For this is the theory of Mr. Spencer’s treatise. He first lays down a classification of the activities of life, in the order of what he calls their relative “ importance.” ...

In 2014, a collection of essays titled Herbert Spencer: Legacies, edited by Mark Francis and Michael Taylor, explored Spencer’s far-reaching influence and the diversity of his ideas.

Herbert Spencer was once considered a towering figure in Western intellectual life. The ideas expounded by this “eminent Victorian” philosopher were imprinted on the minds of an entire ...

Letter Published: 26 March 1874 Herbert Spencer versus Thomson and Tait P. G. TAIT Nature 9, 402–403 (1874) Cite this article ...