Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was already an established figure in the fields of philosophy, biology, sociology, anthropology and with an established interest in evolution, when Darwin produced his ground-breaking On the Origin of the Species (1859). But Spencer viewed evolution in wider terms – including ‘the social organism, ethical and metaphysical matters.’ He was keen to offer a complete framework of the philosophy of evolution and, in 1862, published his First Principles.
He divided this substantial work into two parts: (I) The Unknowable and (II) The Knowable. As the Spencer Society expressed in the bold, unequivocal introduction: ‘The purpose of the work is an inquiry into the doctrine of Evolution, which is to be the medium for unifying all knowledge.’
Writing within a defensively Christian society, Spencer (an agnostic and a rationalist) opens Part I The Unknowable by presenting his views on ‘metaphysics and theology’. In Part II, The Knowable, Spencer the scientist, the sociologist, the anthropologist comes to the fore. ‘Evolution is continuous throughout all time and is still in progress,’ he maintains. Spencer argues this can be seen in terms of physical and biological evolution, which evolves from simple to complex forms; and social evolution which evolves from homogeneity to heterogeneity.
While time has dealt critically with some of his proposals, First Principles was a strong influence on thinkers and writers in the 19th and 20th centuries, including William James, Henri Bergson, George Eliot, Leo Tolstoy, D. H. Lawrence and Jorge Luis Borges.
First Principles remains an important source work for the growth of evolutionary ideas during its exciting early times. This recording is based on the 6th and final edition.
