THE STUDY OF SOCIOLOGY; By Herbert Spencer
New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1874. First American Edition. Decorative cloth. 12mo, decorative dark red cloth with gilt title blocked on spine and black "Scientific Series" with rules on covers; xiv, 423 pages + [1 blank] + [6] Ads. Very Good / Archival Clear Plastic Cover added. Item #7359
Herbert Spencer (1820 – 1903) was an English philosopher, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism whereby superior physical force shapes history. Spencer originated the expression "survival of the fittest", which he coined in Principles of Biology (1864) after reading Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species.
As a polymath, he contributed to a wide range of subjects, including ethics, religion, anthropology, economics, political theory, philosophy, literature, astronomy, biology, sociology, and psychology. During his lifetime he achieved tremendous authority, mainly in English-speaking academia.
Spencer rejected what he regarded as the ideological aspects of Comte's positivism, attempting to reformulate social science in terms of his principle of evolution, which he applied to the biological, psychological and sociological aspects of the universe.
Spencer's sociological works, which focus on how processes of societal growth and differentiation lead to changing degrees of complexity in social organization.
Given the primacy which Spencer placed on evolution, his sociology might be described as social Darwinism mixed with Lamarckism--Wikipedia.
Solid copy with clean pages. Some wear and light soil to covers which retain good dark and gilt impressions. Previous owner's embossed but un-inked name stamp on front free endpaper. A few pages with 1/8" clean fore-edge nicks. Uniform moderate age-toning. Slight losses to head and foot of spine. Overall, a Very Good copy of this highly important and pathfinding overview of the emerging discipline of Sociology.
Price: $80.00