Herbert Spencer, 1820-1903
                                                                 A society in search of natural laws:
                                                          Spencer designed an all-embracing 
                                                          conception of evolution as the progressive 
                                                          development of the physical world, biological 
                                                          organisms, the human mind, as well as 
                                                          human culture and societies  -- all before 
                                                          Darwin!
                                                            His conception was based on two 
                                                            major principles: 
                                                            •   continuity of natural law (Thomas 
                                                                Malthus)
                                                            •   Utility (based again on Jeremy 
                                                                Bentham)
                                                          Expressed a great longing for societal 
                                                          order on the basis of the laws of nature 
   ‘This survival of the fittest, which I have            and thus the natural sciences 
   here sought to express in mechanical                   (positivism).
   terms, is that which Mr. Darwin has called                   ‘True liberty is nothing else than 
   'natural selection', or the preservation of            the rational submission to the 
   favoured races in the struggle for life.’ –            preponderance of the laws of 
   Spencer in regard to his economic theories!            nature.’ 
      Spencer relies on Malthus
                                                                      1798; 1803 edition 
                                                                      read by 
                                                                      Darwin
                                           ‘The power of population is so superior to the 
                                           power of the earth to produce subsistence for 
                                           man…’
                                           ‘ongoing struggle of existence over subsistence 
                                           ’  -- according to Malthus God directed
 The Reverend Thomas Robert                Note: term’ survival of the fittest’ (not from 
 Malthus, 1766 – 1834                      Malthus but Herbert Spencer who read Darwin. 
                                           Darwin then used it in later editions of his book.
                                            Darwin’s ideas also fitted well to another 
                                            accepted social theory of the time: 
                                            Utilitarianism
                                            Principle: 
                                            ‘greatest happiness of all’  - which is 
                                            measurable through measuring ‘pain’ and 
                                            ‘pleasure’ in humans
                                            ‘Nature has placed mankind under the 
                                            governance of two sovereign masters, pain 
                                            and pleasure. It is for them alone to point 
                                            out what we ought to do, as well as to 
                                            determine what we shall do. On the one 
                                            hand the standard of right and wrong, on 
                                            the other the chain of causes and effects, 
                                            are fastened to their throne. They govern 
                                            us in all we do, in all we say, in all we 
                                            think ..’
                                            (The Principles of Morals and Legislation
    Jeremy Bentham  1748 – 1832     It follows: the appropriate mode of action is the one that 
                                    maximises utility --  maximising total benefit and reducing 
                                    suffering or the negatives effects of human action
                            Darwin collects data during his 
                            5 year journey
    Darwin in the 1840s, after his voyage and his marriage to Emma Wedgewood 
          Darwin’s voyage on the HMS Beagle 1831-1836