Idea of progress - publié le 18/12/2018

Résumé du document

First of all, progress can be defined as evolution, because it is a change to something else, but unlike evolution, progress is supposed to be an improvement. It can occur in several fields such as science, medicine, technology, industry, or mentality. If we talk about the "idea" of what is progress, it is that the border between what is good and what becomes dangerous for us is hazy. Then, is the progress always beneficial for the society?

Extraits

[...] Moreover, the banner at the beginning of the film informs us that it will be “a story of industry, of individual enterprise, humanity crusading in the pursuit of happiness”. At first sight, we can think that the company does as much as possible to improve workers' condition. Then, our last document deals with a technological progress. The story is about a robot, which is very lifelike. It, or ‘her', as Janet Shand refers to her, has a human appearance. She is ‘nice-looking', has ‘gold hair', and a perfect skin. Throughout the story, Janet, unlike her husband, grows attached to this robot and gives her a name, Hester. [...]

[...] Idea of progress I. Progress: evolution First of all, progress can be defined as evolution, because it is a change to something else, but unlike evolution, progress is supposed to be an improvement. It can occur in several fields such as science, medicine, technology, industry, or mentality. If we talk about the “idea” of what is progress, it is that the border between what is good and what becomes dangerous for us is hazy. Then, is the progress always beneficial for the society? [...]

[...] “I will build a car for a great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for.” On the photography, we can see hundreds of these Fords which shows that everyone, rich people as for example laborers could get this car. It also opened travel to the common-middle-class American. With this car, Ford Company opened the way to assembly line work and mass production. In 1914,” it took only 93 minutes to assemble a car”, whereas before it had taken 12,5 hours. [...]

[...] We have talked about the good aspects of our progress. Now, let's talk about what can become dangerous for us and the whole society. III. Progress: a danger? In all our documents, positive aspects of the progress have their limits. Firstly, Charlie Chaplin's film is not the praise of mass production. On the contrary, the Modern Times shows the dehumanization of the laborers: the first scene of the film compares them to a flock of sheep stupidly following each other on their way to work. [...]

[...] The more striking is the short story Hester. This is not real, it happens in the future, but it is in a way a reflection of our society. After Hester had taken Janet to the hospital, another robot, the hospital's secretary, asks George to sign his consent for the operation. After a hesitation, he decided to sign because he didn't know what was going to happen. When he discovers that his wife had been turned into a robot, which she totally approves of, he falls down the stairs. [...]