First Principles

"First Principles" by Herbert Spencer is a wide-ranging philosophical work that seeks a unified understanding of belief by connecting science, religion, and human experience. It starts by looking at human beliefs and suggests that even ideas that aren't quite right can still have some truth in them. Spencer shows how political ideas have changed over time, from the idea of kings chosen by gods to the forms of democracy we have today. He argues that all religions and philosophies share that sense of core truths about existence, even if those truths are sometimes hidden by strict rules and doctrines. Spencer sets up his in-depth review of what humanity can know, what it can't, and the rules that govern both.