Herbert Spencer (Spencer Herbert)

(1820-1903)
Born in Derby (Derbyshire) 27 April 1820 in a teacher's family. Declined the offer to get an education at Cambridge (later renounced his post as professor at London's University College and from the membership of the Royal Society). Was a teacher, a railroad employee, a journalist (assistant editor in the magazine 'The Economist'). He was acquainted with Dzh.Eliot, Dzh.Lyuisom, Thomas Huxley, and Dzh.S.Millem Dzh.Tindalem, in the last years of his life with B. Webb. During several trips to France, met with Comte. In 1853, received an inheritance and was able to fully devote himself to studies of philosophy and science.
In the views of Spencer joined evolutionism, the principle of laissez faire and the concept of philosophy as a synthesis of all the sciences, as well as other ideological trends of his time. The lack of systematic education and unwillingness to explore the works of predecessors have led to the fact that Spencer drew knowledge from those sources, with whom he happened to meet.

The key to his system of unified science is the work of the Fundamental Principles (First Principles, 1862), in the early chapters which states that there is nothing we can know about ultimate reality. This 'unknowable' goes beyond scientific research, and religion simply uses the metaphor that somehow his present and have the opportunity to worship this 'thing in itself'. The second part describes the labor theory of cosmic evolution (the theory of progress), which Spencer says universal principle underlying all areas of knowledge and summing. In 1852, seven years before the publication of Origin of Species Darwin, Spencer wrote an article hypothesis development (The Development Hypothesis), which set forth the idea of evolution, had the same theory of Lamarck and K. Baer. Subsequently, Spencer recognized natural selection as one of the factors of evolution (he coined the term 'survival of the fittest'). Starting from the fundamental laws of physics and the idea of change, . Spencer comes to the understanding of evolution as' the integration of matter, . accompanied by the scattering of motion, . takes a matter of uncertain, . incoherent homogeneity to a, . coherent heterogeneity, . and generating parallel to convert the stored matter movement ',
. All things have a common origin, but through the inheritance of traits acquired in the process of adaptation to the environment, they undergo differentiation, when the process of adjustment is over, there is a coherent, orderly universe. In the end, every thing reaches a state of complete adaptability to their surroundings, but this state is unstable. So the latest step in the evolution - nothing like the first step in the process of 'scattering', for which, after completion of the cycle, again followed by the evolution.

In 1858 Spencer was the plan works, which became the main work of his life, the System of Synthetic Philosophy (A System of Synthetic Philosophy), which was to include 10 volumes. The main principles of 'synthetic philosophy' Spencer were formulated at the first stage of its program, the Basic principles. In other volumes were given an interpretation in the light of these ideas of various private Sciences. In 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),
. Greatest scientific value are his research on the sociology, . including two other of his treatise: Social Statics (Social Statics, . 1851), and Sociological Studies (The Study of Sociology, . 1872) and the eight volumes, . containing systematic sociological data, . Descriptive Sociology (Descriptive Sociology, . 1873-1881),
. Spencer - the founder of 'organic school' in sociology. Society, from his point of view - is an evolving organism, like a living organism under consideration biological science. Societies can organize and control their own processes of adaptation, . and then they move in the direction of the military regime, they may also allow a free and plastic adaptation, and then turn in industrialized nations,
.

However, the inexorable course of evolution makes the adaptation of 'not accidental but necessary'. Consequence of the concept of cosmic evolution of the power Spencer believed the social philosophy of laissez faire. The underlying philosophy of the principle of individualism clearly stated in the Principles of ethics: 'Everyone is free to do what he wants, if not violated with equal freedom of any other person'. Social evolution is a process of increasing 'individuation'. In his autobiography (Autobiography, 2 vol., 1904) before us appears ultraindividualist the nature and origin of man, distinguished by extraordinary self-discipline and hard work, but almost devoid of a sense of humor and romantic aspirations. Spencer died in Brighton on Dec. 8, 1903.

Among other works of Spencer - the Man and the State (The Man versus the State, 1884), Philosophy and Religion. Nature and reality of religion (Philosophy and Religion. The Nature and Reality of Religion, . 1885); Appropriate boundaries of state power (The Proper Sphere of Government, . 1843); mental Education, . moral and physical (Education: Intellectual, . Moral, . Physical, . 1861), Facts and Comments (Facts and Comments, . 1902); Essays: Scientific, . political and philosophical (Essays: Scientific, . Political, . and Speculative, . 3 vol., . 1891); Data of Ethics (The Data of Ethics, . 1879), Justice (Justice, . 1891).,