Michael Taylor has had a varied career as journalist, academic and central banker. His numerous publications include Men versus the State: Herbert Spencer and Late Victorian Individualism (OUP, 1992) and contributions to the New Dictionary of National Biography.

• Introduction; 1. Life and writings; 2. 'One magnificent generalization of progressive development'; 3. Positivism and the Laws of Nature; 4. The Law of Evolution; 5. The Laws of the Mind; 6. The Laws of Society; 7. The Laws of Morality; 8. Beyond the Laws of Nature; Conclusion.

"Taylor, aiming to describe the whole body of Spencer's thought, nicely explains the so-called law of evolution, and rightly locates it as central to that corpus, not only to biology, but to metaphysics, psychology, and sociology, and not only to these descriptive sciences but also normatively to ethics. He carefully presents the difficulties in Spencer's central ideas, but never with an unfair emphasis that could make Spencer seem simply dogmatic or foolish...Taylor locates Spencer's thought in the story of his life, and shows how the latter was entirely relevant to the former...If you want a good survey of Spencer's thought, nice but not too probing beyond what has become customary, then Taylor's is recommended." - Fred Wilson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, May 2008

Michael Taylor has had a varied career as journalist, academic and central banker. His numerous publications include Men versus the State: Herbert Spencer and Late Victorian Individualism (OUP, 1992) and contributions to the New Dictionary of National Biography.

• Introduction; 1. Life and writings; 2. 'One magnificent generalization of progressive development'; 3. Positivism and the Laws of Nature; 4. The Law of Evolution; 5. The Laws of the Mind; 6. The Laws of Society; 7. The Laws of Morality; 8. Beyond the Laws of Nature; Conclusion.

"Taylor, aiming to describe the whole body of Spencer's thought, nicely explains the so-called law of evolution, and rightly locates it as central to that corpus, not only to biology, but to metaphysics, psychology, and sociology, and not only to these descriptive sciences but also normatively to ethics. He carefully presents the difficulties in Spencer's central ideas, but never with an unfair emphasis that could make Spencer seem simply dogmatic or foolish...Taylor locates Spencer's thought in the story of his life, and shows how the latter was entirely relevant to the former...If you want a good survey of Spencer's thought, nice but not too probing beyond what has become customary, then Taylor's is recommended." - Fred Wilson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, May 2008

Michael Taylor has had a varied career as journalist, academic and central banker. His numerous publications include Men versus the State: Herbert Spencer and Late Victorian Individualism (OUP, 1992) and contributions to the New Dictionary of National Biography.

• Introduction; 1. Life and writings; 2. 'One magnificent generalization of progressive development'; 3. Positivism and the Laws of Nature; 4. The Law of Evolution; 5. The Laws of the Mind; 6. The Laws of Society; 7. The Laws of Morality; 8. Beyond the Laws of Nature; Conclusion.

"Taylor, aiming to describe the whole body of Spencer's thought, nicely explains the so-called law of evolution, and rightly locates it as central to that corpus, not only to biology, but to metaphysics, psychology, and sociology, and not only to these descriptive sciences but also normatively to ethics. He carefully presents the difficulties in Spencer's central ideas, but never with an unfair emphasis that could make Spencer seem simply dogmatic or foolish...Taylor locates Spencer's thought in the story of his life, and shows how the latter was entirely relevant to the former...If you want a good survey of Spencer's thought, nice but not too probing beyond what has become customary, then Taylor's is recommended." - Fred Wilson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews, May 2008