Spencer, Herbert (1820–1903)

By Gray, Tim S.

Herbert Spencer is chiefly remembered for his classical liberalism and his evolutionary theory. His fame was considerable during the mid- to late-nineteenth century, especially in the USA, which ...

Spencer, Herbert (1820–1903)

By Offer, John

Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) made a significant contribution to nineteenth-century thought through innovative conceptual enquiry, gaining recognition in his native England and across the world. He is chiefly remembered ...

Huxley, Thomas Henry (1825–95)

By Gregorio, Mario A. Di

Huxley, an English zoologist with strong philosophical interests, originally influenced by K.E. von Baer’s embryological typology, became an authority first in invertebrate zoology and then in vertebrate palaeontology. ...

Eliot, George (1819–80)

By Beer, John

George Eliot is the pseudonym of the English writer Mary Ann Evans, whose mind was strongly influenced by the main philosophical currents of the time and who made ...

Toynbee, Arnold Joseph (1889–1975)

By Burke, U.P.

Arnold Toynbee’s controversial reputation rests on the multi-volume A Study of History that he published between 1934 and 1961. Rejected by some scholars as overly schematic, this wide-ranging ...

Wallace, Alfred Russel (1823–1913)

By Beddall, Barbara G.

Co-discoverer with Charles Darwin of the theory of natural selection, Wallace travelled to the Amazon in 1848. Four years of collecting specimens there for sale in Europe revealed ...

Ardigò, Roberto (1828–1920)

By Urbinati, Nadia

Roberto Ardigò was the most prominent Italian philosopher of the nineteenth century. A priest and an academic, he was subjected to an ecclesiastical trial for his naturalistic philosophy ...

Simmel, Georg (1858–1918)

By Frisby, David

Georg Simmel was a prolific German philosopher and sociologist, who was one of the principal founders of sociology in Germany. His philosophy and social theory had a major ...

Bergson, Henri-Louis (1859–1941)

Bergson’s thinking focuses on the major questions of philosophy: What is time? What is the nature of consciousness? What is the significance of evolution? What are the sources ...