After an initial training as a civil engineer, Spencer turned to journalism and political writing. He worked for the Economist from 1848 to 1853. One of the most controversial thinkers of the Victorian era, Spencer was an early adherent of evolution, believing in the continuing development of species from simple to complex forms. His earliest works included The Proper Sphere of Government (1843) and Social Statics (1851) which both professed a theory of economic laissez-faire. In 1884, he published The Man versus the State, which emphasized individualism. His major work, A System of Synthetic Philosophy (1893) contained volumes covering biology, psychology, sociology and morality. Spencer was a close friend of Thomas Huxley, George Eliot (Mary Ann Evans) and John Stuart Mill. Other works include The Principles of Psychology (1855), The Study of Sociology (1880) and his Autobiography (posthumous - 1904). |
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