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The Perfectibility of Man

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You might no think it, but the concept of the perfectibility of man has been widely held by philosophers. Of course, what they meant by perfectibility hasn't always been the same. This topic is the subject of the very enjoyable work by John Passmore. He discusses the attitude of philosophers and theologians from antiquity to the present, as well as touching on writers such as Orwell, Shaw and Zamiatin. Needless to say, many have opposed human perfectibility and Passmore devotes sections of the work to opponents such as Augustine, Luther and Calvin. For example, Calvin writes: "He who comes nearest to perfection has not yet advanced half-way." [p. 162.]

This book is lengthy, but you can use it as a reference work on thinkers. For example, there is a fascinating discussion of Teilhard de Chardin, who as Passmore points out, combines almost all the diverse themes found in perfectabilist literature. [p. 410.] Even many who have read a fair amount about Teilhard might be surprised to see his almost grudging support for totalitarian regimes of Europe in the 40s.