The Philosophy of Herbert Spencer by Michael Taylor
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) is remembered today only as an alleged Social Darwinist who applied the theory of the survival of the fittest to society. Yet he was among the most influential and widely-read philosophers of the nineteenth century. There were few Victorian thinkers and scientists who did not know his work, and who did not formulate their own positions partly in reaction to his. Michael Taylor's book provides the only detailed and reliable modern survey of the whole corpus of Spencer's thought. Taylor introduces a Spencer very different to his posthumous reputation: not primarily a political philosopher, but the architect of a comprehensive philosophical system that aimed to demonstrate the inevitability of human perfection through universal natural laws. He also locates the Synthetic Philosophy firmly in its place and time by showing how it developed out of the concerns of a group of like-minded British writers and thinkers during the 1850s. This book will be of interest to historians of philosophy and of science, to social scientists, to scholars and students of nineteenth century literature, and to anyone who wishes to understand one of most important figures in Victorian intellectual life.-
Wittgenstein and Gadamer
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The Coherence of Hobbes's Leviathan
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The Early Wittgenstein on Religion
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Wittgenstein's Religious Point of View
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Boyle on Fire
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F. P. Ramsey
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Utilitarian Philosophy and Politics
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Subjectivity After Wittgenstein
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Berkeley and Irish Philosophy
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Wittgenstein at His Word
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Doing Austin Justice
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Thomas Reid's Ethics
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The Cultural Politics of Analytic Philosophy
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Hobbes and the Making of Modern Political Thought
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Wittgenstein and the Theory of Perception
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Wittgenstein on Rules and Nature
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Iris Murdoch's Ethics
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Idealist Political Philosophy
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Wittgenstein's Form of Life
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Wittgenstein and Value
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Francis Bacon and the Limits of Scientific Knowledge
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John Stuart Mill's Political Philosophy
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Berkeley's Philosophy of Spirit
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Hume's Social Philosophy
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Bertrand Russell, Language and Linguistic Theory
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Russell's Theory of Perception
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Popper, Objectivity and the Growth of Knowledge
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David Hume and the Problem of Other Minds
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Thomas Hobbes and the Politics of Natural Philosophy
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John Locke and Personal Identity
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Rethinking Mill's Ethics
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Hume's Theory of Causation
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Russell and Wittgenstein on the Nature of Judgement
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Hume on God
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Wittgenstein and Ethical Inquiry
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Bertrand Russell's Ethics
"Taylor, aiming to describe the whole body of Spencer's thought, nicely explains the so-called law of evolution, and rightly locates it as central to that corpus, not only to biology, but to metaphysics, psychology, and sociology, and not only to these descriptive sciences but also normatively to ethicsHe carefully presents the difficulties in Spencer's central ideas, but never with an unfair emphasis that could make Spencer seem simply dogmatic or foolish...Taylor locates Spencer's thought in the story of his life, and shows how the latter was entirely relevant to the former...If you want a good survey of Spencer's thought, nice but not too probing beyond what has become customary, then Taylor's is recommended." - Fred Wilson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, May 2008
Michael Taylor has had a varied career as journalist, academic and central banker. His numerous publications include Men versus the State: Herbert Spencer and Late Victorian Individualism (OUP, 1992) and contributions to the New Dictionary of National Biography.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780826487230 |
| ISBN 10 | 0826487238 |
| Title | The Philosophy of Herbert Spencer |
| Author | Michael Taylor |
| Series | Continuum Studies In British Philosophy |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |
| Year published | 2007-09-15 |
| Number of pages | 198 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |