Progress

Philosophically, progress supposes development of some system or part of some system from a lower or less perfect state to a higher or more perfect state. Classical thought was divided between no-progress (cyclical) existence or negative progress (decline from a golden age). Although Christian thinking allows for progress outside the scope of history, the social development of the 17th century brought with it the the belief that the [reign of reason]

, lying in the future, was a goal to which humanity was progressing historically (Philosophy of Enlightenment). Later, Hegel defined history as progress in the consciousness of reason, the new always being founded on the old, while Marxism says that societies evaluate history subjectively from their individual positions, always seeing themselves as the culmination of preceding stages, and that objective assessment of progress must be based on the material progress of a society. However, believers in democracy emphasize the individual and the ability to dominate material things with the mind, measuring progress in the "capacity to become a free and responsible person in a world of free and responsible nations". Currently, the progressive spirit of cooperation and understanding among major religions is held by some to indicate progress towards redemption by God of all human life.