The Metaphysics of Progress

A conceptual analysis of “progress” makes clear that progress is always relativized to certain respects, or properties that admit of degrees (“gradable properties”). What is an embodiment of progress in one respect can be an instance of regress in another. Moreover, since progress occurs over time, it presupposes that time is real and that atemporal entities (e.g. numbers) cannot make progress. Even though there is a general concept of progress (that allows for phrases such as “the cancer is progressing”), we usually think of progress in a more specific sense, viz. as signalling a development in a direction which we positively value. Thus, this specific concept of progress presupposes that values are real.