Physics and Politics, Or, Thoughts on the Application of the Principles of "natural Selection" and "inheritance" to Political Society
1873
Physics and Politics, Or, Thoughts on the Application of the Principles of "natural Selection" and "inheritance" to Political Society
1873
Published in 1873, 'Physics and Politics' by Walter Bagehot examines the application of natural selection and inheritance theories to political society. Bagehot argues that scientific principles can illuminate the evolution of political structures and human behavior. He discusses how ancestry influences individual traits and societal progress, proposing a framework that links scientific understanding with political thought. This work is notable for its early integration of evolutionary theory into political science.
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“it is the continual effort of the beginning that creates the hoarded energy of the end;””
— Walter Bagehot
“Unproved abstract principles without number have been eagerly caught up by sanguine men, and then carefully spun out into books and theories, which were to explain the whole world. But the world goes clear against these abstractions, and it must doso, as they require it to go in antagonistic directions. The mass of a system attracts the young and impresses the unwary; but cultivated people are very dubious about it.They are ready to receive hints and suggestions, and the smallest real truth is ever welcome. But a large book of deductive philosophy is much to be suspected. Who is not almost sure beforehand that the premises will contain a strange mixture of truth and error, and therefore that it will not be worth while to spend life in reasoning over their consequences?””
— Walter Bagehot
