History of the Idea of Progress [Paperback]

Robert Nisbet (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1994

Nisbet traces the idea of progress from its origins in Greek, Roman, and medieval civilizations to modern times. It is a masterful frame of reference for understanding the present world. Nisbet shows why the idea of progress remains of critical importance to studies of social evolution and natural history.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert A. Nisbet (1913-1996) was Albert Schweitzer Professor Emeritus of the Humanities at Columbia University. He was also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. After retiring from Columbia he worked for eight years at the American Enterprise Institute.

Product Details

• Paperback: 370 pages
• Publisher: Transaction Publishers; 2nd edition (January 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560007133
• ISBN-13: 978-1560007135
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #604,933 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The History of an Idea, June 24, 2002

By 

Steve Jackson "stevejackson100atyahoocom" (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of the Idea of Progress (Paperback)

Robert Nisbet (1913-1996) was, as I've said before, one of the most important thinkers in recent memory. Although commonly called a sociologist, many of his writings fit broadly into the category of the "history of ideas." One such work is HISTORY OF THE IDEA OF PROGRESS. This work is an invaluable overview of the belief in progress from early times to the present. We might be tempted to say that history has no general direction, it's just a series of "ups and downs." While this view is defensible, it is interesting that the belief in progress (or perhaps more accurately, the inevitability of progress) has been one of the dominant ideas of human history. And, as Nisbet shows, it isn't confined to modern man or the hotheads of the French Revolution. Echoes of it can be found in the Greeks and Romans, and Christianity was a very "progress oriented" religion.

Nisbet proceeds chronologically, discussing the key thinkers and schools. One discussion I found fascinating was that of Joachim of Fiore, a Catholic monk, who was one of the leading religious advocates of progress (and who saw a future age of the spiritual elite.) I was quite surprised to read that many Puritans referred favorably to Joachim in the seventeenth century. (In spite of their pessimistic view of human nature, many Puritans - and some of their offshoots such as the Fifth Monarchy Men - were believers in progress.)

Many Enlightenment thinkers believed in progress as well. One such thinker was Kant. (Incidentally, Randroids will be shocked that according Kant "there must be on every count - moral and political as well as economic - a maximum amount of autonomy granted the individual in all areas of his life." In fact, he didn't design the gas chambers at Auschwitz.) Even thinkers who seem quite pessimistic - such as Malthaus - have their progress-oriented side.

In the founding and early years of America, we see the combination of two types of progressivism - a combination of a secularized version of Puritanism and Enlightenment rationalism. This deserves at least some of the blame for America's interventionist foreign policy.

Nisbet also notes that although a faith in progress has been disastrous in many ways (such as Marxism) it has also been beneficial. Many of man's achievements have been nurtured by the belief that things can and will get better.

This is a fast-paced and exciting overview. A work that deals with similar topics from a different perspective is Passmore's THE PERFECTIBILITY OF MAN. Eric Voegelin has a political take on the idea of progress in THE NEW SCIENCE OF POLITICS.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars history of the idea of project, April 10, 2008

By 

Vasilios Lemonidis (Athens, Greece.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: History of the Idea of Progress (Paperback)

Altough Nisbet's research on the idea of progress offer little that is not in Bury,still remains a stimulating and finely documented study of the history of the idea from classical antiquity to modern era. Comprehensive in scope and well-written is adressed not only to intellectual elite but to general public as well. A true classic.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Progress, and How It Progresses, July 10, 2011

By 

JSmalls - See all my reviews

This review is from: History of the Idea of Progress (Paperback)

This is even more timely following the last shuttle launch. Nisbet examines an important concept in this book and lays out his arguments in a very strong, systematic way. Humans since the beginning of time have been interested in the idea of progress and in ways of showing how achievement is possible. What might be the most important idea after reading Nisbet's work is what happens to societies and individuals when progress is not achieved. In other words, what happens to countries that stop "progressing" by some conceived standard and only survive?