws, including the social struggle for existence. This interpretation has its primary source in [[Richard Hofstadter]]'s ''Social Darwinism in American Thought'', which is frequently cited in the secondary literature as an authoritative account of the Synthetic Philosophy. Through constant repetition Hofstadter's Spencer has taken on a life of its own, his views and arguments represented by the same few passages, usually cited not directly from the source but from Hofstadter's rather selective quotations.  However, to regard Spencer as any kind of Darwinian, even of the 'Social' variety, is a gross distortion. He could never bring himself to abandon the idea that evolution equated to progress, that it involved the unfolding of a pre-existent pattern, and that there would be a final resting point – 'equilibrium' – in which an ultimate state of perfection was attained. Darwinian natural selection, with its open-ended process of change based on random variations that prospered or failed depending on their adaptation to environmental conditions, was thus far removed from Spencer’s vision of progressive development, and he struggled hard to find a place for it within his overall system. Against this background, his use of the theory of natural selection could never be more than window dressing as it threatened the idea of universal evolutionary progress and thus the scientific foundation for morality that he hoped to establish. In contrast to the harsh and unforgiving imperative that the weak must be made to go to the wall, his main political message was essentially an anti-political one about the efficacy of self-improvement rather than collective action in bringing about the promised future state of human perfection. ==General influence==While most philosophers fail to achieve much of a following outside the academy or their professional peers, by the 1870s and 1880s Spencer had achieved an unparalleled popularity, as the sheer volume of his sales indicate. He was probably the first, and possibly the only, philosopher in history to sell over a million copies of his works during his own lifetime. In the United States, where pirated editions were still commonplace, his authorized publisher, Appleton, sold 368,755 copies between 1860 and 1903. This figure did not differ much from his sales in his native Britain, and once editions in the rest of the world are added in the figure of a million copies seems like a conservative estimate. As [[William James]] remarked, Spencer "enlarged the imagination, and set free the speculative mind of countless doctors, engineers, and lawyers, of many physicists and chemists, and of thoughtful laymen generally."<ref>James, William. "Herbert Spencer". ''The Atlantic Monthly'', Vol. XCIV (1904), p. 104.</ref> The aspect of his thought that emphasized individual self-improvement found a ready audience in the skilled working class. Spencer's influence among the leaders of thought was also immense, although it was most often expressed in terms of their reaction to, and repudiation of, his ideas. As his American follower [[John Fiske]] observed, Spencer's ideas were to be found "running like the weft through all the warp" of Victorian thought.<ref>Quoted in Offer, John (2000), ''Herbert Spencer: Critical Assessments'', p. 613. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 0415181852.</ref> Such varied thinkers as [[Henry Sidgwick]], [[T.H. Green]], [[G.E. Moore]], William James, [[Henri Bergson]], and [[Emile Durkheim]] defined their ideas in relation to his. Durkheim’s ''Division of Labour in Society'' is to a very large extent an extended debate with Spencer from whose sociology, many commentators now agree, Durkheim borrowed extensively.<ref> Robert G. Perrin, "Émile Durkheim's Division of Labor and the Shadow of Herbert Spencer," ''Sociological Quarterly'' 36#4 pp 791-808</ref> In post-[[January Uprising|1863-Uprising]] [[Poland]], many of Spencer's ideas became integral to the dominant [[ideology]], "[[Positivism in Poland|Polish Positivism]]." The leading Polish writer of the period, [[Bolesław Prus]], adopted Spencer's [[metaphor]] of society-as-organism, giving it a striking poetic presentation in his 1884 story, "[[Mold of the Earth]]," and highlighting the concept in the introduction to his most universal novel, ''[[Pharaoh (novel)|Pharaoh]]'' (1895). The early 20th century was hostile to Spencer. Soon after his death his philosophical reputation went into a sharp decline. Half a century after his death his work was dismissed as a "parody of philosophy",<ref>Himmelfarb, Gertrude (1968). ''Darwin and the Darwinian Revolution'', p. 222. Quoted in Richards, Robert J. (1989), ''Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior'', p. 243. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0226712001.</ref> and the historian [[Richard Hofstadter]] called him "the metaphysician of the homemade intellectual, and the prophet of the cracker-barrel agnostic."<ref>Hofstadter, Richard (1992). ''Social Darwinism in American Thought'', p. 32. Beacon Press. ISBN 0807055034.</ref> Nonetheless, Spencer’s thought had penetrated so deeply into the Victorian age that his influence did not disappear entirely. In the late 20th century, however, much more positive estimates have appeared.<ref> See Francis (2007)</ref> === Political influence ===Despite his reputation as a Social Darwinist, Spencer's political thought has been open to multiple interpretations. His political philosophy could both provide inspiration to those who believed that individuals were masters of their fate, who should brook no interference from a meddling state, and those who believed that social development required a strong central authority. In ''[[Lochner v. New York]]'', conservative justices of the [[United States Supreme Court]] could find inspiration in Spencer's writings for striking down a New York law limiting the number of hours a baker could work during the week, on the ground that this law restricted [[liberty]] of [[contract]]. Arguing against the majority's holding that a "right to free contract" is implicit in the [[due process clause]] of the [[Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Fourteenth Amendment]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.]] wrote: "The Fourteenth Amendment does not enact Mr. Herbert Spencer's Social Statics." On the other hand, Spencer has also been described as a quasi-[[anarchism|anarchist]], as well as an outright anarchist. [[Georgi Plekhanov]], in his 1909 ''Anarchism and Socialism'', labeled Spencer a "conservative Anarchist."<ref>Plekhanov, Georgiĭ Valentinovich (1912), trans. Aveling, Eleanor Marx. ''Anarchism and Socialism'', p. 143. Chicago: Charles H. Kerr & Company.</ref>  Spencer's ideas became very influential in [[China]] and [[Japan]] largely because he appealed to the reformers' desire to establish a strong nation-state with which to compete with the Western powers. He was translated by the Chinese scholar [[Yen Fu]], who saw his writings as a prescription for the reform of the [[Qing]] [[state]].<ref>Schwartz, Benjamin ''In Search of Wealth and Power'' (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge Massachusetts, 1964).</ref> Spencer also influenced the Japanese Westernizer [[Tokutomi Soho]], who believed that Japan was on the verge of transitioning from a "militant society" to an "industrial society," and needed to quickly jettison all things Japanese and take up Western ethics and learning.<ref>Pyle, Kenneth ''The New Generation in Meiji Japan'' (Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, 1969) </ref> He also corresponded with [[Kaneko Kentaro]], warning him of the dangers of imperialism.<ref>Spencer to Kaneko Kentaro, 26 August 1892 in ''the Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer'' ed. David Duncan, 1908 p 296.</ref> ===Influence on literature===Spencer also exerted a great influence on [[literature]] and [[rhetoric]]. His 1852 essay, “The Philosophy of Style,” explored a growing trend of [[Formalism (literature)|formalist]] approaches to [[writing]]. Highly focused on the proper placement and ordering of the parts of an English sentence, he created a guide for effective [[composition (language)|composition]]. Spencer’s aim was to free [[prose]] [[writing]] from as much "[[friction]] and [[inertia]]" as possible, so that the reader would not be slowed by strenuous deliberations concerning the proper context and meaning of a sentence. Spencer argued that it is the writer's ideal "To so present ideas that they may be apprehended with the least possible [[Mind|mental]] [[effort]]" by the reader. He argued that by making the meaning as readily accessible as possible, the writer would achieve the greatest possible [[communication|communicative]] [[efficiency]]. This was accomplished, according to Spencer, by placing all the subordinate clauses, objects and phrases before the subject of a sentence so that, when readers reached the subject, they had all the information they needed to completely perceive its significance. While the overall influence that “The Philosophy of Style” had on the field of rhetoric was not as far-reaching as his contribution to other fields, Spencer’s voice lent authoritative support to [[Formalism (literature)|formalist]] views of [[rhetoric]]. Spencer also had an influence on [[literature]], as many [[novelist]]s came to address his ideas in their work. [[George Eliot]], [[Leo Tolstoy]], [[Thomas Hardy]], [[Bolesław Prus]], [[Abraham Cahan]] and [[D. H. Lawrence]] all referenced Spencer. [[Arnold Bennett]] greatly praised [http://praxeology.net/HS-SP.htm#firstprinciples ''First Principles''], and the influence it had on Bennett may be seen in his many novels. [[Jack London]] went so far as to create a character, ''[[Martin Eden]]'', a staunch Spencerian. [[H.G. Wells]] used Spencer's ideas as a theme in his [[novella]], ''[[The Time Machine]]'', employing them to explain the [[evolution]] of [[man]] into two [[species]]. It is perhaps the best testimony to the [[influence]] of Spencer’s beliefs and writings that his reach was so diverse. He influenced not only the administrators who shaped their societies’ inner workings, but also the artists who helped shape those societies' ideals and beliefs. ==Primary sources==*[http://archives.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/dispatcher.aspx?action=search&database=ChoiceArchive&search=IN=MS791 Papers of Herbert Spencer in Senate House Library, University of London]* [http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/Author.php?recordID=0236 Most of Spencer's books are available online]*"On The Proper Sphere of Government" (1842)*[http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=273 ''Social Statics: or, The Conditions Essential to Human Happiness Specified, and the First of Them Developed''] (1851) **[http://www.panarchy.org/spencer/ignore.state.1851.html "The Right to Ignore the State"], Chapter XIX of the first edition of ''Social Statics''**''Social Statics: [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96054973 Abridged and Revised]'' (1892)*"A Theory of Population" (1852)*[http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=1394 ''Principles of Psychology''] (1855), first edition, issued in one volume*[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=98953755 ''Education'' (1861)]*''[http://praxeology.net/HS-SP.htm System of Synthetic Philosophy]',' in ten volumes**''[http://praxeology.net/HS-SP.htm#firstprinciples First Principles]'' ISBN 0-89875-795-9 (1862)**''Principles of Biology'' (1864, 1867; revised and enlarged: 1898), in two volumes***Volume I — Part I: ''The Data of Biology''; Part II: ''The Inductions of Biology''; Part III: ''The Evolution of Life''; Appendices***Volume II — Part IV: ''Morphological Development''; Part V: ''Physiological Development''; Part VI: ''Laws of Mutiplication''; Appendices**''Principles of Psychology'' (1870, 1880), in two volumes***Volume I — Part I:'' The Data of Pscyhology''; Part II: ''The Inductions of Pscyhology''; Part III: ''General Synthesis''; Part IV: ''Special Synthesis''; Part V: ''Physical Synthesis''; Appendix***Volume II — Part VI: ''Special Analysis''; Part VII: ''General Analysis''; Part VIII: ''Congruities''; Part IX: ''Corollaries''**''Principles of Sociology'', in three volumes***Volume I (1874-75; enlarged 1876, 1885) — Part I: ''Data of Sociology''; Part II: ''Inductions of Sociology''; Part III: ''Domestic Institutions''***Volume II — Part IV: ''Ceremonial Institutions'' (1879); Part V: ''Political Institutions'' (1882); Part VI [published here in some editions]: ''Ecclesiastical Institutions'' (1885) ***Vollume III — Part VI [published here in some editions]: ''Ecclesiastical Institutions'' (1885); Part VII: ''Professional Institutions'' (1896); Part VIII: ''Industrial Institutions'' (1896); References**[http://oll.libertyfund.org/Texts/LFBooks/Spencer0236/PrinciplesEthics/HTMLs/0155-02_Pt05_Apps.html ''The Principles of Ethics''] (1897), in two volumes***Volume I — Part I: ''[http://fair-use.org/herbert-spencer/data-of-ethics The Data of Ethics]'' (1879); Part II: ''The Inductions of Ethics'' (1892); Part III: ''The Ethics of Individual Life'' (1892); References***Volume II — Part IV: ''The Ethics of Social Life: Justice'' (1891); Part V: ''The Ethics of Social Life: Negative Beneficence'' (1892); Part VI: ''The Ethics of Social Life: Positive Beneficence'' (1892); Appendices*[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96277756 ''The Study of Sociology'' (1873, 1896)]*[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3559105 ''An Autobiography''] (1904), in two volumes : See also {{cite book | author = Spencer, Herbert | title = An Autobiography | year = 1904 | publisher = D. Appleton and Company | location = | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=gUozqCwTGkEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=herbert+spencer&as_brr=1#PPR3,M2 }}*[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=7900182 v1 ''Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer'' by David Duncan] (1908)*[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=54665737 v2 ''Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer'' by David Duncan] (1908)*''Descriptive Sociology; or Groups of Sociological Facts,'' parts 1-8, classified and arranged by Spencer, compiled and abstracted by David Duncan, Richard Schepping, and James Collier (London, Williams & Norgate, 1873-1881).Essay Collections:*''Ilustrations of Universal Progress: A Series of Discussions'' (1864, 1883)*[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96054973 ''The Man Versus the State'' (1884)]*''Essays: Scientific, Political, and Speculative'' (1891), in three volumes:**Volume I (includes "The Development Hypothesis," "Progress: Its Law and Cause," "The Factors of Organic Evolution" and others)**Volume II (includes "The Classification of the Sciences," [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext04/8phil10.txt ''The Philosophy of Style''] (1852), The Origin and Function of Music," "The Physiology of Laughter," and others)**Volume III (includes "The Ethics of Kant," "State Tamperings With Money and Banks," "Specialized Administration," "From Freedom to Bondage," "The Americans," and others)*''Various Fragments'' (1897, enlarged 1900)* ''[http://praxeology.net/HS-FC.htm Facts and Comments]'' (1902) ==Philosophers' critiques==*[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=99533534 ''Herbert Spencer: An Estimate and Review'' by Josiah Royce (1904)]*[http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14557498 ''Lectures on the Ethics of T.H. Green, Mr. Herbert Spencer, and J. Martineau'' by Henry Sidgwick (1902)]*[http://www.marxists.org/archive/lafargue/1884/06/herbert-spencer.htm ''A Few Words with Mr Herbert Spencer'' by Paul Lafargue (1884)] ==See also==*[[Auberon Herbert]]*[[Classical liberalism]]*[[Cultural evolution]]*[[Liberalism]]*[[Contributions to liberal theory]]*[[Libertarianism]]*''[[Mold of the Earth]]'' (a story by [[Bolesław Prus]], inspired by a concept of Spencer's)*[[Scientism]] and [[Positivism (philosophy)|positivism]]*[[Etherscope]] ==Notes=={{reflist|2}} ==References==

*Elliot, Hugh. ''Herbert Spencer''. London: Constable and Company, Ltd., 1917*Elwick, James. "[http://www.shpltd.co.uk/elwick-spencer.pdf Herbert Spencer and the Disunity of the Social Organism]." ''History of Science'' 41, 2003, pp. 35-72.*Elliott, Paul 'Erasmus Darwin, Herbert Spencer and the origins of the evolutionary worldview in British provincial scientific culture', ''Isis'' 94 (2003), 1-29* Francis, Mark. , ''Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life.'' (2007) 464p. Newcastle UK: Acumen Publishing, 2007 ISBN 0801445906

* LeonardHofstadter, Thomas C. "Origins of the Myth of Social Darwinism: The Ambiguous Legacy of Richard Hofstadter’s , ''Social Darwinism in American Thought''. Boston: Beacon Press, 1955.*Kennedy, James G." Forthcoming in ''Journal of Economic Behavior and OrganizationHerbert Spencer'' (2009) [http. Boston://wwwG.princetonK.edu/~tleonard/papers/MythHall & Co.pdf online edition] says Richard Hofstadter (1944) is guilty , 1978*Lightman, Bernard, ''The Origins of both distorting Spencer's free market views Agnosticism: Victorian unbelief and smearing them with the taint limits of racist collectivismknowledge''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1987.* RootMandelbaum, Damon W. "The Unfortunate Case of Herbert Spencer: How a libertarian individualist was recast as a social DarwinistMaurice," [http://www.reason.com/news/show/127794.html ''History, Man, and Reason: a study in nineteenth-century thought'' July 29. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008]1971.* SciabarraRafferty, Chris MatthewEdward C. "The First Libertarian," ''Liberty'' (Aug 1999) ; “[http://www.nyuhistorians.eduorg/projectsannual/sciabarra2006/essays06program/spencerprecirculated/Session145_Rafferty.htm online] Says pdf The Right to the author Use of ''The Man Versus the State'' transcended simple-minded anti-statism to achieve Earth].,” Herbert Spencer, the first major statement of dialectical libertarianismWashington Intellectual Community, and American Conservation in the Late Nineteenth Century.* TaylorRichards, Michael WRobert J. ''The Philosophy Darwin and the Emergence of Herbert SpencerEvolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior'' (Continuum Studies in British Philosophy) (2007) [httpChicago://wwwUniversity of Chicago Press, 1987.amazon.com/Philosophy-Herbert-Spencer-Continuum-Studies/dp/0826487238/ref=pd_bbs_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222727400&sr=8-11 excerpt and text search]* Taylor, Michael W., ''Men versus the State: Herbert Spencer and Late Victorian Individualism''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.* WeinsteinTaylor, DavidMichael W. , ''Equal Freedom and Utility: The Philosophy of Herbert Spencer's Liberal Utilitarianism'.'' London: Continuum, (19982007) 235p. * Weinstein{{cite book | author=Three Initiates | title=The Kybalion | location=Chicago | publisher=The Yogi Publication Society/Masonic Temple | year=1912 | id= }}*Turner, DavidJonathan H. *[http, ''Herbert Spencer://platoA Renewed Appreciation''.stanfordSage Publications, Inc.edu/entries/spencer/ Herbert Spencer] in , 1985. ISBN 0803924267*Versen, Christopher R.,''Stanford Encyclopedia Optimistic Liberals: Herbert Spencer, the Brooklyn Ethical Association, and the Integration of Moral Philosophyand Evolution in the Victorian Trans-Atlantic Community.''Florida State University, 2006. ===Primary sourcesBy Spencer===* [http://oll.libertyfund.org/Home3/Author.php?recordID=0236 Most of Spencer's books are available online]* Spencer, Herbert. ''Spencer: Political Writings'' (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) edited by John Offer (1993) [http://www.amazon.com/Spencer-Political-Writings-Cambridge-History/dp/0521437407/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222727400&sr=8-4 excerpt and text search]* Spencer, Herbert. ''Social Statics: The Man Versus the State'' (1850) **''Social Statics'' (1851) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96054973 abridged version]* Spencer, Herbert. ''[http://praxeology.net/HS-SP.htm System of Synthetic Philosophy]'' (1860)]* Spencer, Herbert. '' The study of sociology'' [http://www.amazon.com/study-sociology-Herbert-Spencer/dp/1418188417/ref=pd_bbs_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222727400&sr=8-7 excerpt and text search]; also [http://www.questia.com/read/96277756?title=The%20Study%20of%20Sociology full text online free]* Spencer, Herbert. ''The Principles of Psychology'' [http://www.amazon.com/Principles-Psychology-1-Herbert-Spencer/dp/1402182716/ref=pd_bbs_8?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222727400&sr=8-8 excerpt and text search]; [http://books.google.com/books?id=hTBVAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:herbert+inauthor:spencer&lr=&num=30&as_brr=3 full text online]* Spencer, Herbert. ''Social Statics, Abridged and Revised: Together with the Man Versus the State'' (1896), highly influential among libertarians [http://www.questia.com/read/96054973?title=Social%20Statics%2c%20Abridged%20and%20Revised%3a%20Together%20with%20the%20Man%20Versus%20the%20State full text online free] * Spencer, Herbert. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=96054973 ''The Man Versus the State'' (1884)]

{{wikiquote}}{{wikisource author}}'''Biographical'''* {{sep entry|spencer|Herbert Spencer|David Weinstein|2008-02-27}}*The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: [http://www.constitutioniep.orgutm.edu/hss/ignore_statespencer.htm The Right to Ignore the State] by Herbert Spencer] by William Sweet.

*[http://www.bolenderinitiatives.com/sociology/herbert-spencer-1820-1903 Review materials for studying Herbert Spencer]*[http://www.bolender.com/Dr.%20Ron/SOC4044%20Sociological%20Theory/Class%20Sessions/Sociological%20Theory/Spencer,%20Herbert/spencer,_herbert.htm Review materials for studying Herbert Spencer's ideas]'''Sources'''* [http://booksoll.googlelibertyfund.comorg/booksindex.php?as_qoption=com_staticxt&numstaticfile=30&btnGshow.php%3Fperson=Google+Search165&as_epqItemid=&as_oq28 Works by Herbert Spencer at the Online Library of Liberty] (HTML, facsimile PDF, reading PDF)*[http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=mediatype%3A(texts)%20-contributor%3Agutenberg%20AND%20(subject%3A%22Spencer%2C%20Herbert%2C%201820-1903%22%20OR%20creator%3A%22Spencer%2C%20Herbert%2C%201820-1903%22) Works by &as_eqabout Herbert Spencer] at [[Internet Archive]] (scanned books original editions color illustrated)* {{gutenberg author| id=&as_brr=3&lr=&as_vt=&as_auth=herbertHerbert+spencer&as_pubSpencer | name=&as_subHerbert Spencer}} (plain text and HTML)*[http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/toccer-new2?id=SpeFirs.xml&as_drrbimages=cimages/modeng&as_minydata=/texts/english/modeng/parsed&as_maxytag=public&as_isbnpart= online writings all "First principles"] Electronic Text Center, University of SpencerVirginia Library.* [http://praxeology.net/HS-SP.htm#firstprinciples First Principles Herbert's 'First Principles' online]* [http://www.constitution.org/hs/ignore_state.htm The Right to Ignore the State] by Herbert Spencer.==Notes==* [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/spencer-darwin.html Excerpts from ''Progress: Its Law and Cause''] available from the [[Internet Modern History Sourcebook]]<references* [http:/>/www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/spencer-darwin.html Modern History Sourcebook: Herbert Spencer: Social Darwinism, 1857]*[http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/long3.html "Herbert Spencer: The Defamation Continues"] - a vindication by [[Roderick T. Long]]

{{Persondata|NAME=Spencer, Herbert|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Спенсер, Герберт (Russian)|SHORT DESCRIPTION=English philosopher|DATE OF BIRTH=[[27 April]] [[1820]]|PLACE OF BIRTH=[[Derby, England|Derby]]|DATE OF DEATH=[[8 December]] [[1903]]|PLACE OF DEATH=}}{{DEFAULTSORT: Spencer, Herbert}}[[Category:1820 births]][[Category:1903 deaths]][[Category:19th century philosophers]][[Category:Classical liberals]][[Category:English agnostics]][[Category:English libertarians]][[Category:English economists]][[Category:English philosophers]][[Category:English anthropologists]][[Category:Anthropologists]][[Category:Former anarchists]][[Category:Libertarian theorists]][[Category:Minarchists]][[Category:Rhetoricians]][[Category:People from Derby]][[Category:Functionalism]][[Category:Burials at Highgate Cemetery]][[Category:British political theorists]]

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