Idea of Progress

'We may believe in the doctrine of Progress or we may not, but in either case it is a matter of interest to examine the origins and trace the history of what is now, even should it ultimately prove to be no more than an idolum saeculi, the animating and controlling idea of western civilisation.'Contents:Some Interpretations of Universal History: Bodin and Le RoyUtility the End of Knowledge: BaconCartesianismThe Doctrine of Degeneration: the Ancients and ModernsThe Progress of Knowledge: FontenelleThe General Progress of Man: Abbe De Saint-PierreNew Conceptions of History: Montesquieu, Voltaire, TurgotThe Encyclopaedists and EconomistsWas Civilisation a Mistake? Rousseau, ChastelluxThe Year 2440The French Revolution: CondorcetThe Theory of Progress in EnglandGerman Speculations on ProgressCurrents of Thought in France After the RevolutionThe Search for a Law of Progress:'Progress' in the French Revolutionary Movement (1830-1851)Material Progress: the Exhibition of 1851Progress in the Light of Evolution