Progress Unchained

Ideas of Evolution, Human History and the Future

Inbunden, Engelska, 2021

483 kr

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Beskrivning

Progress Unchained reinterprets the history of the idea of progress using parallels between evolutionary biology and changing views of human history. Early concepts of progress in both areas saw it as the ascent of a linear scale of development toward a final goal. The 'chain of being' defined a hierarchy of living things with humans at the head, while social thinkers interpreted history as a development toward a final paradise or utopia. Darwinism reconfigured biological progress as a 'tree of life' with multiple lines of advance not necessarily leading to humans, each driven by the rare innovations that generate entirely new functions. Popular writers such as H. G. Wells used a similar model to depict human progress, with competing technological innovations producing ever-more rapid changes in society. Bowler shows that as the idea of progress has become open-ended and unpredictable, a variety of alternative futures have been imagined.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2021-03-04
Mått:158 x 235 x 22 mm
Vikt:590 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Antal sidor:314
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781108842556

Utforska kategorier

Biovetenskap inom Naturvetenskap och teknik

Mer om författaren

Peter J. Bowler is Emeritus Professor of the School of History, Anthropology, Politics and Philosophy at Queen's University Belfast.

Recensioner i media

'From the antique idea of a Chain of Being to the continually branching Tree of Life, Bowler brings a lifetime of learning to the intellectual history of progress. Few could show us with such precision and clarity how progress came to be 'unchained', and what this history might mean for our own visions of the future.' Alison Bashford, University of New South Wales

Innehållsförteckning

Preface; 1. Introduction: ladders and trees; Part I. The Ladder of Progress and the End of History: 2. From the chain of being to the ladder of creation; 3. The hierarchy of humanity; 4. Progress to paradise: Christianity, idealism and history; 5. Ascent to utopia: the quest for a perfect society; 6. End of an era?; Part II. Toward a World of Unlimited Possibilities: 7. Darwinian visions; 8. The uniqueness of humans; 9. Branching out: the evolution of civilizations; 10. Toward an uncertain future; 11. Epilogue: where did it all go wrong?; Bibliography.

Inbunden

2 500 kr