Herbert Spencer
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"From Sidgwick [ G. E. Moore ] might have learnt that good is ever our good, and from Spencer and Guyau that what we can and do perceive as good is not remote from the background of life which nurtures us. And so, having disposed of his intrinsic good, we might take courage against that fearsome naturalistic fallacy to seek into the conditions of, and therfore to ask what is, the meaning of good."--"G. E. Moore and Intrinsic Goodness" (1928) by Edward F. Mettrick. |
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Herbert Spencer (April 27, 1820 – December 8, 1903) was an English philosopher; prominent classical liberal political theorist; and sociological theorist.
Spencer developed an all-embracing conception of evolution as the progressive development of the physical world, biological organisms, the human mind, and human culture and societies. The lifelong bachelor contributed to a wide range of subjects, including ethics, religion, politics, philosophy, biology, sociology, and psychology.
He is best known for coining the phrase, "survival of the fittest," which he did in Principles of Biology (1864), after reading Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species. This term strongly suggests natural selection, yet as Spencer extended evolution into realms of sociology and ethics, he made use of Lamarckism rather than natural selection.
See also
- Auberon Herbert
- Classical liberalism
- Contributions to liberal theory
- Cultural evolution
- Eugenics
- Geolibertarianism
- Just-world hypothesis
- Liberalism
- Liberal feminism
- Libertarianism
- "Mold of the Earth" (a story by Bolesław Prus, inspired by a concept of Spencer's)
- Progressivism
- Pharaoh (a novel by Bolesław Prus, partly inspired by a concept of Spencer's)
- Scientism and positivism
- Social Darwinism
