The degradation of the analytic-synthetic method in Herbert Spencer’s sociology

Abstract

In order to illustrate the degradation of a method, we will examine Herbert Spencer’s Principles of Sociology (1874–1898, three volumes). The analytic-synthetic method introduced into ‘civil philosophy’ by Thomas Hobbes in the 17th century is chosen as the point of reference for the assessment of the status the analysis acquires in Spencer’s work. A comparison of the two editions of The Principles of Psychology reinforces our epistemological reading of a man who, despite his best efforts, could not rid himself of a method whose legitimacy he denied.