The purpose of this thesis was to come to understand the fundamental character of the idea of progress by studying the manner in which the idea emerged. This study, however, embodied more than simply those ideas that comprised its nature. The sociology of knowledge approach emphasizes the importance of understanding that the development of ideas can be strongly affected by the social structure. Taking such an approach into consideration in the task of understanding the fundamental character of the idea of progress, it was necessary to also attend to the influences of the social structure as well as the ideational factors upon the development of this idea. The thesis had a twofold approach in which the majority of work was devoted to ideational changes where the character of the idea was formed, but attention was also turned at appropriate times to the influence of the social structure upon the idea of progress.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pdx.edu/oai:pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu:open_access_etds-3961 |
| Date | 01 January 1979 |
| Creators | Schmaling, Robert Ray |
| Publisher | PDXScholar |
| Source Sets | Portland State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Dissertations and Theses |
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