Spencer's theory of how society works

How societies are born, grow and die is something that has been studied for centuries, although often this knowledge has not been systematized until the emergence of the first sociologists.

Sociology is a science that, despite its great importance when it comes to understanding the functioning and structure of the societies in which we live, has a relatively recent history. In fact, technically it is considered that its appearance was due to authors such as Auguste Comte or the author to whom this article is dedicated, Herbert Spencer.

Spencer was a well-known liberal-minded philosopher who is especially known for his integration in the study of societies of some of the main contributions of the theory of evolution, configuring what could now be called Darwinism social. In this article we will see What are the characteristics of Spencer's theory? regarding his way of explaining the functioning of society.

• Related article: "Herbert Spencer: biography of this English sociologist"

Main elements of Spencer's theory

Although Herbert Spencer's theory was considered controversial in the Victorian era in which he lived, it had a important repercussion in the social fabric of the time and in the study of societies from a perspective scientific.

Below we present some of the main contributions or basic ideas defended by Herbert Spencer's theory, on various aspects of reality, but fundamentally focused on society.

synthetic philosophy

Herbert Spencer's philosophical work is extensive, and adheres to a positivist conception of science (in fact he is one of the main promoters and founders of it).

In it, the author considers that all scientific concepts were limited by being based solely on the experience of the subject, with which his knowledge is based on false premises. To be scientific, it is necessary that a hypothesis or proposition can be verified and falsified experimentally.

He considered it necessary and in fact intended to synthesize (hence the name of his philosophy) and unify scientific knowledge around the laws of nature, the main and most fundamental being the law of evolution.

Organic theory of society

One of the main theories defended by Herbert Spencer and that although secondary (and later rejected by the same author in late works) is useful to better understand his thought is that of organic analogy.

This theory proposes that society has a structure and functioning similar and identical to that of a living being, and in fact initially the author himself comes to indicate that a society is an organism itself.

In this sense we find that, like any animal or living being, societies are born, they grow, reproduce and die, in addition to increasing their complexity and becoming more and more complex. Likewise, they are organized based on a structure that will become more complex according to the level of evolution of the organism, and they will have different systems in charge of different functions.

Also They need some sort of management device., which would be the nervous system in animals and governments in societies. There is also a distributive apparatus (circulatory system and/or media), one for basic maintenance (food and industry respectively).

Now, the fact that there is a clear similarity does not mean that societies and living beings are identical: the living being seeks the benefit of the totality of its being and he is the only one who has conscience and decision about his acts, while society is partial and not always unitary and each of its members tends to seek their own benefit, not that of the whole.

It also indicates the existence of two types of societies, the military and the industrialized, as a reflection of a evolutionary process in which one goes from the first one to the second according to the complexity of the system increase.

What is evolution? Spencer's theory of evolution

Another of Spencer's contributions and which establishes the beginning of his link with evolutionary ideas is found in his theory of evolution, which establishes the existence of regulatory mechanisms in populations that allow these to be variable, evolve and differentiate.

In this theory, the author considers in the Law of Progress that we can consider progress that process of differentiation, independent of voluntary control, which directs evolution.

Based on the conceptions of physics of the time, the author concludes that evolution is a continuous process that requires movement and which is defined as "change from incoherent homogeneity to coherent homogeneity, accompanying the dissipation of movement and the integration of matter".

social darwinism

Probably the best known and most important aspect of Herbert Spencer's theory is the so-called social Darwinism, in which integrates the main contributions of Darwin and Lamarck to the study of human populations and its operation.

This concept is established as an attempt to naturalize the social, which is by extension a product of the evolution of the species and adjusts to its own rules and norms. In fact, his theory implements the theory of evolution in a large part of the disciplines and fields existing in society.

One of the most controversial aspects of his theory, social Darwinism draws an analogy between societies and organisms based on the law of survival of the fittest, the law of natural selection.

If we apply this principle to the birth, evolution and death of societies, we find that for the author the Societies that are more capable must prevail over those that are less so in order to maintain a continuous progress of this. This principle also applies to social classes: the richest are fitter than the humblest, so they have a higher survival rate.

In this sense, he used the theory in order to justify the dominance of some peoples over others and the rise of racist attitudes, or even war and imperialism, as it is understood that the survival of the fittest makes it possible to maintain and make society evolve.

• You may be interested in: "Darwin's influence on Psychology, in 5 points"

Individualism

Another of the best known aspects of Herbert Spencer's theory is his defense of individualism and liberalism. The philosopher and sociologist considers it necessary to limit the power of rulers and promote the individual and autonomous development of each member of society.

The author considered that societies should be governed according to the laws of nature, being preferable a minimal intervention by the Administration in the lives of individuals, including aspects such as education. He considered that progress arose from the adaptation by free citizens to a fluid and changing society.

Now Spencer too he enunciated what would come to be called the doctrine of freedom, according to which individual freedom ends where that of others begins.

The psychology of adaptation

Another of the aspects worked by Spencer is the so-called psychology of adaptation. Again based on the idea of ​​evolution, the author establishes the possibility of to know the human mind from analyzing the way in which it has developed, based on the way in which the nervous system and the brain have formed and evolved.

In this sense, Spencer was influenced by the current of phrenology, considering that it was possible establish the existence of certain characteristics from the shape of our nervous system and skull.

Herbert Spencer considered that the psyche developed based on a process by which the different ideas and thoughts were connecting with each other until they were able to reflect what happens in the middle.

In this sense, the author establishes that our brain acts mainly based on association, as well as that interpersonal or interspecies differences are found solely in terms of quantity of associations. It would therefore be a precursor to the study of psychology in which ideas similar to the behaviorists can be observed.

Education

In Spencer's theory, his position regarding the educational field is also known, influenced to a large extent by his political position and his way of seeing society.

Spencer considered that as the classrooms were organized, a homogeneous set of minds was formed and thoughts that hinder progress and development, which arise from the meeting of different ways of thinking.

The author considered that perhaps formal education was unnecessary as long as society evolves according to laws, a product of need to go from uncivilized to civilized, and that it needs to constantly evolve in order to face social changes.

In addition, he considered that science should replace many other elements of the school curriculum, including languages. In his eyes, the education and training provided at the time lagged behind social changes, and incorporated little useful knowledge. However, he did observe that little by little changes were taking place that each time brought the educational process closer to natural development.