# Progress Probably Doesn't Exist By:: [[Brian Heath]] 2024-02-23 Does progress exist? Many would say yes. Things change; it only takes a value judgment to decide if such changes qualify as progress. There is little argument that progress exists at the micro, perhaps essentially meaningless, level. But, at the macro level, claiming the existence of progress is more complex than it seems. Indeed, it may be a complete human delusion based on projecting micro observations onto macro scales. The logic goes: if I can see some minor progression in my life, there must also be macro progression. However, this may be a false equivalency as the scale is entirely different. For example, who makes the collective value judgment for the progression of macro systems? The individual can make the final and absolute judgment in the micro view. Perhaps one lives in some version of a democratic society, so one may think a vote should be held to determine if progress exists. This seems reasonable until one considers that society is a component of the system in question. Can a collective entity that is simultaneously the emergent outcome and influencing agent of the system ever be qualified to provide any sense of value judgment? Put another way, should a child's opinion about whether playing with glass in the road be good or bad when their brain and experiences are underdeveloped? One can form some opinion about systemic and macro progress from where one sits, but one is also the product of such things. Thus, from a prominent modern viewpoint anchored in Enlightenment ideals, progress probably doesn't exist. Instead, one merely exists and attempts to make the best of it. Alternatives to this perspective may be rooted in pre-Enlightenment belief systems or ignored because it is convenient to think that the rallying cry for progress is often, at best, a cry for help or, worse, a temper tantrum with no point. We are like a child losing it in the grocery store because we do not realize the world's ways and are unaware that our body is telling us that we are tired and hungry. Focusing on the signals coming from within ourselves and the systems we inhabit might significantly change our actions and reactions. Thinking about such paradigm-shifting things is uncomfortable, but it might be the only progressive thing we can do. #### Related Items [[Progress]] [[Society]] [[Life]] [[Judgement]] [[Value]] [[Beliefs]] [[Paradigms]] [[Truth]] [[Validation]]