File:Herbert_Spencer.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Herbert Spencer
Also known as Spencert, Gerbert Spencer
English philosopher and political theorist (1820–1903)
AI overview
Herbert Spencer was a 19th-century English philosopher who applied the concept of evolution to society and human development, arguing that societies progress through natural competition and struggle. His influential ideas shaped debates about politics, economics, and social change for generations, though many of his theories are now rejected by modern scholars.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1820
- Died
- 1903
- Works
- 485
Top works
- Political institutions
- Le rôle moral de la bienfaisance
- The data of ethics
- First Principles
- Social statics
via Open Library + Wikidata
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Group
- Origin
- United Kingdom
- Active from
- 1963
- Active to
- 1969
beatbeat musicblue-eyed soulbluesbritish bluesbritish rhythm & blues
Discography
Works in European collections
36 objects attributed to Herbert Spencer, held across European museums, libraries & archives · via Europeana
~40 min read
Article
Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English polymath active as a philosopher, psychologist, biologist, sociologist, and anthropologist. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin's 1859 book On the Origin of Species. The term strongly suggests natural selection, yet Spencer saw evolution as extending into realms of sociology and ethics, so he also supported Lamarckism.
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. As a polymath, he contributed to a wide range of subjects, including ethics, religion, anthropology, economics, political theory, philosophy, literature, astronomy, biology, sociology, and psychology. During his lifetime he achieved tremendous authority, mainly in English-speaking academia. Spencer was "the single most famous European intellectual in the closing decades of the nineteenth century" but his influence declined sharply after 1900: "Who now reads Spencer?" asked Talcott Parsons in 1937.
![Ecclesiastical Institutions: being Part VI. of the Principles of Sociology : [War früher als Theil des 'System of Synthetic Philosophy', Ph.u. 8?? 469 hx, ausgetellt.] Die 'Ecclesiastical Institutions' sind auch in der Ausgabe von 1896 im 8. Bande des 'System of Synthetic Philosophy' vorhanden. Das Anerbieten des Verlegers, die Ausgabe von 1885 zurückzunehmen, wurde aus bibliogr. und bibliothekarischen Gründen nicht acceptiert](https://api.europeana.eu/thumbnail/v2/url.json?uri=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.digitale-sammlungen.de%2Fiiif%2Fimage%2Fv2%2Fbsb11615132_00015%2Ffull%2Ffull%2F0%2Fdefault.jpg&type=IMAGE)
