Spencer, Herbert (1820-1903), was an English philosopher. He attempted to work out a comprehensive philosophy based on the scientific discoveries of his day. Spencer was greatly influenced by the English naturalist Charles Darwin. He applied his own and Darwin’s fundamental law–the idea of evolution (gradual development)–to biology, psychology, sociology, and other fields. Spencer’s major works include First Principles (1862) and Principles of Ethics (1879-1893).
In his work on biology, Spencer traced the development of life from its lowest recognizable form up to human beings. He believed that the great law of nature is the constant interaction of forces which tend to change all forms from the simple to the complex. He explained that the mind of human beings has developed in this way, advancing from the simple automatic responses of lower animals to the reasoning processes of human beings.
Spencer claimed that knowledge was of two kinds: (1) knowledge gained by the individual, and (2) knowledge gained by the race. He said that intuition, or knowledge learned unconsciously, was the inherited knowledge or experience of the race. He also believed that there is a basic and final reality beyond our knowledge, which he called the Unknowable.
Spencer was born in Derby. He was a delicate child. His first interest was biology, but he turned to engineering. From 1837 to 1841, he worked as an engineer for the London and Birmingham Railway. Later he served as an editor for the Economist. Spencer left the Economist in 1853 to pursue his philosophical career, which met with great popular success.
