Herbert Spencer Quotes
Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher, sociologist, and political theorist who set himself the task, in his ten-volume System of Synthetic Philosophy, of unifying biology, psychology, sociology, and ethics under the single principle of evolution. He coined the phrase survival of the fittest, applied evolutionary thinking to social and political questions, and articulated a classical-liberal political philosophy in The Man versus the State. The quotes below are attributed to Herbert Spencer, organized by topic.
Herbert Spencer on Freedom
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Attributed to Herbert Spencer:
“No one can be perfectly free till all are free.”
Herbert Spencer on Knowledge
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Attributed to Herbert Spencer:
“The great aim of education is not knowledge but action.”
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Attributed to Herbert Spencer:
“Education has for its object the formation of character.”
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Attributed to Herbert Spencer:
“When a man's knowledge is not in order, the more of it he has the greater will be his confusion.”
Herbert Spencer on Nature
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Attributed to Herbert Spencer:
“Survival of the fittest.”
Herbert Spencer on Politics
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Attributed to Herbert Spencer:
“Progress, therefore, is not an accident, but a necessity.”