Major Works

His first work, “Social Statics: The Conditions Essential to Human Happiness,” was warmly appreciated by the intellectual community when it was released in 1850. He outlined the main concepts of his sociological theory in this work. Some intellectuals claimed that Spencer had stolen Comte’s ideas when he used the phrase “social statics.” However, Spencer emphasized that the words were his own, as he had only heard Comte’s name and not his concepts. Additionally, he said that the initial title of his work was “Demostatics.”

In 1855, Spencer released the first volume of “The Principles of Psychology.”

He produced several writings on education between 1854 and 1859, which were gathered in “Education: Intellectual, Moral, and Physical” (1861).

Spencer published a prospectus and began taking subscriptions for “The Synthetic Philosophy” in 1860. This extensive work would include volumes on fundamental concepts and volumes on biology, sociology, and morality, in addition to the Principles of Psychology, which had already been published.

“First Principles” came out in 1862, and the task had been completed by the time the third volume of “The Principles of Sociology” came out in 1896.

Spencer also wrote, “The Study of Sociology” (1873) and “Principles of Sociology” (1876–96), both of which are heavily influenced by the theory of evolution.

Spencer’s “The Data of Ethics” was first published in 1879. In this work, Spencer continues his investigation of individualist moral theory. He explores the fundamental characteristics of human behaviour, the standards by which it may be evaluated, the friction between individualism & altruism, and what he terms absolute ethics.

Herbert Spencer wrote a political philosophy piece titled “The Man Versus the State,” published in 1884.