The English sociologistHerbert Spencerwas perhaps the most important popularizer ofscienceandphilosophyin the 19th century. Presenting a theory ofevolutionprior toCharles Darwin’sOn the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, Spencer argued that all of life, including education, should take ...
He was a sincerely religious man who, because of his belief in the underlying unity of all things, tended toward pantheism and has been called a nature mystic. His most important contribution to educational theory was his belief in “self-activity” and play as essential factors in child ...