Abstract

This paper investigates Herbert Spencer's influence on William Stanley Jevons' political thought. Jevons' thought was shaped by three ideas, which can be traced back to Spencer: the idea that individuals were no tabula rasa ; the belief that evolution was a beneficent process; and the idea that moral sentiment evolved towards perfection. I will also show why Jevons supported the idea of interventionist social reform, which Spencer rejected, and I will argue that this disagreement stemmed from Jevons' commitment to Jeremy Bentham's utilitarianism.

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