Download from militant to industrial societies

Chapter3: Herbert Spencer
Main points
A Biographical Sketch
The organic of the society
Evolutionary Theory
THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIETY
Simple and Compounded Societies
Militant and Industrial Societies
Summary
(1820-1903)
Learning Objectives
 After reading this chapter, students
should be able to:
 1.compare and contrast Spencer and Comte;
 2.describe the evolution of society
according to Spencer, utilizing his ideas
of integration, heterogeneity,
definiteness, and coherence;
 3.discuss Spencer's notion of society as
an organism and the roles of cooperation
and structures in the evolution of society;
 4.distinguish between regulative and
sustaining structures and apply these
concepts to discuss the differences
between militant and industrial societies;
CHAPTER OUTLINE
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I. Spencer:Biographical Sketch
II. General Theoretical Principles
Evolutionary Theory
1. Integration
2. Differentiation
3. Definiteness
III. The Evolution of Society
A. Integration
B. Heterogeneity
C. Definiteness
D. Increasing Coherence
E. Nominalism versus Realism
F. Organicism
G. Cooperation
1. Division of Labor
2. Political Organization
H. Structure
1. Regulative
2. Sustaining
3. Distributing
I. Simple and Compounded Societies
J. Militant and Industrial Societies
A
Biographical Sketch
 In 1820,Spencer was born in Derby, England on 27
April 1820 .
 In 1837 he began work as a Civil engineer for a
railway, an occupation he held until 1846.
 From 1848 to 1853, Spencer worked as a writer and
subeditor for The Economist .
 In 1851 Spencer's first book, Social Statics, or the
Conditions Essential to Human Happiness appeared.
 Upon the death of his uncle Thomas, in 1853, Spencer
received a small inheritance which allowed him to
devote himself to writing without depending on
regular employment.
 In 1855, Spencer published his second book, The
Principles of Psychology. As in Social Statics
 Spencer's health significantly deteriorated in the
last two decades of his life, and he died in
relative seclusion, following a long illness, on
December 8, 1903.
Primary Sources:
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Social Statics. London: Chapman, 1851.
The Principles of Psychology. London: Longmans, 1855; 2nd edn., 2 vols.
London: Williams and Norgate, 1870-2; 3rd edn., 2 vols. (1890). [A System
of Synthetic Philosophy ; v. 4-5]
First Principles. London: Williams and Norgate, 1862; 6th edn., revised,
1904. [A system of Synthetic Philosophy ; v. 1]
Principles of Biology, 2 vols. London: Williams and Norgate, 1864, 1867;
2nd edn., 1898-99).[A System of Synthetic Philosophy ; v. 2-3]
The Study of Sociology. New York: D. Appleton, 1874, [c1873]
The Principles of Sociology. 3 vols. London : Williams and Norgate, 18821898. [A System of Synthetic Philosophy, v. 6-8] CONTENTS: Vol. 1: pt. 1.
The data of sociology. pt. 2. The inductions of sociology. pt. 3. The
domestic relations; Vol. 2: pt. 4. Ceremonial institutions. pt. 5. Political
institutions; v. 3: pt. 6. Ecclesiastical institutions. pt. 7. Professional
institutions. pt. 8. Industrial institutions.]
The Man versus the State: containing "The new Toryism," "The coming
slavery," "The sins of legislators," and "The great political superstition,"
London : Williams & Norgate, 1884; with additional essays and an
introduction by Albert Jay Nock. [adds "From freedom to bondage," and
"Over- legislation"] Intro. A.J. Nock. Caldwell, ID: Caxton, 1940.
Spencer, Herbert. The Factors of Organic Evolution. London: Williams and
Norgate, 1887.
Spencer, Herbert. The Principles of Ethics. 2 vols. London: Williams and
Northgate, 1892. [A system of synthetic philosophy ; v. 9-10]
An Autobiography. 2 v. London: Williams and Norgate, 1904.
Spencer's Methodology
 Spencer realized that studying social phenomena
was inherently different from studying natural
phenomena; therefore, sociology could not simply
imitate the methods used by biologists. In order
to studying objective social facts and processes.
Sociologists are also faced with the
methodological problem of how to keep their own
bias in check and gather and report trustworthy
data. Spencer advocated a "value free"
methodological approach for sociology and
cautioned sociologists to be aware of emotional
biases that might influence their work, including
educational, patriotic, class, political, and
theological biases. Spencer was committed to
empirical research and employed a comparativehistorical methodology in much of his work.
The organic of the society(61-63)
 1.the societies are like organic bodies (but
unlike inorganic bodies)
 2.the similarities between society and
organic entities.
 3.the differences between society and
organic entities.
Spencer's Evolutionary Theory
 Spencer defined sociology as the study of
societal evolution and believed that the
ultimate goal of societal evolution is
complete harmony and happiness. Spencer's
theory of evolutionary change is built upon
three basic principles: integration,
differentiation, and definiteness. Spencer
argued that homogenous phenomena are
inherently unstable, which makes them subject
to constant fluctuations. These fluctuations
force homogeneous systems to differentiate,
which results in greater multiformity. In
other words, homogeneous systems grow to
become heterogeneous.
The Evolution of Society
 As stated above, Spencer's general theory of social
evolution involves the progress of society towards
integration, heterogeneity, and definiteness. It also
includes a fourth dimension, the increasing coherence of
social groups. Social groups, according to Spencer, strive
towards greater harmony and cooperation through the
division of labor and the state. It is important to note
the Spencer does not develop a linear theory of social
evolution; he acknowledges that dissolution or no change
at all may occur at any given moment. Spencer was a social
realist in that he viewed society as an entity in and of
itself—thus, the whole of society can live on even if its
component parts die. As society grows, it becomes more
complex and differentiated. Structures accompany this
growth, which function to regulate external concerns like
military activities and sustain internal issues like
economic activities. Distributing systems eventually
emerge that function to help link together regulative and
sustaining structures.
 Spencer uses his evolutionary theory to trace
the movement from simple to compounded societies
and from militant to industrial societies.
Society evolves from the compounding and
recompounding of social groups. It also evolves
from military societies dominated by conflict
and a coercive regulative system to industrial
societies characterized by harmony and a
sustaining system of decentralized rule. Spencer
thought the society that he was living in was a
“hybrid (杂交.混合)society," exhibiting traits
of both military and industrial societies.
Although he ultimately hoped society in general
would progress towards a state of industry, he
recognized that the regression to a militant
state was possible.
THE EVOLUTION OF SOCIETY
 The evolutionary theory(52-54)
 Simlpe and Compounded Societies(63)
 Militant and Industrial Societies(64)
Spencer and Comte
 Although the sociological theory of Herbert Spencer (1820-1902)
has but a small following today, his work was quite popular during
his lifetime, particularly in America. Spencer's theory of society
does represent an advance over Comtian theory, even though
Spencer, like Comte, characterized himself as a positivist and
derived his concepts of structure and function from the field of
biology. Spencer used the Comtian terms of social statics and
social dynamics, but not in a descriptive way as Comte did to
refer to all types of societies, but rather in a normative way to
describe his version of the future ideal society. Furthermore,
Spencer was more interested in studying the progress of the
external world or objectivity, while Comte focused more on the
subjective nature of the progress of human conceptions. Finally,
there are important political differences between Spencer and
Comte. Spencer had little regard for centralized political control
and believed that the government should allow individuals the
maximum freedom to pursue their private interests. Comte, on the
other hand, desired society to be led by the high priests of
positivistic religion.
A critical assessment