Theories of Progress and Evolutionism
Theories of Progress and Evolutionism
The paper analyzes the concepts of ‘evolution’ and ‘progress’ and argues that, although the two were closely associated in 19th century evolutionary social theories, they are not necessarily conjoined. The article emphasizes that the most original feature of Darwin’s theory was the incorporation of the element of contingency, and that this element is precisely what serves as a starting point for neo-evolutionary theories that have moved beyond the classic progressivist conceptions. As a conclusion, the paper argues that in today’s sociology, it is the interpretations of notions of evolution and progress from a sociology of knowledge perspective rather than building models around them that seems fruitful. Thus, as opposed to psychology, where it is a legitimate expectation towards development theories to conceptualize ‘development’ and related concepts, in the case of sociology this aspiration seems less promising.