The Principles of Ethics, 2 vols. (1879) (LF ed.)
- Herbert Spencer (author)
- Tibor R. Machan (introduction)
A two volume work which Spencer considered to be his finest work. In volume I he covers the data of ethics, the inductions of ethics, and the ethics of individual life. In the second volume he covers the ethics of social life (or justice), negative beneficence, positive beneficence, and a number of topics in several appendices (such as Kant’s theory of rights, land ownership, and animal rights).
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Critical Responses
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The Methods of EthicsHenry Sidgwick
A foundational work in utilitarian moral philosophy that directly contrasts with Spencer’s evolutionary ethics. Sidgwick argues for reason-based moral principles , rather than “natural” or “evolutionary” morality.
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A Short History of EthicsAlasdair MacIntyre
While not a direct reply to Spencer, but this history places Spencer in the larger context of moral philosophy and carefully traces how classical, medieval, modern and contemporary ethics diverge — often problematizing attempts like Spencer’s to universalize morality via natural law or social…
Connected Readings
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Kant’s Critique of Practical Reason and Other Works on the Theory of EthicsImmanuel Kant
The Metaphysics of Morals
