Criticism

Spencer’s support of a “laissez-faire” philosophy was also questioned at the beginning of the 20th century, when war, inflation, unemployment, etc., were causing chaos in Europe and the United States. As a result, more and more people thought that society and politics needed to be controlled by rationale.

Herbert Spencer’s idea that society is a super-organic system was flawed in many ways. He couldn’t see how culture fit into the world as a whole. His explanation of how societies change from simple to complex was also incorrect.

Timasheff says that because his law of evolution is a cosmic law, his theory is strictly philosophical and not sociological.

Critics said he made what is now called the “naturalistic fallacy,” which is the mistake of trying to find morality and ethics in nature.