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Herbert Spencer was regarded by the Victorians as the foremost
philosopher of the age, the prophet of evolution at a time when the
idea had gripped the popular imagination. His ambition was to
construct a "Synthetic Philosophy" which unified all knowledge by
demonstrating evolution to be at work throughout the universe from
the nebulae to human society. In so doing he made important
contributions to biology, psychology, sociology, and philosophy,
and his writ ran from the intellectual elite - Darwin called him
"our great philosopher" - through the professional classes to the
working men whom Beatrice Webb once overheard discussing his ideas
on a train. Until recently Spencer's posthumous reputation rested
almost exclusively on his social and political thought, which has
itself frequently been subject to serious misrepresentation. But
historians of ideas now recognise that an acquaintance with
Spencer's thought is essential for the proper understanding of many
aspects of Victorian intellectual life, and the present selection
is designed to answer this need.
In 1862, the British philosopher Herbert Spencer (1820 1903)
published this preamble to a planned series of publications on
biology, psychology, sociology and morality. In it, he states that
religion and science can be reconciled by their shared belief in an
Absolute, and that ultimate principles can be discerned in all
manifestations of the Absolute, particularly the general laws of
nature being discovered by science. Spencer divides his text into
two parts. Part I, 'The Unknowable', discusses early philosophical
ideas that human knowledge is limited and cannot meaningfully
conceive of God; faith must be the bridge between human experience
and ultimate truth. Spencer refutes this as he examines religion
and science in detail. In Part II, 'Laws of the Knowable', Spencer
argues that religion and science can be reconciled in the
underlying unity from which the visible complexity of the universe
has evolved.
In this amazingly prophetic work, done late in his career, Herbert
Spencer offers an approach to ethics that anticipates developments
throughout the twentieth century. He moves away from the twin evils
of ethical doctrines bequeathed to us by an ancient past that are
simply no longer feasible but also avoids modern standards of
ethical conduct that are simply impossible to attain. "By
association with rules that cannot be obeyed," Spencer writes,
"rules that can be obeyed lose their authority." The volume opens
with three chapters on conduct: its evolution, good and bad, and
ways of judgment. This is followed by a series of chapters that
examine ethics from a variety of scientific perspectives: physics,
biology, psychology, and sociology. The work then moves on to
specific issues of deep human concern: the relativity of pleasures
and pain, egoism versus altruism in explaining actions, and trial
and compromise in decision-making about ethical concerns. Spencer's
work anticipates the movement toward pragmatic, naturalistic, and
even positivist approaches to ethics. He emphasizes that a
relativist approach while in keeping with the spirit of the
industrial age, also poses a variety of problems that admit only of
empirical solutions. He understands that his critical stance on
absolutism should not blind researchers to the ideals assumed by
the ancients that assist people in their everyday living. In short,
this is a remarkable work, entirely modern, and yet containing a
sharp evaluation of how ethical data serve to enhance ethical
conduct.
In this amazingly prophetic work, done late in his career, Herbert
Spencer offers an approach to ethics that anticipates developments
throughout the twentieth century. He moves away from the twin evils
of ethical doctrines bequeathed to us by an ancient past that are
simply no longer feasible but also avoids modern standards of
ethical conduct that are simply impossible to attain. "By
association with rules that cannot be obeyed," Spencer writes,
"rules that can be obeyed lose their authority." The volume opens
with three chapters on conduct: its evolution, good and bad, and
ways of judgment. This is followed by a series of chapters that
examine ethics from a variety of scientific perspectives: physics,
biology, psychology, and sociology. The work then moves on to
specific issues of deep human concern: the relativity of pleasures
and pain, egoism versus altruism in explaining actions, and trial
and compromise in decision-making about ethical concerns. Spencer's
work anticipates the movement toward pragmatic, naturalistic, and
even positivist approaches to ethics. He emphasizes that a
relativist approach while in keeping with the spirit of the
industrial age, also poses a variety of problems that admit only of
empirical solutions. He understands that his critical stance on
absolutism should not blind researchers to the ideals assumed by
the ancients that assist people in their everyday living. In short,
this is a remarkable work, entirely modern, and yet containing a
sharp evaluation of how ethical data serve to enhance ethical
conduct.
Herbert Spencer (1820 1903), Victorian philosopher, biologist,
sociologist and political theorist, one of the founders of Social
Darwinism and author of the phrase 'survival of the fittest', was
nominated for the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1902, losing out to
Theodor Mommsen. Spencer left his post at The Economist in 1857 to
focus on writing his ten-volume System of Synthetic Philosophy, a
work that offers an ethics-based guide to human conduct to replace
that provided by conventional religious belief. Published in 1879,
this volume seeks to demonstrate that social evolution tends
towards greater individualism, altruism and co-operation. Spencer
argues that it is possible to establish rules of right conduct on a
scientific basis, and declares that this work is the culmination of
his life's study. He was anxious to publish it outside the planned
order of the System, because he feared (wrongly) that his death
would prevent its completion.
This book presents Spencer's classic attempt to expose the flaws in socialism and to assert political individualism as the best way to guarantee social progress. It will be of interest to both undergraduates and specialists in politics, political theory, social policy, sociology and history.
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