ok so i’ve heard at least 2 different definitions of progress.
- one strictly defines progress as technological progress. the reasoning is that “progress” comes from latin “pro-gress” (marching forward) which refers to any labor process feeling very similar to a long march. exhausting.
- another nice angle i’ve heard was that “progress” is a play-on-words with progesterone which is a substance produced by biological women to advance various internal processes, as such it is understood as “what women do” or as women’s movement. it’s silly but i’ve heard it and now so have you.
especially, do you think that “progress” properly describes your goals? do you say that progress is what we need as a society? if no, how else would you describe your goals?
It’s a word, first of all. Cancer can progress, it doesn’t mean it’s in everyone’s best interest, lol.
Let’s just use the word “change”. Would the society I live in benedit from change? Certainly! In many aspects, and not so much in others (fish and chips and farmer markets can stay as they are, for example, but binge drinking, consumerism, extreme self-centeredness and hedonistic sexual practices should become a thing of the past and stay there).
And no, my main goal is to please God by being a prosocial element in the universe we’ve been given for free, as righteous and pious as I can be within reasonable expectations. In a way, it has necessitated personal progress, as I’ve had to learn to live with the emotional instability that comes with ADHD and childhood trauma, trying my best to remain calm and not explode/start swinging. I’ve learned to care about people even if their lives don’t impact me in any way, I’ve learned to be more flexible and understanding instead of just trying to impose my POV and disregard others as foolish nonsense. With God’s and my wife’s help, I feel like I’ve made much progress, and hopefully I still have more years to develop. But I’ve many other traits I’m pleased with and would not like to change, and others that aren’t problematic enough to be worth the effort of making changes.
As such, change/“progress” has been a means to an end, not the end by itself. And if your goal was just “progress”/change, how would you know when to stop? How would you measure success, either total or partial? 😅
good question indeed