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Monday, June 6, 2022 ©1999-2006 by Ronald Kei th Bolender 1 SOC4044 Sociological Theory: Herbert Spencer

Herbert spencer

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Page 1: Herbert spencer

Saturday, April 8, 2023

©1999-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender

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SOC4044 Sociological Theory:

Herbert Spencer

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©1999-2006 by Ronald Keith Bolender

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Herbert SpencerReferences

Coser, Lewis A. 1977. Masters of Sociological Thought: Ideas in Historical and Social Context. 2d ed. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.

Keb, Julia Ann. 1999. “Herbert Spencer: Social Darwinism in Education.” Retrieved October 6, 1999 (http://www.nd.edu/~rbarger/www7/spencer.html).

Mooney, Linda A., David Knox, and Caroline Schacht. 1997. Understanding Social Problems. New York: West Publishing Company.

Peel, J. D. Y. 1974. “Spencer and the Neo-evolutionists.“ Pp. 188-209 in Theories and Paradigms in Contemporary Sociology. Edited by R. Serge Denisfoff, Orel Callahan, and Mark H. Levine. Itasca, IL: F. E. Peacock Publishers, Incorporated.

Perdue, William D. 1986. Sociological Theory: Explanation, Paradigm, and Ideology. Palo Alto, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company.

Spencer, Herbert. [1850] 1888. Social Statics: or, the Condition Essential to Human Happiness Specified and the First of Them Developed. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.

Spencer, Herbert. [1873] 1961. The Study of Sociology. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Spencer, Herbert. 1897. The Principles of Sociology, Part VIII. Toffler, Alvin. 1980. The Third Wave. New York: Bantam Books.Turner, Jonathan H. 1998. The Structure of Sociological Theory. 6th ed. Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth Publishing Company.Turner, Jonathan H., Leonard Beeghley, and Charles H. Powers. 1998. The Emergence of Sociology Theory. 4th ed.

Cincinnati, OH: Wadsworth Publishing Company. Wang, Bee Lan C. 1985. “Population and Hunger.” Pp. 284-295 in Social Problems: Christian Perspectives. Edited by

Charles P. DeSanto and Margaret M. Poloma. Winston-Salem, NC: Hunter Textbooks, Incorporated.

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Herbert Spencer

1820 - 1903

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Herbert SpencerBorn April 27, 1820 in Derby, England

Located in the heart of British industryOldest of nine children, the only to surviveReligious/political/philosophical

background Nonconformist Dissenters

Partial Quaker in thinkingSupported laissez-faire economics

(Coser 1977:102-103; Perdue 1986:56)

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Herbert Spencer

Taught at home by his father and later his uncle

Education--heavy in science--very light in Latin, Greek, English, and History

By age 16 he had a good background in mathematics and the natural sciences

Never would become a generally educated individual

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Herbert Spencer

In 1837 (at the age of 17) he became an engineer at London and Birmingham Railroad

Later he worked as a draftsman for the Birmingham Railway Discharged in 1841---he returned home

to Derby

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Herbert Spencer

Next few years published several articles in the radical press “The Proper Sphere of Government”

Argued for an extreme restriction of the scope of government

• The whole field of human activity (except for policing) should be left to private enterprise

• There are no poor laws, no national education, no established church, no restrictions on commerce, and no factory legislation

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Herbert Spencer In 1850, he finished his first book, Social Statics

Based on the theme in “The Proper Sphere of Government”

• Creed of laissez faire

His work was in disagreement with Comte in the area of “intervention.” Comte visualized that a “social priest” (with governmental powers) would fine tune society so that society would run as smoothly as possible.

• Similar to the role of the chairperson of the Federal Reserve (in the United States) in fine tuning the economy via changing interest rates.

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Herbert Spencer

The basic argument of Social Statics can be stated as follows:

Human happiness can be achieved only when individuals can satisfy their needs and desires without

infringing on the rights of others to do the same.

(Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:45-46)

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Herbert SpencerEach member of the race. . .must not only be

endowed with faculties enabling him to receive the highest enjoyment in the act of living, but must be so constituted that he

may obtain full satisfaction for every desire, without diminishing the power of others to obtain like satisfaction: nay, to fulfill the purpose perfectly, must derive pleasure

from seeing pleasure in others.(Spencer [1850] 1888:448)

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Herbert Spencer

“The Developmental Hypothesis” 1852, seven years prior to Darwin’s

Origin of Species Expounded and advocated a theory of

evolution

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Herbert Spencer

In 1853 he received a sizable inheritance from his uncle’s estate

From then on he lived the life of a private scholar

A lifelong bachelor living frugally in various lodgings and rooming houses in London

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Herbert Spencer

Around 1854, Spencer suffered from a nervous illness--at times unable to concentrate, write, or even to read Attempted to overcome acute insomnia

with heavy doses of opium He eventually retreated from society,

became a semi-hermit

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Herbert Spencer

Principles of Biology (several volumes 1864-1867) Textbook used at Oxford

The Study of Sociology (1873) Textbook used at Yale University

William Graham Sumner taught Spencerism at Yale

Principles of Psychology (two volumes 1870-1872) Textbook used at Harvard University

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Herbert SpencerThroughout his life Spencer refused nearly

all honors offered him by universities, the government, or scientific bodies. He had no official position and no university

degree. Yet during the last quarter of the century he enjoyed an international

reputation and influence almost comparable to that of Charles Darwin.

(Coser 1977:107)

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Herbert Spencer

Paradigm: OrderClass of Theories: Organicism

Societal EvolutionSocial Darwinism (Turner 1998:80)

“Society is akin to a special organism obeying its own laws of ‘progress.’”

Platonic ThemeThe natural order of all societies is one of

hierarchy.(Perdue 1986:47)

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Herbert Spencer

Almost a decade before Darwin published On the Origin of

Species, Spencer coined the phrase “survival of the fittest.”

Spencer’s Social Statics [1850]Spencer had used the phrase

earlier when writing articles for newspapers.

(Turner 1998:80, 85)

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Herbert Spencer

“. . .Spencer had made the connection between biology and sociology.”

(Turner 1998:80)

This is a profound statement. A large segment of sociological thought is

closely aligned with biology--especially in ecological themes.

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Herbert Spencer

Comte had allied sociology with biology, arguing that in the hierarchy of the sciences, sociology would emerge from biology and become the “queen science.”

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Herbert SpencerBut Spencer did more than make

superficial analogies between biological and social bodies, he proclaimed that sociology was to be the study of superorganicsuperorganic organisms--that is, relations among living organisms--and he included more than human organisms in this definitions.

(Turner 1998:80)

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Herbert SpencerSurvival Similarities in Social and

Biological SystemsProduction of life-sustaining substancesReproduction of system partsRegulation and control of actions by

system partsDistribution of information and

materials among system units(Turner 1998:80)

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Herbert Spencer

The sociological concept of progress was elevated by Spencer. The evolution of society involves increasing complexity

of social structure and associate culture symbols, and this complexity increases the capacity of the human species to adapt and survive in its environment.

(Turner 1998:81)

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Herbert Spencer

Evolution, that is, “a change from a state of relatively indefinite, incoherent,

homogeneity to at state of relatively definite, coherent, heterogeneity,” was

to Spencer that universal process, which explains “. . .those latest

changes which we trace in society and the products of social life.”

(Coser 1977:89)

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Herbert SpencerSpencer argued, that the evolution of

human societies, far from being different from other evolutionary phenomena, is

but a special case of a universally applicable natural law. Sociology can

become a science only when it is based on the idea of belief in a social order not

conforming to natural law, survives.”(Coser 1977:90)

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Herbert Spencer

Spencer’s most fruitful use of organic analogies was his notion

that with evolutionary growth come changes in any units

structure and functions, that increases in size bring in their

wake increases in differentiation. (Coser 1977:90)

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Herbert Spencer

Evolution--Unilinear

orMultilinear?

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Herbert Spencer

The earlier Spencer indicated a unilinear model of evolution--a straightforward progressive march.

The mature Spencer indicated that “regression” was possible (influenced by what he saw in England toward the end of the 19th century).

(Coser 1977:96-97)

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Herbert Spencer

Social progress is not linear but divergent and re-divergent. . . (Spencer

1897:725)

It was always Spencer’s view that the true symbol of development was not

a chain, but a tree. (Peel 1974:198)

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Herbert Spencer

Wave Theory

Illustrated by Toffler in The Third Wave(Toffler 1980)

Toffler is really a conflict theorist, but one can see traces of “evolutionary” ideas within his work.

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Herbert Spencer

Survival of the FittestWar and complex societiesInterventions into lesser societies

(Turner 1998:81)

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Herbert Spencer

Refer toHerbert Spencer

Handout

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Herbert Spencer

(Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:58-61)

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Herbert Spencer

War, has an interesting impact upon society. It is one of the few social phenomena that “individualistic” members of a modern society are

willing to “sacrifice” self-centerness for the “good” of society as a whole. After all, war is the ultimate social

problem. (Per Dr. Bolender 1999)

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Herbert Spencer

The period of World War II was the closest that the United States was to having a socialist-type government.

Individualism was sacrificed for the “good” of the “community.”

(Per Dr. Bolender 1999)

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Herbert Spencer

At least for a period of time, members of society are willing to allow “major”

efficient changes to be made “overnight.” Also, there are

“residual” affects after the war, for example, the GI Bill.

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Herbert Spencer

(Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:62-64)

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Herbert Spencer

(Turner, Beeghley, and Powers 1998:64-68)

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Herbert Spencer

The Contrast Between Militant and Industrial Societies

(see handout)

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Herbert Spencer

Structural-functionalism focuses on the functions war serves and

suggests that war would not exist unless it had positive outcomes positive outcomes for societyfor society. . .War has created a world of larger political units. . . from 600,000 around 1,000 BC to

less than 200 today.(Mooney, Knox, and Schacht 1997:465-466, 469-470)

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Herbert Spencer

Through centuries of warfare, the state (as a large political unit) was created. . . This led to greater stability which led to profound positive social

and cultural changes.

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Herbert Spencer

Industrialization and technology could not have developed in the small social groups that existed

before military action consolidated them into larger states. Thus, war

contributed indirectly to the industrialization and technological sophistication that characterized

the modern world.

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Herbert Spencer

As societies become more industrialized, their proneness

to warfare decreases. . .Preindustrial nations

Overall mean of 10.6 wars per decadeIndustrial nations

Overall mean of 2.7 wars per decade

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Herbert Spencer

Positive Benefits of WarCreates solidarity

Gives society a common cause to rally around

Increases employment and stimulates the economy

Inspires scientific and technological developments that are useful to civilians Microwave oven Internet

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Herbert Spencer

Serves to encourage social reform GI Bill VA

Health careHousing

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

NoninterventionNonintervention and the

Survival of the Fittest

(Coser 1977:99-101)

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Spencer, the same as Darwin, drew the concept of survival of the fittest from the works of Thomas Robert Malthus. The role of “intervention” is a major/serious philosophical issue in the concept of “pure evolution and nonintervention.”

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Classical MalthusianismThomas Robert Malthus

English economistEssay on the Principle of Population

First published in 1798 AD(Wang 1985:285-286)

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Basic principles of the Malthus’ Theory Food is essential for the existence of man “Passion between the sexes” will continue

to exist and to result in population growth Population grows “geometrically” whereas

at best food increases only “arithmetically”

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Positive checks Famines Disease Wars

Given the human propensities to procreate faster than food can be produced, most of mankind is poor most of the time

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Preventive checks (moral restraints) Delayed marriages Reduced frequency of sex relations within

marriage No premarital or extramarital sex relations

Malthus did not think that the effect of “moral restraint” would be significant. Further, he did not approve of the practice of contraception.

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

The classical Malthusian theory of population implies that an increase in the food supply or

income would result in either fewer people dying, or in more marrying earlier and having

more children. In either case both would result in increased population growth, thereby

nullifying the effects of the additional food or income. Thus, Malthus looked with disfavor on

welfare programs in England during his day and, if he were living today, he would probably think it equally unwise to send food to starving

people overseas.

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Spencer’s own theory of population was slightly more optimistic than

Malthus. (Coser 1977:100-101)

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Spencer argued that an excess in fertility stimulates greater activity because the more people there are, the more ingenuity is required to stay alive. The least intelligent groups and individuals die off; hence, the general level of intelligence is bound to rise gradually.

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Except. . . .The intervention of government in social affairs,

Spencer argued, must distort the necessary adaptation of society to its environment. Once government intervenes, the beneficial process that would naturally lead to man’s more efficient and more intelligent control over nature will be distorted and give rise to a reverse process that can only lead to the progressive deterioration of the human race.

(Based on Social Statics Spencer 1892:151--special edition of Social Statics).

(Coser 1977:100-101)

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

This is applicable to organization behavior at the micro level.

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Herbert Spencer:Nonintervention

Christian response to the “intervention”

versus“nonintervention”

question/issue.