Difference between revisions of "Herbert Spencer"

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Herbert Spencer (April 27, 1820 – December 8, 1903) was an English philosopher and prominent liberal political theorist. He had an encyclopedic range, writing on topics of politics, economics, sociology, biology, psychology and anthropology. His main theme was that powerful forces of social evolution were systematically making mankind better and better. In politics he was a libertarian opposed to government intervention of any sort.

Life

Spencer was born into a poor but well-educated family. He was home-schooled by his father and his uncle Thomas Spencer, an evangelical clergyman who had been educated at Cambridge University. Starting at age 17 he spent four years as a civil engineer building railways, and the highly systematic engineering mode of analysis characterized his intellectual approaches.^[1] He never married.

Religion

Although raised in a devout Methodist family, he never joined a church. He was a defender of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, and coined the terms "the Survival of the fittest"^[2] and "the Descent of Man." Spencer, like many scientists of the time, was a deist, which is to say he did not believe in God per se, but only in a god. Eventually, Spencer became an agnostic.

Influence

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 Andrew Carnegie and William Graham Sumner. Spencer's influence faded in Britain and America after 1900.

Spencer is largely remembered today for his theories of social Darwinism, the idea that evolutionary ideas applied to societies as well as people. Spencer developed his ideas before Darwin, and "social darwinism" dealt only with the progressive betterment of human society.

Bibliography

Carneiro, Robert L. and Perrin, Robert G. "Herbert Spencer's 'Principles of Sociology:' a Centennial Retrospective and Appraisal." Annals of Science 2002 59(3): 221-261 online at Ebsco
Duncan, David. The life and letters of Herbert Spencer (1908) online edition
Francis, Mark. Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life. (2007) 464p.
Harris, Jose. "Spencer, Herbert (1820–1903)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,(2004) online, a standard short biography
Taylor, Michael W. The Philosophy of Herbert Spencer (Continuum Studies in British Philosophy) (2007) excerpt and text search
Weinstein, David. Equal Freedom and Utility: Herbert Spencer's Liberal Utilitarianism. (1998) 235p.

Primary sources

Spencer, Herbert. Spencer: Political Writings (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) edited by John Offer (1993) excerpt and text search
Spencer, Herbert. Social Statics: The Man Versus the State
Spencer, Herbert. The study of sociology excerpt and text search; also full text online free
Spencer, Herbert. The Principles of Psychology excerpt and text search; full text online
Spencer, Herbert. Social Statics, Abridged and Revised: Together with the Man Versus the State (1896), highly influential among libertarians full text online free
Spencer, Herbert. Education: Intellectual, Moral, and Physical (1891) 283pp full text online
Spencer, Herbert. An Autobiography (1905, 2 vol) full text online
online writings of Spencer

Notes

↑ He was not the engineer of a train.
↑ fit - meaning suitable, or the right size and shape, not fit as in athletically strong (although some have inferred this interpretation).

[1] He was not the engineer of a train.

[2] fit - meaning suitable, or the right size and shape, not fit as in athletically strong (although some have inferred this interpretation).

[1]

[2]

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-'''Herbert Spencer''' (April 27, 1820 – December 8, 1903) was an [[English]] [[philosopher]] and prominent [[liberal]] [[political theorist]]. He had an encyclopedic range, writing on topics of politics, ecoomics, sociology, biology, psychology and anthropology. His main theme was that powerful forces of social evolution were systematically making mankind better and better.  In politics he was a libertarian opposed to government intervention of any sort.
+'''Herbert Spencer''' (April 27, 1820 – December 8, 1903) was an [[English]] [[philosopher]] and prominent [[liberal]] [[political theorist]]. He had an encyclopedic range, writing on topics of politics, economics, sociology, biology, psychology and anthropology. His main theme was that powerful forces of social evolution were systematically making mankind better and better.  In politics he was a libertarian opposed to government intervention of any sort.
 ==Life==
-Spencer was born into a poor but well-educated family. He was home-schooled by his father and his uncle Thomas Spencer, an evangelical clergyman who had been educated at Cambridge University. Starting at age 17 he spent four years as a civil eengineer building railways, and the highly systematic engineering mode of analysis characterized his intellectual approaches.<ref> He was not the engineer of a train.</ref>  He never married.
+Spencer was born into a poor but well-educated family. He was home-schooled by his father and his uncle Thomas Spencer, an evangelical clergyman who had been educated at Cambridge University. Starting at age 17 he spent four years as a civil engineer building railways, and the highly systematic engineering mode of analysis characterized his intellectual approaches.<ref> He was not the engineer of a train.</ref>  He never married.
 ==Religion==
@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ==Bibliography==
-* Carneiro, Robert L. and Perrin, Robert G. "Herbert Spencer's 'Principles of Sociology:' a Centennial Restrospective and Appraisal." ''Annals of Science'' 2002 59(3): 221-261 online at Ebsco
+* Carneiro, Robert L. and Perrin, Robert G. "Herbert Spencer's 'Principles of Sociology:' a Centennial Retrospective and Appraisal." ''Annals of Science'' 2002 59(3): 221-261 online at Ebsco
 * Duncan, David. ''The life and letters of Herbert Spencer'' (1908) [http://books.google.com/books?id=trlCAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=intitle:herbert+intitle:spencer&lr=&num=30&as_brr=3 online edition]
 * Francis, Mark. ''Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life.'' (2007) 464p.
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 * 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''
-* 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]; aslo [http://www.questia.com/read/96277756?title=The%20Study%20of%20Sociology full text online free]
+* 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. ''Education: Intellectual, Moral, and Physical'' (1891) 283pp
+* Spencer, Herbert. ''Education: Intellectual, Moral, and Physical'' (1891) 283pp [http://books.google.com/books?id=gztMAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:herbert+inauthor:spencer&lr=&num=30&as_brr=3 full text online]
 * Spencer, Herbert. ''An Autobiography'' (1905, 2 vol) [http://books.google.com/books?id=gUozqCwTGkEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=inauthor:herbert+inauthor:spencer&lr=&num=30&as_brr=3 full text online]
 * [http://books.google.com/books?as_q=&num=30&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_brr=3&lr=&as_vt=&as_auth=herbert+spencer&as_pub=&as_sub=&as_drrb=c&as_miny=&as_maxy=&as_isbn= online writings of Spencer]