/lit/ - Literature

>>21337376
We’ve turned it into a myth, yes.
Change is constant, so *progression* is natural. But evolution and other processes will naturally regress too.

>>21337376
No

>>21337376
No

>>21337376
If you arent progressing and someone else is you end up like the world outside Europe doing the 16-19th century. Is it any surprise we have made it a religion?

It's not a myth but it has been fetishized. Zappfe diagnoses people obsessed with progress as "spiritually-developed" persons who are essentially never fulfilled as they move from goal to goal to goal to goal.

To progress from living to dead isn't something everyone wants, but ironically progress is used as a death anxiety mechanism.

>>21337438
Well there were only 2 times we had serious "progress".
First one was invention of large scale farming (mostly grain as grain can be stored for long periods of time without rotting) which facilitated sedentary societies compared to hunter-gatherer tribes. The second was discovery of fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) which enabled industrial revolution and industrial way of life. For most of history people lived relatively similar with minor progress im between those 2 society changing events.
You may argue internet revolution is a major progress on it's own lile the 2 I mentioned before, but I beg to differ. Our way of life right now isn't all that much different compared to say mid 20th and mid 19th century life when industrial revolution was well under way.

>>21337776
shit, I meant to quote OP not you >>21337438

>>21337776
When did the industrial revolution really start?

>>21337695
>Zappfe
Didn't commit suicide so he's a fraud
>inb4 excuses

>>21337794
While it existed as early as the 17th century the first truly usable/efficient steam engine (powered by coal of course) was invented by the infamous James Watt in 1764. So usually the second half of 18th century is considered as the beginning of industrial revolution as this particual steam engine design allowed for the creation of mechanized factories. Naturally some countries started this process later on. Britain was the first to industrialize, Europe and USA followed shortly after.

>>21337776
Illusions, and personal opinions, anon. These things caused us to increase our population. Is that really "progress"? A "blessing"?
It's a thing that caused a whole series of events. Some good, some bad.

Remember that taoist story about the farmer who finds a wild stallion in his possession?

Of course, in that there's no going back, and if we did, similar urges, similar senses of potential, and similar technical refinements would spring up with the same old momentum. I think Adorno is right that what makes consciousness consciousness is that it's always pointing beyond what's merely given. What makes progress feel paradoxically nightmarish is that the freedom consciousness has to constantly be in motion means that it steamrolls over and leaves behind the things that caused it to want to voyage outward in the first place.

>>21337834
I think we use the word 'progress' with different meaning. By progress I don't mean something inherently good or bad. I just mean our societies and ways of life 'progressed' on to a different level so to say. I'm not sure if I am expressing myself correctly.

>>21337376
No

>>21337825
>as this particular steam engine design allowed for the creation of mechanized factories.

Mechanized factories that existed since the cotton gin was invented