Herbert Spencer:
Spencer was born In England in 1820. As a child he was weak and sickly. He never attended a regular school and was instructed at his home. By the age of sixteen, he was well trained In Mathematics and Natural sciences. But his major Interest was In Ethics and Politics. His first book, ‘Social Statics’ was published in 1852.
This book was followed by another book named ‘First Principals’ in 1862. Later his major works include multi-volume work—”Principles of Biology’ in 1865 ; then a multi-volume work called ‘Principles of Psychology’ in 1872 ; followed by multi-volume work entitled ‘Principles of Sociology’ in 1896. He had also written an eight volume study ‘Descriptive Sociology” (1873 to 1894) as well as the highly acclaimed The Study of Sociology’ in 1873.
Science and Society:
Like Comte, Spencer believed in and worked for a science of society which they both argued to be possible because they thought society was an order of coexistence and progress. Where there is order, the components of that order may constitute the subject of a science.
This social science (sociology) is the science of what Spencer called the super-organic, that is, social evolution. He divided all phenomena in the universe into three categories, i.e., inorganic, organic and super-organic. Sociology, according to him, was concerned with the super-organic or the socio-cultural phenomena.
Though for both Comte and Spencer, sociology was a positive science but there were differences of opinion between two of them regarding function of the new science of society in modern state. Whereas Comte wanted sociology to guide men in building a better society in which to live. Spencer was of the view that the new science should not interfere with the natural process occurring within society.
There is a tendency within all natural phenomena to improve itself and society being a natural phenomenon, is no exception. Spencer, like Comte had perceived the significant role of history for the new science of society. In the words of Spence, “That which it really concerns us to know is the natural history of society. The only history that is of practical use is what may be called “Descriptive sociology”. According to Spencer, history, if done well, is essentially sociology, a careful description of social phenomena in evolution.
Organic analogy:
Spencer took great pains to elaborate in great detail the organic analogy which is the identification of a society with biological organism. He regarded the recognition of the similarity between society and organism as the first step towards a general theory of evolution.
In the words of Spencer, “So complete is society organised on the same system as an Individual, that we may perceive something more than an analogy between them, the same definition of life applies to both”.
Theory of Evolution:
The major concern of Spencer was with evolutionary change in social structures and social institutions. According to him, the evolution of human society, far from being different from other evolutionary phenomenon, is but a special case of universally applicable natural law. Ultimately, all universal phenomena- inorganic and super-organic—are subject to the natural law of evolution.
According to Spencer, “Evolution is an integration of matter and concomitant dissipation of motion; during which the matter passes from an indefinite, incoherent homogeneity to a definite, coherent heterogeneity; and during which the retained motion undergoes a parallel transformation”. Within this framework of universal evolution, Spencer developed his three basic laws and his four secondary propositions—each building upon each and all upon the doctrine of evolution.
The three basic laws are: (i) the law of persistence of force; (ii) the law of the indestructibility of matter and (iii) the law of continuity of motion. The four secondary propositions are: (i) persistence of the relationship between the force; (ii) transformation and equivalence of forces, (iii) tendency of everything to move along the line of least resistance and greatest attraction, and (iv) the principle of the alteration or rhythm of motion.
There are two distinct and interrelated aspects of Spencer’s theory of evolution:
1. The movement from simple societies to various levels of compound societies:
2. Change from military to industrial society
Social Darwinism:
Social Darwinism is an attempt to apply Darwin’s theory o evolution, dealing with the development of plants and animals. LO social phenomena. Herbert Spencer and summer were the two most outspoken advocates of social Darwinism in sociology Spencer’s social
Functionalism:
Spencer was a thorough going functionalist as well as an evolutionist. According to him, “There can be no true conception of a structure without a true conception of its function”. Function occurs within a social structure and all social structures must have functions. He explained, “To understand how an organization originated and developed, it is requisite to understand the need sub served by it at the outset and afterwards”. He believed that social institutions are not the result of deliberate intentions and motivations of actors but arise from; his exigencies of social structures and functions.
According to him, any serious sociological analysis of social institutions must necessarily employs both the concepts of social evolution and social function. He emphasized that changes in structure cannot occur without changes in functions and that increases in the size of social units necessarily bring in their wake progressive differentiations in social activities. Spencer combined his functionalism with evolutionism. According to him, if the society as to evolve into higher and more advanced social structures and function’s, it must move from the simple to the complex activities, which is moving from the lesser military to the more industrial activities.