This early work by Herbert Spencer was originally published in 1871 and
we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The
Principles of Psychology - Volume I.' is a comprehensive work that
details the data of psychology, the inductions of psychology, and
general synthesis. Herbert Spencer was born on 27th April 1820, in
Derby, England. In 1851 he published 'Social Statics' to great acclaim
and his quietly influential 'Principles of Psychology' in 1955. These
were followed by numerous works of sociology, psychology, and
philosophy, which led him to become a prominent intellectual of his day.
He also wrote 'The Developmental Hypothesis' (1852) which described the
theory of evolution seven years before Charles Darwin's 'Origin of
Species'. He even popularised the term "Evolution" and coined the phrase
"Survival of the fittest", but his works did not contain the
comprehensive theoretical system that Darwin's did, which is why his
theory was not taken seriously at the time. Spencer's most famous idea
was that of "Social Darwinism." He saw the process of organic evolution
as being analogous to that of society, an idea influenced many
intellectuals of the day.