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First published 1873

The Study of Sociology

by Herbert Spencer

London: Henry S. King, 1873; Online Library of Liberty edition258 pages

The Study of Sociology by Herbert Spencer is available as a free PDF and EPUB download at freecapitalists.org.

Author
Herbert Spencer
First published
1873
Format
PDF and EPUB
Pages
258
Publisher
London: Henry S. King, 1873; Online Library of Liberty edition
License
Public domain by publication date.

Herbert Spencer's 1873 introduction to sociology as a science, a survey of the difficulties of studying society and the biases that distort it. It helped found the discipline, and it applies the idea of natural selection to the survival of social groups and institutions.

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About this book and this copy

Is The Study of Sociology free to download?
Yes. The complete 258-page PDF and EPUB downloads directly from this page (1000 KB). There is no signup, no account and no paywall.
How long is The Study of Sociology?
258 pages, 22 chapters, and about 146,300 words in the edition this archive serves.
Who wrote The Study of Sociology?
Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) was one of the leading 19th-century English radical individualists. He began working as a journalist for the laissez-faire magazine The Economist in the 1850s. This archive holds 15 of Spencer's works.

What's in it

22 chapters · 146,300 words · free to read here

  1. PREFACE.
  2. CONTENTS.
  3. our need of it.
  4. is there a social science?
  5. nature of the social science.
  6. difficulties of the social science.
  7. objective difficulties.
  8. subjective difficulties—intellectual.
  9. subjective difficulties—emotional.
  10. the educational bias.
  11. the bias of patriotism.
  12. the class-bias.
  13. the political bias.
  14. the theological bias.
  15. discipline.
  16. preparation in biology.
  17. preparation in psychology.
  18. conclusion.
  19. notes to chapter xvi.
  20. About Liberty Fund
  21. The Online Library of Liberty
  22. Copyright Information
Portrait of Herbert Spencer

About the author

Herbert Spencer 1820–1903

Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) was one of the leading 19th-century English radical individualists. He began working as a journalist for the laissez-faire magazine The Economist in the 1850s. Read more about Herbert Spencer.

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