Taught at home by: Taught at home by

Taught at home by:

• Taught at home by:

• Father
• Later, his uncle

• Main focus=science

1837 (age17) an engineer at London and Birmingham Railroad

• 1837 (age17) an engineer at London and Birmingham Railroad

• Later: draftsman for Birmingham Railway

• Discharged in 1841
• Returned home to Derby

1853: Inheritance from uncle

• 1853: Inheritance from uncle

• Life: Private scholar

• Bachelor

• Frugal

Emerging upper class

• Emerging upper class

• Industrial working class

• Drawn to socialism

• Notions of inequality & social difference

“Middle-class rural radicalism”

• “Middle-class rural radicalism”

• 1. Opposed centralized

• authority

• 2. Supported separation of
• church & state
• 3. Anti-aristocratic
• (aristocrats=lazy)

“Middle-class rural radicalism” (cont.)

• “Middle-class rural radicalism” (cont.)

• 4. Against socialism
• 5. Anti-military
• 6. Secular progress & human reason
• 7. Meritocracy

“Antigovernment Individualism”

• “Antigovernment Individualism”

• Small government is best
• Government provides:
• Military
• Protection for individual rights

“Naturalistic Evolutionism”

• “Naturalistic Evolutionism”

• Applies to all natural phenomena
• Sequences of growth & development
• Slow, step by step progress

“Positivistic Uniformitarianism”

• “Positivistic Uniformitarianism”

• Same evolutionary processes:
• Biological
• Psychological
• Social

• Cumulative effect of small changes over long time

Utopia

• Utopia

• Evil is eliminated
• People live in harmony
• Society based on “Spontaneous voluntaristic cooperation”
• Happiness for all

Sociology replaces religion

• Sociology replaces religion

• Evolution=god
• Government (regulation & intervention=the devil)

Published in radical press

• Published in radical press

• “The Proper Sphere of Government”
• Supported extreme restriction on scope of government

Only Policing

• Only Policing

• Everything else-> Private enterprise

• No poor laws
• No national education
• No established church
• No restrictions on commerce
• No factory legislation

• First book (1850)

• Social Statics

• Based on “The Proper Sphere of Government”
• Supported laissez faire government

Basic argument of Social Statics:

• Basic argument of Social Statics:

• “Human happiness can be achieved only when individuals can satisfy their needs and desires without infringing on the rights of others to do the same.”

Disagreed with Comte on government intervention

• Disagreed with Comte on government intervention

• Natural order of societies is hierarchy

• Comte: “Social Priests” (governmental powers)

• Help society run smoothly

Thomas Paine

• Thomas Paine

• Individual rights
• Human perfectibility

• Adam Smith

• No government interference
• Invisible hand of the market

• Marian Evans (aka George Eliot)

• Feminism (for awhile)

Lamarkianism

• Lamarkianism

• Acquired traits-> Inherited

• Emotion/Sentiments

• Dominate intellect

• Survival of the fittest

• Traits change through use & disuse

Gender

• Gender

• Earlier believed gender was learned
• Later reversed position
• Women’s intellectual abilities sacrificed for reproduction
• Women destined by nature for domestic role

All natural phenomena explained by evolution

• All natural phenomena explained by evolution

• “Social occurrences” are natural phenomena

• Evolution—Progressive change in:

• Mass (population)
• Density (crowding)
• Differentiation (dividing into parts)

Evolution (continued)

• Evolution (continued)

• Specialization
• Different functions
• Integration
• Parts work together
• Adaptation
• Change improves function

Class of Theories: Organicism

• Class of Theories: Organicism

• Societal Evolution--Social Darwinism

• Society is similar to a special organism obeying its own laws of ‘progress.’

1. Not Darwinism

• 1. Not Darwinism

• Darwinism is Not teleological

• 2. Survival of the fittest = Spencerism

• Is teleolocigal-> Perfect society

Around 1854, suffered nervous illness

• Around 1854, suffered nervous illness

• Unable to concentrate, write, or read

• Acute insomnia

• Heavy doses of opium

• Retreated from society

• Became semi-hermit

1. A positivist

• 1. A positivist

• 2. Sociology verify causation

• 3. Sociologists should be cultural relativists