Herbert Spencer was born on April 27, 1820 in the English city of Derby. His father, William George Spencer, was a believer who rebelled against official religious dogma and passed from the Methodist Church to the Quaker community. He headed a school that preached the progressive teaching methods of Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi. He was also the secretary of the Derby School of Philosophy. The father taught his son empiricism, and other representatives of the School of Philosophy introduced the boy to pre-Darwinian views on the theory of evolution. Herbert's uncle, Reverend Thomas Spencer, gave the boy the necessary education, teaching him mathematics, physics and Latin. He also instilled in his nephew physiocratic and anti-state views.
Philosophical activity
Having found no application for himself in the field of intellectual knowledge and professional specialties, Herbert works as a railway engineer. But at the same time he published provincial magazines, non-conformist in views of religion and radical in their political ideas. From 1848 to 1853 Spencer was assistant editor of the physiocratic magazine The Economist. At the same time, he wrote his first work, Social Statistics (1851).
The book's publisher, John Chapman, introduces Spencer to the leading progressive minds of his day - John Stuart Mill, Garietta Martino, George Henry Lewis and Mary Ann Evans. Just at this time, Spencer meets the biologist Thomas Henry Huxley, with whom they will be linked by close friendship in the future. With the help of Lewis and Evans, Spencer becomes familiar with John Stuart Mill's System of Logic and the positivism of Auguste Comte. All of this will form the basis of his second book, Principles of Psychology (1855). His true desire to establish the unity of natural law leads him to the study of psychology. Like most thinkers of that time, Spencer was literally obsessed with the idea of \u200b\u200bproving that any phenomenon in the Universe, including universal culture, can be explained by laws of a universal nature. This belief ran counter to contemporary theological concepts, which stated that a number of elements of creation - such as the human soul - were outside the scope of scientific research. In 1858, Spencer began to develop views that would lead to the writing of The System of Synthetic Philosophy, which aims to demonstrate the application of the principles of evolution in biology, psychology, sociology and ethics. Spencer will devote almost the rest of his life to this work, which will consist of ten volumes.
Later years
By the 1870s. Spencer becomes the most popular philosopher of his time. His works are widely known, bringing the author a considerable income from sales. On this income, as well as on royalties for his constant work in the field of Victorian journalism, he lives. The articles he wrote for Victorian magazines would later be combined into a collection of Essays. His works will be translated into German, Italian, Spanish, French, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, as well as many other languages \u200b\u200bof the world. In the countries of Europe and North America, Spencer receives numerous honors and awards. He becomes a member of the Athenaeum, a privileged club of gentlemen in London, open only to the most prominent figures in the arts and sciences. Spencer also joins the prestigious "X" Club, a society founded by T. G. Huxley, which had the honor of only nine members, the most influential thinkers of the Victorian era. Society meetings were held monthly. Among them, in addition to Spencer and Huxley, were also the philosopher-physicist John Tyndall and Darwin's cousin, banker and biologist Sir John Lubbock. The guests of the “X” club were Charles Darwin himself and Hermann von Helmholtz. Such good connections helped Spencer to occupy a special position in the scientific world. Even after getting rich, Spencer never got his own house. All his life he remained a bachelor, and therefore he spends the last decades of his life alone and is increasingly disillusioned with his own previous views. At the end of his life, he becomes a hypochondriac and incessantly complains of pain and mental disorders. Contrary to his earlier theories of women's rights and land nationalization, as outlined in Social Statistics, in his later period Spencer became an ardent opponent of women's voting rights. He articulates these political convictions in his work Man and State. In 1902, a year before his death, Herbert Spencer was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Death
Spencer worked on his books until the end of his days. He died on December 8, 1903, at the age of 83. His ashes are buried in the eastern part of the Hageit cemetery in London.
Influence on philosophical thought
In the 1870s-1880s. Spencer gained popularity in a way that his predecessors rarely achieved. He became the first and only philosopher to have sold more than a million copies of his works during his lifetime. His work had a significant impact on the views of a number of contemporaries, including Henry Sidgwick, T.G. Green, J.E. Moore, William James, Henry Bergson, and Emily Durkheim. Political views of that time were formed in many ways according to his theories. Spencer's philosophical thought inspired those who stood on the fact that man is the master of his own destiny and should not tolerate the slightest interference in it from the state. Part of his philosophy was the assertion that for social development a strong centralized authority is needed. Spencer's teachings became extremely popular in China and Japan. The disseminator of his ideas in China was the Chinese philosopher Yan Fu, whose theories, in turn, influenced the Japanese journalist Tokutomi Soho, who believed that Japan was on the verge of transition from a "fighting state" to an "industrial society", which urgently needs to be adopted Western ethics and teachings. Spencer's work had a significant impact on the development of literature and rhetoric. His ideas were used in their works by such famous writers and authors as George Eliot, Lev Tolstoy, Thomas Hardy, Boleslav Prus, Avrom Kagan, D.G. Lawrence, Machado de Assis and Richard Austin Freeman. HG Wells, in his famous story "The Time Machine", using Spencer's theories, explained the process of human evolution into two species of individuals.
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Biography
The greatest scientific value is represented by his research in sociology, including his two other treatises: "Social statics" ( Social Statics,) and "Sociological Research" ( The Study of Sociology,) and eight volumes containing systematized sociological data, "Descriptive Sociology" ( Descriptive Sociology, -). Spencer is the founder of the "organic school" in sociology. Society, from his point of view, is an evolving organism, similar to a living organism considered by biological science. Societies can organize and control their own adaptation processes, and then they develop in the direction of militaristic regimes; they can also allow free and flexible adaptation and then turn into industrialized states.
However, the inexorable course of evolution makes adaptation "not an accident, but a necessity." Spencer considered the social philosophy laissez-faire a consequence of the concept of the cosmic force of evolution. The principle of individualism that underlies this philosophy is clearly stated in the Principles of Ethics:
Each person is free to do what he wants, if he does not violate the equal freedom of any other person.
Social evolution is a process of increasing “individualization”. In "Autobiography" ( Autobiography, 2 vol., 1904) is an ultra-individualist in character and origin, a person distinguished by extraordinary self-discipline and hard work, but almost devoid of a sense of humor and romantic aspirations. Spencer died in Brighton on December 8, 1903.
He opposed revolutions and sharply rejected socialist ideas. He believed that human society, like the organic world, develops gradually, evolutionarily. He was an open opponent of education for the poor, and considered the democratization of education harmful.
The concept of social institutions
Herbert Spencer
Social institutions are the mechanisms of self-organization of people living together. They ensure the transformation of a person who is asocial by nature into a social being capable of joint action.
- Home Institutes - family, marriage, upbringing problems.
- Ritual (ceremonial) - are designed to regulate the daily behavior of people, establishing customs, rituals, etiquette, etc.
- Political - the appearance is associated with the transfer of intragroup conflicts to the sphere of conflicts between groups; conflicts and wars played a decisive role in the formation of the political and class structure of society (the need for defense or conquest most of all unites society).
- Church - temples, churches, parish schools, religious traditions.
- Professional and industrial institutions - arise on the basis of the division of labor; professional (guilds, workshops, trade unions) - consolidate groups of people for professional occupations; industrial - support the production structure of society. The importance of social production increases with the transition from militarized to industrial societies: it is accompanied by an increase in the role of labor relations, and direct violence gives way to internal self-restraint.
Society
The most important principle of his sociology is the assimilation of society to an organism (organicism).
Society consists of 3 relatively autonomous parts (systems of "organs"):
- supporting - production of necessary products
- distribution (distributive) - division of goods based on the division of labor (provides a connection between the parts of the social organism)
- regulatory (state) - the organization of parts on the basis of their subordination to the whole.
Types of societies
Military type of society - military conflicts and extermination or enslavement of the vanquished by the winner; centralized control. The state interferes in industry, trade and spiritual life, instills monotony, passive obedience, lack of initiative, and prevents natural adaptation to the requirements of the environment. Government intervention is not only not beneficial, but even downright harmful.
Personal rights
List of individual rights according to Spencer:
- free movement,
Spencer defended "the right of every person to do his own thing as he pleases, whatever his occupations, as long as they do not violate the freedom of others." Political rights are needed to protect personal rights. "Political rights should be so distributed that not only individuals, but also classes could not oppress each other." However, for all his liberality, Spencer was against the granting of political rights to women.
Spencer's works
- Social Statics (1851)
- "The system of synthetic philosophy" ( System of Synthetic Philosophy, 1862-96) - Main essay in 10 volumes
- "Basic principles" ( First Principles, 1862). - DJVU. Archived
- "Foundations of Sociology" ( The Principles of Sociology, 1874-1896). - PDF. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012.
- "Man and State" ( The man versus the state, )
- “Philosophy and Religion. The nature and reality of religion "( Philosophy and Religion. The Nature and Reality of Religion, )
- "Adequate boundaries of state power" ( The Proper Sphere of Government, )
- "Education mental, moral and physical" ( Education: Intellectual, Moral, Physical, )
- "Facts and Comments" ( Facts and Comments, )
- "Essays: Scientific, Political and Philosophical" ( Essays: Scientific, Political, and Speculative, 3 vol.,)
- "Ethics data" ( The Data of Ethics, )
- "Justice" ( Justice, )
Literature
- Associative psychology // G. Spencer. Foundations of Psychology; T. Zigen. Physiological psychology. - M .: OOO "Publishing house AST-LTD", 1998. - P. 560. - 10,000 copies.
- // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
- Kon I.S. Sociological concept of Herbert Spencer // History of bourgeois sociology of the XIX - early XX century / Ed. I.S.Kona. Approved for publication by the Institute of Sociological Research of the USSR Academy of Sciences. - M .: Nauka, 1979 .-- S. 40-52. - 6400 copies.
Notes
Links
- Spencer, Herbert in the library of Maxim Moshkov
- Spencer G. Personality and state
Categories:
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- Born on April 27
- Born in 1820
- Derby births
- Deceased December 8
- Dead in 1903
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- Philosophers of Great Britain
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- 19th century philosophers
- Evolutionists
- Positivism
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english Herbert spencer
british philosopher and sociologist, one of the founders of evolutionism, ideologist of liberalism
short biography
The English philosopher, one of the most prominent sociologists, the founder of the organic school of sociology, one of the founders of positivism - was born on April 27, 1820 in Derby (Derbyshire). His health constantly inspired his parents with apprehension. In early childhood and during his school years, Herbert did not shine with knowledge, did not obey his parents. The father put a lot of effort into instilling original thinking in the boy, and physical exercises helped him to get stronger.
As a thirteen-year-old teenager, Spencer was sent to his uncle, a priest for education. His uncle insisted that his nephew go to Cambridge, but the matter was limited to a three-year preparatory course. Spencer, having left for his hometown, was engaged in self-education and subsequently never regretted that he did not have a university degree. Continuing the teaching dynasty, Spencer worked at school for several months after completing his secondary education. Despite his obvious pedagogical gift, he himself showed greater interest in technology and mathematics, knew them well. He gladly accepted the offer to become an engineer on a railway under construction.
In 1841, Herbert quit his job, realizing that he would not become a financially secure person there. For two years, he, raising the level of education, studies classical philosophy. At the same stage of his biography, his first works appear in print. During 1843-1846. he again works as an engineer, but at the same time he is increasingly fascinated by politics. After receiving several patents for inventions in 1846, Spencer ends his engineering career and directs his efforts to journalism. In 1848 he became assistant editor of the journal "Economist", in which during 1848-1853. his articles are published covering economic problems.
A whole decade (1848-1858) he spent on developing a plan that would combine all philosophy into a single whole with the dominant idea of \u200b\u200bdevelopment. In 1850, Spencer's book "Social Statistics" was published, which had considerable success and inspired the author to new works. In 1852, he continued to formulate his system in the article "The Hypothesis of Development", anticipating Darwin's theory of the evolution of the animal world. At the end of the 50s. Spencer sketched the main work of his life - "Synthetic Philosophy", which in total will take him 36 years of life. Thanks to this work, he will earn a reputation as the most brilliant philosopher of his time.
Having decided in 1858 to attract readers to subscribe to the publication of this work, he during 1860-1863. publishes materials, after which he faces great material difficulties. Nervous overwork interferes with his work systematically. In 1865, subscribers received the news that the series could not be published further, but two years later, a small inheritance received from his father and the help of a new acquaintance, American Yumans, help him resume publication. In the United States, Spencer is becoming more famous than in his home country. In 1875, the publication of his writings finally allowed for the first profits.
In 1886, due to lack of strength to continue the work, he suspended it for four whole years, but his spirit was not broken by the exhausting physical suffering. In 1896 the last volume of Spencer's most important work was published. All his life suffering from health problems, Spencer, nevertheless, lived to a ripe old age and died in Brighton on December 8, 1903.
Biography from Wikipedia
Herbert Spencer (English Herbert Spencer; April 27, 1820, Derby - December 8, 1903, Brighton) - English philosopher and sociologist, one of the founders of evolutionism, whose ideas were very popular at the end of the 19th century, the founder of the organic school in sociology; ideologue of liberalism. His sociological views are a continuation of the sociological views of Saint-Simon and Comte; Lamarck and C. Baire, Smith and Malthus had a certain influence on the development of the idea of \u200b\u200bevolution.
Born in Derby (Derbyshire) in the family of a teacher. Due to poor health, he did not attend school until the age of 13 and was educated at home. Refused an offer to study at Cambridge (later resigned from the position of professor at University College London and from membership in the Royal Society).
He was a teacher. From 1837 he worked as an engineer on the construction of a railway. In 1841 he quit his job and took up self-education. In 1843 he headed the engineering bureau, in 1846 he received a patent for a sawing and planing machine. Soon I decided to take up journalism. In 1848-1853 he worked as a journalist (assistant editor in the magazine "Economist"). Was closely acquainted with J. Eliot, J. G. Lewis, T. Huxley, J. S. Mill and J. Tyndall, in last years life with B. Webb. During several trips to France, he met with O. Comte. In 1853 he received an inheritance and was able to devote himself entirely to the pursuits of philosophy and science.
Views
Spencer's views combined evolutionism, the principle of laissez faire and the concept of philosophy as a generalization of all sciences, as well as other ideological currents of his time. Lack of formal education and reluctance to study the works of predecessors led to the fact that Spencer drew knowledge from those sources with which he happened to get acquainted.
The key to his system of unified science is the work "Basic principles" ( First Principles, 1862), in the first chapters of which it is stated that we cannot know anything about the latter reality. This "unknowable" goes beyond the limits of scientific research, and religion simply uses a metaphor in order to somehow represent it and be able to worship this "thing in itself." The second part of the work sets out the cosmic theory of evolution (the theory of progress), which Spencer considers a universal principle underlying all areas of knowledge and summarizing them. In 1852, seven years before the publication of "The Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin, Spencer wrote an article "Development Hypothesis" ( The Development Hypothesis), which outlined the idea of \u200b\u200bevolution, which largely followed the theory of Lamarck and C. Baire. Subsequently, Spencer recognized natural selection as one of the factors of evolution (he is the author of the term "survival of the fittest"). Starting from the fundamental laws of physics and the idea of \u200b\u200bchange, Spencer comes to an understanding of evolution as "the integration of matter, accompanied by the scattering of motion, transferring matter from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity into a definite, coherent heterogeneity, and simultaneously transforming the motion conserved by matter." All things have a common origin, but through the inheritance of traits acquired in the process of adaptation to the environment, their differentiation occurs; when the adaptation process ends, a coherent, ordered universe emerges. Ultimately, every thing reaches a state of complete adaptation to its environment, but this state is unstable. Therefore, the last step in evolution is nothing more than the first step in the process of "dispersion", followed by evolution again after the end of the cycle.
Global evolutionism, the universal laws of evolution, developed by Spencer in "Basic Principles", extend to the field of biology, psychology, sociology, ethics (led him to their biologization).
In 1858, Spencer drew up a plan for an essay that became the main work of his life, Systems of Synthetic Philosophy ( A System of Synthetic Philosophy), which was supposed to include 10 volumes. The main principles of Spencer's "synthetic philosophy" were formulated at the very first stage of the implementation of his program, in the "Fundamentals". Other volumes have given interpretation in the light of these ideas from various special sciences. The series also includes: "Principles of Biology" ( The Principles of Biology, 2 vol., 1864-1867); "Principles of Psychology" ( The Principles of Psychology, in one volume - 1855, in 2 volumes - 1870-1872); "Principles of Sociology" ( The Principles of Sociology, 3 vol., 1876-1896), "Principles of Ethics" ( The Principles of Ethics, 2 vol., 1892-1893).
The greatest scientific value is represented by his research in sociology, including his two other treatises: "Social statics" ( Social Statics, 1851) and Sociological Studies ( The Study of Sociology, 1872) and eight volumes containing systematized sociological data, "Descriptive Sociology" ( Descriptive Sociology, 1873-1881). Spencer is the founder of the "organic school" in sociology. Society, from his point of view, is an evolving organism, similar to a living organism considered by biological science. Societies can organize and control their own adaptation processes, and then they develop in the direction of militaristic regimes; they can also allow free and flexible adaptation and then turn into industrialized states.
However, the inexorable course of evolution makes adaptation "not an accident, but a necessity." Spencer considered a laissez-faire social philosophy to be a consequence of the concept of the cosmic force of evolution. The underlying principle of individualism is clearly stated in Principles of Ethics:
Each person is free to do what he wants, if he does not violate the equal freedom of any other person.
Social evolution is a process of increasing “individualization”. In "Autobiography" ( Autobiography, 2 vol., 1904) appears as an ultra-individualist in character and origin, a person distinguished by extraordinary self-discipline and hard work, but almost devoid of a sense of humor and romantic aspirations. Spencer died in Brighton on December 8, 1903. Buried in Highgate Cemetery, London.
He opposed revolutions and sharply rejected socialist ideas. He believed that human society, like the organic world, develops gradually, evolutionarily. He was an open opponent of education for the poor, and considered the democratization of education harmful.
He offered an elegant solution to the chicken-egg paradox: “The chicken is just the way one egg produces another egg,” thus reducing one of the objects. This is quite in line with modern evolutionary biology, popularized, in particular, by Richard Dawkins' "Selfish Gene".
The concept of social institutions
Social institutions are the mechanisms of self-organization of people living together. They ensure the transformation of a person who is asocial by nature into a social being capable of joint action.
- Home Institutes - family, marriage, upbringing problems.
- Ritual (ceremonial) - are designed to regulate the daily behavior of people, establishing customs, rituals, etiquette, etc.
- Political - the appearance is associated with the transfer of intragroup conflicts to the sphere of conflicts between groups; conflicts and wars played a decisive role in the formation of the political and class structure of society (the need for defense or conquest most of all unites society).
- Church - temples, churches, parish schools, religious traditions.
- Professional and industrial institutions - arise on the basis of the division of labor; professional (guilds, workshops, trade unions) - consolidate groups of people for professional occupations; industrial - support the production structure of society. The importance of social production increases with the transition from militarized to industrial societies: it is accompanied by an increase in the role of labor relations, and direct violence gives way to internal self-restraint.
Society
The most important principle of his sociology is the assimilation of society to an organism (organicism).
Society is an aggregate (set) of individuals (individuals are cells, physiological units), characterized by a certain similarity and constancy of their life. It is like a biological organism - it grows (and is not built, therefore Spencer opposed any reforms) and increases in volume, simultaneously complicating the structure and dividing functions.
Society consists of 3 relatively autonomous parts (systems of "organs"):
- supporting - production of necessary products
- distribution (distributive) - division of goods based on the division of labor (provides a connection between the parts of the social organism)
- regulatory (state) - the organization of parts on the basis of their subordination to the whole.
Types of societies
Military type of society - military conflicts and extermination or enslavement of the vanquished by the winner; centralized control. The state interferes in industry, trade and spiritual life, instills monotony, passive obedience, lack of initiative, interferes with the natural adaptation to requirements environment... Government intervention is not only not beneficial, but even downright harmful.
Industrial type - industrial competition, where the strongest wins in the field of intellectual and moral qualities. The struggle in such a society is a blessing for the whole society, since as a result the intellectual and moral level of society as a whole grows; political freedom, peaceful activities.
The worst type is survival and prosperity of the weakest, that is, people with lower intellectual and moral qualities, which will lead to the degradation of the entire society.
Social evolution
Three formulas to explain social evolution: "natural selection", "struggle for existence", "survival of the fittest."
The government should not interfere with the natural processes taking place in society. Only in such conditions will people "adapted" survive, and "unadapted" people will die out; only the strong will be able to adapt and reach ever higher levels of historical development.
The state compulsory redistribution of social benefits should become a private matter, the task of which is "to mitigate the injustices of nature."
Socialism and communism are impossible. People are characterized by love of power, ambition, injustice, and dishonesty. "All attempts to accelerate the progress of mankind with the help of administrative measures only lead to the revival of institutions inherent in the lower (that is, military) type of society - they move backward, wanting to go forward."
This formulation of the question allows the recognition of the objective development of social phenomena, but it leads to their biologization, to the defense of exploitation and oppression as supposedly natural phenomena. The extension to society of the principle of "struggle for existence" creates the basis for one of the odious trends in sociology, the so-called social Darwinism.
Herbert Spencer was born on April 27, 1820 in Derby. His grandfather, father and uncle were teachers. Herbert in childhood did not show phenomenal abilities and only at the age of eight learned to read, however, books did not interest him. At school, he was absent-minded and lazy, moreover, disobedient and stubborn. At home, his father was engaged in raising him. Through physical exercise, Herbert improved his health.
At the age of 13, he was sent according to English custom to be raised by his uncle, who was a priest in Bath. At the insistence of his uncle, Herbert continued his education at Cambridge University, but then, after completing a three-year preparatory course, he went home and took up self-education. Spencer's father hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps and choose the pedagogical path. Indeed, having received his secondary education, Herbert for several months helped the teacher at the school where he once studied himself. He showed undoubted pedagogical talent. However, Spencer was more interested in mathematics and natural science than in the humanities - history and philology. Therefore, when the place of an engineer was vacated during the construction of the London-Birmingham railway, he accepted the offer without hesitation.
The newly minted engineer drew maps, sketched plans, even invented a tool for measuring the speed of locomotives - a "velocimeter". In 1839, Lyell's famous work The Principles of Geology fell into the hands of Spencer. He gets acquainted with the theory of the evolution of organic life. Spencer is still passionate about engineering projects, but now it becomes clear that this profession does not guarantee him a solid financial position. In 1841, Herbert returned home and spent two years educating himself. At the same time, he published his first works - articles for "Nonconformist" on the issue of the true boundaries of state activities.
In 1843-1846 he again worked as an engineer and headed a bureau of sixty people. Spencer is increasingly interested in political issues. In this area, he was greatly influenced by Uncle Thomas, an Anglican priest who, unlike the rest of the Spencer family, adhered to strictly conservative views, took part in the democratic movement of the Chartists and in agitation against the grain laws.
In 1846, Spencer received a patent for his invented sawing and planing machine. This is where his engineering career ends. Now his interests are turned to journalism. In 1848 Spencer was promoted to assistant editor of the weekly The Economist. He devotes all his free time to his own work. He writes Social Statistics. Already in this work, Spencer applies the theory of evolution to social life. The composition did not go unnoticed by specialists. Spencer becomes acquainted with Huxley, Lewis and Ellist; the same composition brought him such friends and admirers as J. Stuart Mill, Georg Groth, Hooker. Only with Carlyle he did not have a relationship.
The success of Social Statistics inspired Spencer. In the period from 1848 to 1858, he published a number of works and pondered a plan, the implementation of which he devoted his whole life. In his second work, Psychology (1855), he applies the hypothesis of the natural origin of species to psychology and points out that the inexplicable by individual experience can be explained by generic experience. Darwin therefore counts him among his predecessors.
He devoted 36 years of his life to his main work, Synthetic Philosophy. This work made him a real "master of thought", and he was declared the most brilliant philosopher of his time. In 1858, Spencer decided to announce a subscription to the publication of his work. He publishes the first issue in 1860. During 1860-1863, "Basic Principles" came out. But due to material difficulties, the publication was progressing with difficulty. Spencer suffers losses and want, is on the verge of poverty. In 1865, he bitterly informs readers that he must suspend the series. True, two years after the death of his father, he receives a small inheritance. At the same time, Herbert met the American Yumans, who published his works in the United States, where Spencer was gaining wide popularity earlier than in England. Yumans and American fans provide the philosopher with material support, which allows the publication of the books in the series to resume. Gradually, Spencer's name became famous, the demand for his books increased, and by 1875 he covered his financial losses and made his first profit.
In the years that followed, he made two long journeys to America and southern Europe, but mainly lives in London. His goal is to finish his enormous work, to which he sacrificed himself. The fact that Spencer spent more than twenty years on the implementation of his project is primarily due to his poor health. As soon as he got better, the philosopher immediately began to work intensively. And so - until the end of life. His powers were weakening more and more, and finally, in 1886, he had to interrupt his work for four long years. But constant physical suffering did not weaken his spiritual power. Spencer published the last volume of his main work in the fall of 1896. Herbert Spencer died on December 8, 1903 in Brighton Despite poor health, he lived for more than eighty-three years.
1820-1903) English philosopher, the main representative of evolutionism, which became widespread in the second half of the 19th century. By philosophy, he understood completely homogeneous, holistic knowledge based on specific sciences, which reached a universal community, that is, the highest level of knowledge of the law, covering the whole world. According to Spencer, this law is development (evolutionism). Major works: "Psychology" (1855), "Social statistics" (1848), "The system of synthetic philosophy" (1862-1896). Herbert Spencer was born on April 27, 1820 in Derby. His grandfather, father and uncle were teachers. Herbert was in such poor health that his parents several times lost hope that he would survive. Herbert in childhood did not show phenomenal abilities and only at the age of eight learned to read, however, books did not interest him. At school, he was absent-minded and lazy, moreover, disobedient and stubborn. At home, his father was engaged in raising him. He wanted his son to have independent and extraordinary thinking. Through physical exercise, Herbert improved his health. At the age of 13, he was sent, according to English custom, to be raised by his uncle, who was a priest in Bath. Spencer's uncle Thomas was a "university man". At his insistence, Herbert continued his education at the University of Cambridge, but then, after completing a three-year preparatory course, he went home and took up self-education. Herbert Spencer never regretted not receiving an academic education. He went through a good school of life, which later helped him to overcome many difficulties in solving the assigned tasks. Spencer's father hoped that his son would follow in his footsteps and choose the pedagogical path. Indeed, having received his secondary education, Herbert for several months helped the teacher at the school where he once studied himself. He showed undoubted pedagogical talent. However, Spencer was more interested in mathematics and natural science than in the humanities - history and philology. Therefore, when the position of an engineer was vacated during the construction of the London-Birmingham railway, he accepted the offer without hesitation. The newly minted engineer drew maps, sketched plans, even invented a tool for measuring the speed of locomotives - the "velocimeter". A practical mindset distinguishes Spencer from most philosophers of previous eras and brings him closer to the founder of positivism, Comte and the New Kantian, Renouvier, who also never completed a university degree in the humanities. This feature, no doubt, played an important role in the formation of his philosophical worldview, which was distinguished by originality. However, this also had its drawbacks. So, for example, like Comte, he did not know at all german language , therefore I could not read the works of the great German philosophers in the original. Moreover, during the first half of the 19th century, German philosophy (Kant, Fichte, Schelling, etc.) remained completely unknown in England. Only from the end of the 1820s did the British begin to get acquainted with the works of German geniuses. But the first translations leave much to be desired. In 1839, Lyell's famous work Principles of Geology fell into the hands of Spencer. He gets acquainted with the theory of the evolution of organic life. Spencer is still passionate about engineering projects, but now it becomes clear that this profession does not guarantee him a solid financial position. In 1841, Herbert returned home and spent two years educating himself. He reads the works of the classics of philosophy. At the same time, he published his first works - articles for the "Nonconformist" on the true boundaries of the state's activities. In 1843-1846 he worked again as an engineer and headed a bureau of sixty people. Spencer is increasingly interested in political issues. In this area, he was greatly influenced by Uncle Thomas, an Anglican priest who, unlike the rest of the Spencer family, adhered to strictly conservative views, took part in the democratic movement of the Chartists and in agitation against the grain laws. In 1846, Spencer received a patent for his invented sawing and planing machine. This is where his engineering career ends. Now his interests are turned to journalism. In 1848, Spencer was promoted to assistant editor of the weekly The Economist. He makes good money, and devotes all his free time to his own work. He writes "Social Statistics", in which he considered the development of life as a gradually realized divine idea. He later found this concept too theological. But already in this work, Spencer applies the theory of evolution to social life. The composition did not go unnoticed by specialists. Spencer becomes acquainted with Huxley, Lewis and Ellist; the same composition brought him such friends and admirers as J. Stuart Mill, Georg Groth, Hooker. Only with Carlyle he did not have a relationship. The cold-blooded and judicious philosopher could not stand Carlyle's bilious pessimism: “I cannot argue with him and I don’t want to listen to his nonsense anymore, and therefore I’m leaving him,” Spencer wrote. The success of Social Statistics inspired Spencer. In the period from 1848 to 1858, he published a number of works and pondered a plan, the implementation of which he devoted his whole life. In his second work, Psychology (1855), he applies the hypothesis of the natural origin of species to psychology and points out that the unexplained by individual experience can be explained by generic experience. Darwin therefore counts him among his predecessors. Spencer begins to develop his own system. What currents of philosophical thought influenced him? This is the empiricism of the previous English thinkers, mainly Hume and Mill, the criticism of Kant, refracted through the prism of the teachings of Hamilton (a representative of the English school of "common sense"), Schelling's natural philosophy and Comte's positivism. But the main idea of \u200b\u200bbuilding a new philosophical system was the idea of \u200b\u200bdevelopment. He devoted 36 years of his life to his main work, Synthetic Philosophy. This work made him a real "master of thoughts", and he was declared the most brilliant philosopher of his time. Lewis, in his History of Philosophy, asks, "Has England ever produced a thinker of a higher order than Spencer?" J. Stuart Mill puts him on a par with Auguste Comte. Darwin calls him "the greatest living philosopher of England, perhaps equal to any of the former philosophers." In 1858, Spencer decided to announce a subscription to the publication of his work. He publishes the first issue in 1860. During 1860-1863, Basic Principles were published. But due to material difficulties, the publication was progressing with difficulty. Spencer suffers losses and want, is on the verge of poverty. To this must be added the nervous exhaustion that systematically prevented him from working. In 1865, he bitterly informs readers that he must suspend the series. True, two years after the death of his father, he receives a small inheritance. At the same time, Herbert met the American Yumans, who published his works in the United States, where Spencer was gaining wide popularity earlier than in England. Yumans and American fans provide the philosopher with material support, which allows the publication of the books in the series to resume. The friendship between Spencer and Yumans lasts 27 years, until the latter's death. Gradually, Spencer's name became famous, the demand for his books increased, and by 1875 he covered his financial losses and made his first profit. In the years that followed, he made two long journeys to America and southern Europe, but mainly lives in London. His goal is to finish his enormous work, to which he sacrificed himself. The fact that Spencer spent more than twenty years implementing his project is primarily due to his poor health. As soon as he got better, the philosopher immediately began to work intensively. And so - until the end of life. Work, work, work ... His powers weakened more and more, and finally in 1886 he had to interrupt his work for four long years. But constant physical suffering did not weaken his spiritual power. Spencer published the last volume of his main work in the fall of 1896. This huge work consists of ten volumes and includes Basic Principles, Foundations of Biology, Foundations of Psychology, and Foundations of Sociology. Spencer believes that the development of the world, including society, is based on the law of evolution: “Matter passes from a state of indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a state of a certain coherent heterogeneity,” in other words, differentiates. He considers this law to be universal and on a specific material traces its action in various spheres, including the history of society. Recognizing the regularity of the development of society, Spencer rejects various theological explanations, and his understanding of society as a single living organism, all parts of which are interconnected, pushes him to study history and expands the circle of historical research. According to Spencer, evolution is based on the law of equilibrium: whenever it is violated, its nature tends to return to its previous state. Since, according to Spencer, the education of characters is of paramount importance, evolution is slow, and Spencer is not as optimistic about the near future as Comte and Mill. Herbert Spencer died on December 8, 1903 in Brighton. Despite poor health, he lived for more than eighty-three years. The main ideas of Spencer, foreign during his lifetime to the whole world, have now become the property of all educated people, and we already forget and do not even think about who we owe them to.
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