The Victorians' belief in the inevitability of progress was based, in part, on their analysis of the past. They studied modern, ancient and biblical history in search of the underlying trends of social development. At the same time, major additions to the scope of historical knowledge were made by Victorian scholars and scientists. Archaeologists extended the antiquity of the human race through their discovery of a prehistoric stone age, while anthropologists dismissed modern "primitives" as relics of this earliest stage in ...
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The Victorians' belief in the inevitability of progress was based, in part, on their analysis of the past. They studied modern, ancient and biblical history in search of the underlying trends of social development. At the same time, major additions to the scope of historical knowledge were made by Victorian scholars and scientists. Archaeologists extended the antiquity of the human race through their discovery of a prehistoric stone age, while anthropologists dismissed modern "primitives" as relics of this earliest stage in social progress. The theory of evolution was called in to link the phases of biological and social progress, creating a comprehensive world view in which modern European civilization could be portrayed as the pinnacle of natural development. This book provides a comprehensive survey of all these levels in the Victorians' exploration of the past. It shows how the idea of progress was developed in two rival forms which expressed liberal and conservative social values. Whether in history, prehistory or the fossil record, the past could be visualized either as a continuous progression or as a sequence of distinct cycles or episodes. The author argues that the controversies surrounding the "Darwinian Revolution" can be interpreted as the inevitable consequence of the Victorians' attempt to extend these models of history into the more distant past.
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Add this copy of The Invention of Progress: the Victorians and the Past to cart. $90.01, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Blackwell Pub.
