Progress - Shinpo

Japanese: 進歩 - しんぽ

A word that means gradual improvement toward a better or more perfect state in terms of values, and in English it is called progress. It differs from synonyms such as "movement," "development," and "evolution" in that it is used exclusively in relation to the human mind, culture, and society. The idea of progress did not develop in times or cultures where the view of history as declining or cyclical was dominant, but was characteristic of the Christian world, which had a linear view of time and a history of salvation (eschatology) as its doctrine. It became the mainstream of Enlightenment thought from the 18th century onwards, when the accumulation of scientific knowledge and technology and trust in their improvement were linked to trust in the moral progress of humans and criticism of religion. Condorcet's The Progress of the Human Mind (1795) was its manifesto. However, the alienation of humans and pollution brought about by technology and industry, and the moral crisis and trend of disregarding life that came with the spread of scientific knowledge have led people to have deep doubts about the idea of progress.

Source : Heibonsha Encyclopedia About MyPedia Information

Japanese:

価値的によりよい，より完全な状態へと進む漸進的向上をいう語で，英語ではprogress。〈運動〉〈発展〉〈進化〉などの類語とは，それがもっぱら人間の精神・文化・社会について用いられる点で異なる。没落史観や循環史観が有力な時代や文化において進歩の観念は発達せず，直線的な時間観や救済史＝終末論を教義の柱としてもつキリスト教世界に特徴的であって，科学知識や技術の蓄積，およびそれらの改良への信頼が人間の道徳的進歩に対する信頼と宗教批判に結びついた18世紀以降の啓蒙思想の主潮となった。コンドルセの《人間精神の進歩》（1795年）がそのマニフェストである。しかし技術と産業のもたらした人間疎外や公害，科学知識の普及に伴う生命軽視の風潮や道徳的危機は，進歩の観念に深い疑いをいだかせるにいたっている。

出典　株式会社平凡社百科事典マイペディアについて　情報

<<: Shinpo - Shinpo

>>: New edition of Musashi Fudoki - New edition of Musashi Fudoki