title: Explaining the universe: Herbert Spencer's attempt to synthesize political and evolutionary ideas.
abstract: Herbert Spencer's evolutionary ideas related not just to the biological world but to the universe and everything in it. Human societies were also viewed through his evolutionary lens so that Spencer's evolutionary and political ideas are inextricably entwined. This essay looks at some of Spencer's ideas and attempts to locate them in the social and intellectual context of his youth. It also speculates on the rise and fall of Spencer's reputation.
authors.affiliation: Department of History, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Gay
mesh_terms: D005075:Biological Evolution; D004739:England; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D010684:Philosophy / Q000266:history; D012961:Sociology / Q000266:history