Changes

Spencer's second book, ''The Principles of Psychology,'' (1855) said that the human mind was the product of environmentally generated organic evolution; it came under attack for its atheism and materialism.  

Spencer's second book, ''The Principles of Psychology,'' (1855) said that the human mind was the product of environmentally generated organic evolution; it came under attack for its atheism and materialism.  

===Education===

===Education===

His essays on education, ''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."

His essays on education, ''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===

===Synthetic Philosophy===

Spencer spent forty years writing a series of books and articles explaining his "Synthetic Philosophy." The books sold very well and, especially in the 1870s, had a major impact on European and American thinkers.  He focused on the evolution of biological organisms, 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.

Spencer spent forty years writing a series of books and articles explaining his "Synthetic Philosophy." The books sold very well and, especially in the 1870s, had a major impact on European and American thinkers.  He focused on the evolution of biological organisms, 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.