Texas Tech University

The Idea of Progress: Its Past, Present, and Future

Syllabus | Introduction | Secondary Literature | Unit I | Unit II | Unit III | Unit IV



Samuel Goldman
Assistant Professor of Political Science
The George Washington University
swgoldman@gwu.edu

Syllabus

Course Description

Progress can be defined as the idea that the human condition is being steadily improved by his own effort. This course investigates the development of this idea in Western thought, from the ancient world up to the present.

The course begins by examining the cyclical view of time that characterized Greek philosophy and the eschatological alternatives offered by Jewish and Christian sources. It then focuses on the development of theories of progress in the Enlightenment, which saw science rather than faith as the vehicle of human salvation. The third unit considers the linkage between progress and freedom in the 19th century, with particular attention to the idea of evolution. Finally, it concludes with the idea of progress in American culture and politics.

In addition to its historical dimensions, this course considers a series of philosophical questions, including:

  • What is the cause of progress? To what extent does improvement have its roots in religion, science, politics, social and economic structure?
  • What are the measures of progress as understood in its spiritual, intellectual, material, and political dimensions? Can we be certain that progress is occurring, or is this a matter of hope or faith?
  • What is the goal of progress? In other words, what kind of world would progress lead us to—and will we ever get there?

Recommended Audience

This course is appropriate for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Prerequisites might include introductions to the history of philosophy or electives in modern social thought.

Recommended Assignments

Readings total approximately 150 pages per week (about 50 pages per session). Writing assignment include one 2,000-word essay for each unit (for undergraduates) or an 8,000-word term paper (for graduate students).

Schedule

The schedule is designed for a fourteen-week semester with three meetings per week. In order to accommodate holidays and vacations, it includes one “dummy week” with no meetings. The course consists of the following thematic units, weekly themes, and daily reading assignments:


UNIT I: ATHENS AND JERUSALEM

  • Week 1: Nature and Creation
    • Session 1.1: Hesiod, Works and Days, 11.106–11.201; Plato, Republic 369a–374a, 543a–569c; Polybius, Histories, Book VI, Chs. 2, 8 sec. 57.
    • Session 1.2: Xenophanes, Fragment 16; Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, 1.1–1.23; Aristotle, Politics, I.2, II.8; Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Bk. 5 D-E.
    • Session 1.3: Genesis 1–4, 6–9:17, 12:1–9, 17:1–14, 18; Deuteronomy 5–6; 1 Samuel 8.
  • Week 2: Prophecy, Providence, and the Kingdom of God
    • Session 2.1: Psalms 40, 42; Isaiah 25, 40, 42, 51, 65; Jeremiah 29:1–21, 31; Ezekiel 36–7; Daniel 7; Micah 7.
    • Session 2.2: Matthew 1–7, 13, 24–25; Mark 4; Romans 8; 1; Corinthians 15; Hebrews 11–12; Revelation 21.
    • Session 2.3: Augustine, City of God IV.33–34; V.11; XIV.26–28; XV.1, 4–5; XVII.1–2; XX.1, 9, 16–17; XXII.22, 30.
  • Week 3: The Unity of Mankind
    • Session 3.1: J. Bossuet, Discourse on Universal History, “General Plan of the Work”; Part One, 11th Epoch, 12th Epoch; Part 2 Chs. 1, 27, 31; Part 3, Chs. 1–2, 6–8.
    • Session 3.2: G. Vico, The New Science, “Idea of the Work,” Axioms #64-96; Book IV Introduction, Sec. 8, Sec. 9 Chs. 1, 3; Book V. Ch. 3; “Conclusion of the Work.”
    • Session 3.3: G.E. Lessing, “The Education of the Human Race,” M. Reeves, The Influence of Prophecy in the Late Middle Ages, section I.
  • Unit I: Illustrations

UNIT II: THE QUARREL BETWEEN THE ANCIENTS AND THE MODERNS

  • Week 4: Progress and the Enlightenment
    • Session 4.1: F. Bacon, The Great Instauration, Preface and Plan of the Work; R. Descartes, Discourse on the Method, parts 1–3.
    • Session 4.2: J. Swift, “The Battle of the Books,” F.M. Voltaire, “That Modern Europe Is Better than Ancient Europe.”
    • Session 4.3: A. R. J. Turgot, “A Philosophical Review of the Successive Advances of the Human Mind” and Discourses on Universal History, “Idea of the Introduction,” “Plan of the First Discourse.”
  • Week 5: Progress and the Enlightenment, Continued
    • Session 5.1: J.J.-Rousseau, Discourse on the Origin of Inequality (skip dedication, preface, and all notes except #9 and #15).
    • Session 5.2: A.N. de Condorcet, Outlines of an Historical View of the Progress of the Human Mind, 9th and 10th Epochs.
    • Session 5.3: I. Kant, “Universal History with a Cosmopolitan Intent,” “Is the Human Race Constantly Improving?”
  • Week 6: DUMMY WEEK
  • Week 7: Progress and Freedom
    • Session 7.1: G.W.F. Hegel, Introduction to the Philosophy of History, Sections 1–3.
    • Session 7.2: G.W.F. Hegel, Introduction to the Philosophy of History, Sections 4–6.
    • Session 7.3: G.W.F. Hegel, Elements of the Philosophy of Right, §341–360.
  • Unit II: Illustrations

UNIT III: NATURALIZING PROGRESS

  • Week 9: Progress and the Economy
    • Session 9.1: A. Smith, The Wealth of Nations, I.1–2; III.1, 4.
    • Session 9.2: T. Malthus, “An Essay on the Principle of Population,” Chs. 1–5, 8–9.
    • Session 9.3: J.S. Mill, Principles of Political Economy, III.6–7.
  • Week 8: Progress and the State
    • Session 8.1: J.S. Mill, On Liberty, Chs. 1–3.
    • Session 8.2: J.S. Mill, Principles of Political Economy, IV.1, 11 §1–7.
    • Session 8.3: K. Marx, The Communist Manifesto, "Critique of the Gotha Program," Section IV.
  • Week 10: Progress and Evolution
    • Session 10:1 C. Darwin, The Origin of Species, Ch. 3–4 (up to “Of the Intercrossing of Individuals”).
    • Session 10.2: H. Spencer, “Progress: Its Law and Cause,” “The Proper Sphere of Government,” Letters I, VI, VII.
    • Session 10.3: H.G. Wells, Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress on Human Life, Chs. III, V, IX.
  • Unit III: Illustrations

UNIT IV: PROGRESS AND AMERICA

  • Week 11: Progress and the American Republic
    • Session 11.1: J. Adams, “Dissertation on the Canon and Feudal Law”; The Declaration of Independence; The Federalist #9.
    • Session 11.2: F. Douglass, “What to the Slave Is the 4th of July?”; A. Lincoln, Cooper Union Address, the Gettysburg Address.
    • Session 11.3: R.W. Emerson, “The Progress of Culture,” W. Whitman, excerpts from Democratic Vistas.
  • Week 12: Progressivism and Social Reform
    • Session 12.1: T. Roosevelt, “The New Nationalism”; W. Wilson, “What is Progress?”; H. Croly, “Nationality and Centralization” (from The Progress of American Life).
    • Session 12:2: F. D. Roosevelt, “Commonwealth Club Address,” 1944 State of the Union; J. Dewey, “The Future of Liberalism.”
    • Session 12.3: L.B. Johnson, “University of Michigan Commencement Address”; J. K. Galbraith, “Conventional Wisdom” and “The Case for Social Balance” from The Affluent Society.
  • Week 13: The Crisis of Progress
    • Session 13.1: The Port Huron Statement of Students for a Democratic Society; H. Marcuse, One-Dimensional Man, 1–18, 48–55.
    • Session 13.2: A. Solzhenitsyn, “Harvard Commencement Address”; J. Carter, “Crisis of Confidence.”
    • Session 13.3: R. Rorty, “American National Pride” and “A Cultural Left” from Achieving Our Country.
  • Week 14: The Future of Progress
    • Session 14.1: F. Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man, “By Way of an Introduction.”
    • Session 14.2: J. Gray, “An Illusion with a Future.”
    • Session 14.3: S. Johnson, Future Perfect, Introduction, Ch. 1, Ch. 2 pp. 151–198, Conclusion.
  • Unit IV: Illustrations

Syllabus | Introduction | Secondary Literature | Unit I | Unit II | Unit III | Unit IV