Idea of progress

Idea of Progress

Hello today i'm going to present the notion of progress. To start with I would like to give a definition of the notion. In broad terms, progress can be defined as a movement forward or an evolution towards a better future. Sin in order to illustrate this notion I've chosen to refer to books, and how they can be synonymous with progress. In a first part I will deal with the idea that books can change minds, in a second part I will focus on a new technology: the e-book. Finally in a third part I will explain the limits of advances linked to books.

The idea of progress is also a theory according to which the world and the human condition can be improved thanks to advances not only in science but also regarding liberty democracy and quality of life. Here is the power of culture linked to books, which allow change in mentality. For example the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe questioned slavery and possibly caused the Civil War.

François Truffaut's film Farenheit 451 also show us how books can change people's minds: in a dystopian world where books are forbidden, a fireman nammed Montag discovers how powerful and essential they can be.

Books can also evolve. Indeed, if we consider progress from a scientific perspective, e-books is a technical evolution. The book business has been going through major changes for some years now. The book publishing industry is currently experiencing a shift from analogue to digital technologies and format.

E-book is based on data digitisation, a recent progress. This technology has numerous advantages: e-book have high profit margins, many of the drawbacks of print are avoided, publishers no longer have to manage inventories, e-books can be practical to read everywhere.

However progress has limits and can raise ethical question, and books can too. For example many books deal with sensitive sujects which can start scandals and be criticizes like Uncle Tom's Cabin or Farenheit 451. As for as e-books are concerned, they also create debate, bacause they ave many disavantages: More and more books stores are closing as for example the Americain retail behemoth Borders which is liquidating all of its stotres, e-books are most likely to be illegally copied, some websites sush Amazone sell e-books at very low prices which undermines the perceived value of books, some self-published writers sell their work extremly cheaply. E-books create debate like "can e-book replace paper book" with 34% Yes against 66% No.

In conclusion i can say against all odds that books is synonymous to progress, because they can be change mind, help society, be necessary, but they are also limits like all diffrent types of progress.

...