Spencer, Herbert (1820–1903)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7079156 |
|---|---|
| Authors | David Weinstein (0000-0001-6101-5124, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Pages | 1-3 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-23 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | OTHER |
| Venue | The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/9781405165518.wbeoss219.pub2 |
| OpenAlex | W4246519623 |
| ISBN | 9781405165518 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 4 |
Herbert Spencer was a nineteenth‐century British social and political theorist and moral philosopher. His most important work in social theory was the three‐volume The Principles of Sociology (1876–1896). His most important study in ethics was his two‐volume The Principles of Ethics (1879–1893). In these works, and in many others, he argued that, thanks to Lamarckian use‐inheritance and natural selection, human societies evolved from prehistoric small bands into larger “militant” societies and nations and ultimately into peaceful “industrial” societies, politically libertarian and morally utilitarian. Spencer's utilitarianism was similar, in some important respects, to J.S. Mill and Henry Sidgwick's classical utilitarianism
Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Geography · Inheritance (genetic algorithm · Mill · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Utilitarianism · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Economic Theory and Institutions · Law · Philosophy
| Highly cited | No |
|---|