
Brains and Numbers
Elitism, Comtism, and Democracy in Mid-Victorian England
Christopher Kent(Author)
University of Toronto Press
Published on 15. December 1978
Book
Paperback/Softback
226 pages
978-1-4875-9226-4 (ISBN)
Description
A group of Oxford graduates, influenced by Arnold and later by Comte, formed the core of a generation of academic radicals who attempted to define the role of an educated elite in an emerging industrial mass democracy. This perceptive study of the English academic scene traces the emergence of Comtism in the university community and examines its expression in the ideas of Frederic Harrison and John Morley.
The social and political dimensions of Comte's ideology in England are commonly considered to have been obscured by the tendency to regard it as a sort of eccentric religious sect. This study demonstrates the subtlety with which Harrison applied positivist ideas to mid-Victorian politics and the generally underestimated influence of Comte in Morley's political thought. Both men looked to the frank eliticism of Comte in Morley's political thought - in both thought and action - the political claims of 'brains and numbers.' It was, as the book shows, an attempt singularly appropriate to the requirements of an educated middle class. Set within the context of mid-Victorian academic radicalism, the appeal of Comtism becomes more clear.
This book brings together a complex of philosophical, political, and religious ideas. It reflects the Victorian intellectual's perspective on the process and problems of social change.
The social and political dimensions of Comte's ideology in England are commonly considered to have been obscured by the tendency to regard it as a sort of eccentric religious sect. This study demonstrates the subtlety with which Harrison applied positivist ideas to mid-Victorian politics and the generally underestimated influence of Comte in Morley's political thought. Both men looked to the frank eliticism of Comte in Morley's political thought - in both thought and action - the political claims of 'brains and numbers.' It was, as the book shows, an attempt singularly appropriate to the requirements of an educated middle class. Set within the context of mid-Victorian academic radicalism, the appeal of Comtism becomes more clear.
This book brings together a complex of philosophical, political, and religious ideas. It reflects the Victorian intellectual's perspective on the process and problems of social change.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
340 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-9226-4 (9781487592264)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
12/1978
1st Edition
University of Toronto Press
€46.95
Available for download
Person
Christopher Kent is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Saskatchewan.