Progress by Enlightenment: Fact or Fiction?

Abstract

Enlightenment is a powerful intellectual and cultural movement which has vigorously promoted the idea of progress. However, the value-laden notion of progress is in many ways ambiguous even when it is restricted to some special area, such as science, art, technology, or politics. Some critics, who otherwise favor the Enlightenment commitment to education and research, have argued that progress is a myth. Some others regard Enlightenment as a transitory period of modernity, already surpassed by disillusioned postmodernism. Considering the philosophical aspects of these debates, my melioristic conclusion in this article is that progress is still a viable possibility or prospect: even though there is no general historical law which would make progress of the humanity necessary, it is up to us to hold up the values of the Enlightenment in our striving for a better world.