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Progress (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

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The philosophical discourse on progress, both moral and political, has a long history. It first rose to prominence in the Age of Enlightenment as a particular view of history as progressive (see entries on Enlightenment and philosophy of history). Contrary to the view that history is a sequence of random events with no particular trajectory or meaning, the Enlightenment view holds that history has a tendency toward freedom. There are two major ways to account for this tendency: one teleological and the other non-teleological. Crudely, the teleological account argues that world history has its own end, and progress toward human freedom is its manifestation. This account leaves little room for human agency in advancing or obstructing progress, for progress is inevitable by dint of the “law of history.” By contrast, the non-teleological account argues that even though history is open-ended, there is still a tendency toward freedom because of the interplay of causal forces including human

--> Progress (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy Menu Browse Table of Contents What's New Random Entry Chronological Archives About Editorial Information About the SEP Editorial Board How to Cite the SEP Special Characters Advanced Tools Contact Support SEP Support the SEP PDFs for SEP Friends Make a Donation SEPIA for Libraries Entry Navigation Entry Contents Bibliography Academic Tools Friends PDF Preview Author and Citation Info Back to Top Progress First published Thu Feb 17, 2011; substantive revision Wed Feb 28, 2024 The philosophical discourse on pr

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