Herbert Spencer: Collected Writings

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was regarded by the Victorians as the foremost philosopher of the age, the prophet of evolution at a time when the idea had gripped the popular imagination. Until recently Spencer's posthumous reputation rested almost excusively on his social and political thought, which has itself frequently been subject to serious misrepresentation. But historians of ideas now recognise that an acquaintance with Spencer's thought is essential for the proper understanding of many aspects of Victorian intellectual life, and the present selection is designed to answer this need. It provides a cross-section of Spencer's works from his more popular and approachable essays to a number of the volumes of the Synthetic Philosophy itself.

An Introduction to the Philosophy of Herbert Spencer [1894], W H Hudson , 243pp The Life and Letters of Herbert Spencer [1908], D Duncan , 630pp The Social Statics [1851], 483pp The Principles of Psychology [1855], 483pp First Principles [1867], 575pp An Introduction to the Study of Sociology [1873], 431pp The Data of Ethics [1879], 294pp Bound with Justice [1891], 299pp Political Institutions [1882], Essays: Scientific, Political and Speculative [1891] 3 vols, 485pp, 466pp, 516pp Herbert Spencer: Contemporary Assessments Edited and introduced by M W Taylor , 349pp

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was regarded by the Victorians as the foremost philosopher of the age.