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HERBERT SPENCER
Date of Birth: April 27, 1802
Death: 8 December 1903
Place of birth: Derby, England
Perspective: Structural Functionalist.
Herbert was strongly influenced by the scientific interests of his father. The Principles of Psychology that he wrote in 1855 focused on the fact that association is the basic principle of mental activity. System of Synthetic Philosophy (1862- 1893) provided a systematic account of his views in biology, sociology, ethics and politics. In 1851 Spencer's first book, Social Statics, or the Conditions Essential to Human Happiness which influenced Auguste Comte focused solely on the conditions of social order, human development/progress an evolution. In this book, Spencer portrays the development of human beings freedom and a defense of individual liberties, based on a evolutionary theory. It is safe to say that the influence of Spencer's evolutionary theory was on a par with that of Charles Darwin . Spencer is now widely regarded as the second founder of Sociology after Comte .
Theories
· SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
Spencer is best known today for coining the expression “survival of the fittest” . He first spoke of this term after reading Darwin’s On the Origin of Species . Survival of the Fittest implies that the strong will succeed and the weak shall perish. The 'Fittest' will be successful and they shall rule the weaker because they are the most fit to do so.
· SOCIAL DARWINISM
The theory proposes that persons, groups, and races are subject to the same laws of natural selection as Charles Darwin had perceived in plants and animals in nature. The Theory of Evolution was used by him to show how societies change overtime.
Works
His magnum opus was The Synthetic Philosophy (1896) which is a comprehensive work on that of biology , sociology , morality and psychology .
king1992 answered the question on June 29, 2018 at 07:41
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