Bahá’í World/Volume 9/The Concept and Goals of Human Progress
4.
THE CONCEPT AND GOALS OF HUMAN PROGRESS
BY STANWOOD COBB
1
THE CONCEPT of human progress is
of fairly recent origin. The ancients were
too lacking in historical perspective and
anthropological knowledge to arrive at such
an idea. Moreover, the mythology of Greece
and of Rome looked backward rather than
forward to a Golden Age, giving credence
to a period in the dim past when mankind
had been more perfect and had lived in a
greater happiness and comfort than at any
later time. A similar Christian concept of
the fall of man from Paradise obstructed
throughout the Middle Ages any serious
attention to the thought of progress as such
—that is, to the looking forward to definite
improvement in the condition of the human
race. And the Messianic expectation of the
coming of the Kingdom of God to earth,
although in reality it contained a superb
vision of progress, was limited in the Middle
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Ages to the expectation of reward of
the spiritual and faithful of the Church, in
a fantastically conceived Heaven descending
miraculously from the clouds.
It was not until the sixteenth century that a favorable atmosphere began to develop in which the idea of human progress could find birth.
It had taken Europe about three hundred years to pass from medievalism into modernism; but during this period of the Renaissance itself, a period of conspicuous progress, conditions were not yet favorable to the definite formulation of the concept of progress.
In the middle of the sixteenth century a French historian, Jean Bodin, rejecting the theory of the degeneration of man from a legendary Golden Age, postulated progress as a law of existence. He believed that there had been a cultural progress in the past, from an age when men universally lived like savages and beasts. Bodin, in this bold theory of his, was indebted to the knowledge, which had by now reached Europe, of the life of the savage in the New World; and he conceived that such had been the life of humanity in general in the dim past. He did not, however, arrive at the vision of the possibility of a continuous advance of humanity in the future. But he was on the threshold, and his book, “Methododus ad Facilem Historiarum Cognitionem,” published in 1566, is a landmark in the development of the concept of human progress.
The idea of progress implies the belief not only that civilization has gradually developed and improved up to the present, but that it can continue so to improve; it implies a faith in the perfectability of man and his institutions.
In the middle of the eighteenth century the French Encyclopaedists began to move definitely in this direction. The great growth of knowledge during the Renaissance had presented material for the belief that the human intellect was only at the dawn of its powers. The development of science showing the inviolability of the laws of nature; the comparative study of civilization and religion; the application of reason to every problem of government, society, history, religion, science,—all of this resulted in the growing belief that man by means of his intelligence could improve his condition upon this planet.
Descartes, the great pioneer in this general movement, looked forward definitely to the advance of knowledge in the future; and conceived that the continuous growth and application of human intelligence to human affairs would have far-reaching effects on the condition of mankind.
But it remained for the Abbé de Saint Pierre to put the final touch on this transcendentally important concept of progress. He was a born reformer, a humanist and perfectionist, and devoted his life to the construction of schemes for increasing human happiness—one such being a definite plan for the establishing of perpetual peace.
Saint Pierre’s general view of the world was influenced by the concept of the gradual progress of civilization toward a goal of human happiness. In 1737 he wrote an exposition of his theories in a pamphlet, “Observations on the Progress of Universal Reason.” He gave a forward look to the theory of progress, judging that we are in the "infancy” of human reason compared with what would be the case five or six thousand years from now. And even at that advanced stage of development he thought that all humanity would only have arrived at its “youth.” He felt that humanity would have made even greater progress in the past had it not been for its continuous wars, its superstitions, and the selfishness and jealousy of its rulers. He conceived the accelerated rate of progress that could be made possible through organized scientific effort, having now at its disposal the art of writing and of printing. He believed that if war could be abolished and the ablest men should consecrate their talents to the art of government, we could in a century make more progress than in a thousand years at the rate humanity was then moving, and that such a progress would produce tremendous increases in human happiness.
Here we have for the first time expressed
in definite terms the concept of a progressive
life ahead for humanity. The Abbé was the
first to conceive future destinies of mankind
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and to attempt plans for the coming
centuries.
In the nineteenth century the development of the theory of evolution gave a marked impetus to the concept of human progress. For the first time in the functioning of human thought man began to trace in every direction a continuity of development. One could study history, now endowed with perspective and with comparative treatment, definitely from the point of view of progress—progress in types of government, in knowledge, in education, in scientific discovery, in the art of living, in morals, and in the development of a general diffused human posterity and happiness.
The concept of human progress had now completely arrived, and the birth of the Twentieth Century saw all intelligent people progress-minded. The importance of this mental attitude is immeasurable when we consider the stimulus it has given to human effort. Where there is no hope of progress a people stagnate, imprisoned in medieval institutions which change but slowly, if at all. But once the concept of progress gains sway over the human mind, individual and collective effort is made rapidly to win to those goals which faith in the perfectability of man assures us to be our privilege and destiny.
So fixed is this concept now in the growth of the human reason that a man would be considered hardly sane who should claim that he was not progressive—that he did not desire progress, or did not believe it possible.
2
We now universally believe in progress.*
But if we ask ourselves at this point “What is progress?” We shall find it difficult to establish valid criteria by which to evaluate our goals.
The Encyclopaedists, in their awakening enthusiasm for the marvelous powers of the human reason, thought that intelligence was sufficient to guarantee the establishment of ideal conditions upon the planet. But such
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*There are over one hundred organizations in this country alone committed in whole or in part to planning for progress and human betterment, reports The Commonwealth Foundation in a recent pamphlet on social and economic planning.
has not proved to be the case. Intelligence, as it appears, is but an instrument of the ego by which it succeeds in achieving its desires, and as such can make no guarantee of continuity or stability to human progress. John C. Merriam, in "The Living Past1, looking back over what scientists assume to be about a billion years of past existence of life upon this planet, considers the possibility of prognosticating as to the next billion or two years which, in all probability, the planet has ahead of it. So far as man’s intelligence is concerned, he says, there certainly can be not only continuous but continuously accelerated progress. But unfortunately man’s emotional egotistical nature endangers any assurance of continuity in human affairs. Man’s intelligence, he concludes, is not a sufficient guarantee of stable progress.
The Twentieth Century has made an idol of technology. This has been deemed the goal of human progress—to increasingly perfect the arts of living so as to surround man with greater comforts and means of pleasure. But technology in itself makes no guarantee of improvement to human institutions. It is a mechanism that can be tamed or that can destroy. At present it is threatening the very foundations of civilization. Secondly, technology, while surrounding men with greater creature comforts and with the instrumentations of happiness, does not seem actually to increase the happiness of those people among whom it prevails. In fact, the races that are the most innocent of technology seem to be the happiest!
It cannot be said, then, that technology is a sufficiently valid measurement or goal of progress.
Shall we, then, like the Hedonists of old, take happiness as the aim of human existence? If such is the case, then further progress is unnecessary. For in many regions of the planet can be found simple illiterate peasants favored with climate and natural resources who live in an atmosphere of natural joyousness. If mere happiness is the goal, they have already achieved it. In fact, the cat at the fireplace, the cow in sunlit meadows, the bird on the wing are happier than most humans. It is clear that
Bahá’í Youth at 1940 Convention. View taken on Roof of Hotel Orrington, Evanston, Ill., U. S. A.
we cannot accept happiness as the criterion of human progress.
Nor can we assume that movement itself is a proof of progress, even though that movement be apparently in a forward direction. There must be a valid goal toward which movement directs itself, or else mere movement has no assurance of being progress. One might be walking into a cul-de—sac or morass from which there was no escape. That would not be progress.
For example, no people have ever more efficiently and effectively set themselves into movement toward a desired goal than did the German people in the decade 1930 to 1940. They assumed that they were making remarkable progress. But were they? Was the goal they were aiming at a valid goal? Did their achievements of the last decade constitute a real advancement, or a retrogression? History will know how to evaluate, better than could Hitler, these militaristic goals. A similar illusion of progress has blinded the Japanese. Efficiency, when wrongly directed, does not make for progress.
3
It is of high importance, however, to arrive at some means for evaluating progress and for establishing criteria by which it can be judged. The human race has the intelligence, the capacity, and the instrumentations for the achievement of a glorious world civilization, provided its judgments are valid as to what goals shall be aimed at. In everyday human life, any goal selected for us by one of superior intelligence and trained skill is valid to such extent. The neophyte, when he is developing toward the goal set for him by his master, feels that he is making assured progress within that relative field. Thus if a pupil mastering mathematics, foreign languages, history, or any of the sciences, gives himself with some degree of confidence and faith to the directives of his teacher, he feels assured that when he is advancing along the lines set for him by his superiors he is making progress. So, also, the virtuoso in painting, music, or writing allows his activities to be directed for him by maestros in these fields, their values becoming his values.
Taking the Cosmos as a whole, we may well believe that a Supreme Intelligence, a Great Planner, has set, as it were, the blueprints which establish the various goals of Cosmic development. Surely this vast universe, so complex in its creations, so intricate in its relations and functioning, did not grow up by chance. Even in the midst of this materialistic age the leading scientists
Bahá’í Youth Group, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1941.
are beginning to realize that the universe as we know it must be the concrete expression of a Plan.
As to the life upon this relatively insignificant planet, we may justly conclude that the development of the monad through its various stages of evolution from protoplasm to man had, from the very beginning, a definite goal. It is not by accident that man became man. It was so designed. Thinking man has slowly reached his transcendent present through the process of what is called “emergent evolution.”
If, then, the course of evolution on this planet is the result of a Plan, thinking man was undoubtedly the goal aimed at from the beginning by the Life Force and every movement and development in this direction was progress.
Looking forward to the future, have we any assurance of a continuing Plan? Of any causal design on the part of the Creator for our further planetary development? If we can arrive at even a suggestion of such a Plan, we can then comprehend some valid goals toward which we must strive. Achievement in the direction of these goals would be progress; the lack of such achievement would be lack of progress; and movement in any opposite direction would be retrogression.
4
Throughout three thousand years of history
there has run one golden thread illuminating
a confused diversity—an apparently haphazard
scheme of things—with a
consistency of hope and faith. This golden
thread is the Messianic Theme envisioned
by the prophets of Judaism a millennium
before the birth of Christ. It is this
expectation of a paradise still to come on earth
which gives a meaning and glory to all
Jewish thought and action. This diminutive
nation, so insignificant from ordinary
historical viewpoints, became the Light of
the World through its gift to humanity of a
transcendental vision of an age when the
Prince of Peace would gather all peoples
under His banner of holiness and unite the
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world in a spiritualized culture in which
universal peace and brotherhood should reign.
This perfected condition of humanity—these
ideal institutions making for universal
peace, prosperity, and happiness—would
be due, it was conceived, to the spiritualized
condition of man individually and collectively
under the leadership of the Prince of
Peace. In view of this ideal, with God
himself as the guarantee of its realization, the
Jew has always had a forward-looking vision.
This vision has given him patience to
endure all trials with infinite fortitude. It
has made Jewry a nation of the future, the
full meaning of whose existence was to be
contained in the establishment of the Kingdom
of God upon earth. Nor was this expectation
a narrow bigoted belief in domination over
other peoples of the world by
the Jew. Rather, it was a belief in the
salvation of all peoples and nations of the
world, through the Jewish vision. All men
are of one blood and all are to have the same
destiny, namely, holiness and participation
in the divine nature and divine civilization
to be established.
It is to be regretted that Judaism was unable to make a happy transition from its historical vision, fulfilling its destined mission by accepting the vision bestowed upon the world by Christ; which, as Christians see it today, was not only the logical outcome of Judaism but was even its spiritual intent and plan.
The Christian inherited as a vital factor in his faith this belief in the Messianic Promise, and Christ was to them the promised Prince of Peace. It is true that Christendom has lamentably failed to put into practice the ideals of its Founder. But though wars and rumors of wars have filled the planet, Christianity at the height of its unity and fervor was a very powerful agent for peace within the fold of Christendom. And even today, though the most tragically cataclysmic war of history is being waged, the general consensus of Christendom was never more vitally directed toward ideals of peace and world brotherhood. It is as if the diabolic fermentation of belligerency in certain focal portions of the planet have produced a countereffective development and zeal toward goals of universal peace and brotherhood. The disease of war is thus developing its own antibodies, and we may hope to take advantage of these present opportunities successfully to immunize humanity for future cycles, making war obsolete.
If the Cosmos has a Plan and a Planner; if this Earth and its Earthlings are subordinate to such a Plan; and if that Plan has been revealed through the Prophets and Saviours of the world,—we then have presented to us a very definite and extremely valid criterion by which to measure progress. The objectives before us—as revealed by religion—are world unity, world federation, and the development of a world civilization based upon a functioning concept of world brotherhood and a common spiritual allegiance to the Great Planner and His Plan. This goal is the only one worth working for today, and movement toward this goal is the only certain and sure progress for man.
5
If the most important fact in the universe is the Will-to-Perfection of God, the next most important fact for man to comprehend is the way in which the Absolute makes this Will operative in the Cosmos. The Infinite God does not descend into the creative work of the Cosmos nor at any point make contact with the finite or phenomenal world. It is through the agency of the Holy Spirit that all the creative work of the universe is accomplished. The Holy Spirit is a mystery, as yet but dimly unfolded to man’s comprehension; but it is for him the most important thing on the plane of phenomenal existence, since it is through this Force alone that man can make contact With God’s Wisdom, Will, and Love. The Holy Spirit is the creative force of the universe; it is also the sustaining, the directive and the equilibrating force of the universe; it is the force back of evolution, therefore the force back of progress.
The development of the infinitely
multitudinous and intricate forms throughout the
Cosmos, from imperfection toward
perfection, is due to the stimulative and directive
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power of the Holy Spirit, which we may
look upon as God’s Wisdom-in-Action.
Without this life-impelling function of Deity, existence would never progress, for the thing-in-itself has not the power within itself to grow and develop toward infinite perfections.*
The developing forms of
existence need at all times the fostering aid of
the Holy Spirit. Thus not only does the
Divine Architect furnish the blueprints of
progress, but He also through His
functioning as Spirit
furnishes the impulses of progress.”
It is this Cosmic Force, the Holy Spirit (which we have called God-in-Action), that has impelled matter on this planet from its first inception as elemental vapors and vaporous elements into the settled and advanced forms of mineral, plant, and animal life; finally producing that remarkable being, Man, whom Christ called the Son of God—a being potentially higher than the angels because he alone in the Cosmos has had bestowed upon him that inestimable but fearsome gift, freedom-of-will.
Having bestowed upon man freedom-of-will, the Creator may not within the scope of His own plan and design for man restrict him by coercion or mandatory force. Man must become what he himself desires-to-be. He may become a devil, or he may become a saint.
God does not coerce us into moral or spiritual development, but He induces us toward such development by pouring out His Love, His Wisdom, and His Purpose for man through His messengers, the Prophets or Revelators. These Manifestations of the Divine Will and Wisdom reveal to man the illimitable nature of his own being, and the purposes and archtypal plan of God for his perfectional development.
Though these Revelators may vary in the details of their messages, as befits the time and place, the essential spiritual teachings of them all are one and the same:—namely, that man partakes on the one hand of the
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*Luther Burbank, the plant wizard, was once asked how it was that he had conceived and originated so many new and successful forms of plant life. “I study a plant,” he said, "to see what it is trying to become. Then I help it become that higher and richer form. I am no magician. The magic is in the Life Force back of the plant.”
qualities of the animal; and on the other hand, of the divine qualities. Man has within himself an infinite potentiality which can develop to angelic heights if he will turn toward God and obey His teachings as revealed through the Prophets.
These Revelations of God’s Will for man contain a definite pronouncement as to the moral and spiritual qualities which man should acquire and practice on this planet; and they contain, at the same time, either implied or expressed in some detail, God’s plan for humanity as a whole as to its organization and unitary functioning.
Whenever and wherever men have listened to these messages from God and have followed the Prophet loyally and zealously, a new civilization has been built up expressing the transcendent moral and spiritual qualities which the individual devotee is striving to acquire.
Thus we see the Mosaic Dispensation producing in the social and economic life of Israel an equity, a simplicity, a kindness superior to that of any other ancient people.
When in the course of centuries these Israelitic virtues dwindled under the impact of egoism and selfishness on the part of the leading classes, we see the humble Nazarene in a new Dispensation calling not only Israel but the whole world to shake off the evils of self and selfishness and become true Sons of God. As to the collective improvement of humanity, Christ included all such aims and purposes of future civilization in his preachment of the Kingdom of God.
Religion, as history bears witness, is the most potentially unifying force upon the planet. It is bound to be unifying, because it is a force deployed from Divinity itself. Revealed religion is a particular expression of the Great Life, that Life which gives cohesion to the atoms, holds the planets and suns to their course, and gives order and stability to the universe. God is unity, and obedience to His will brings unity to the sons of man. Thus it has happened that the teachings of the Christ have produced a unique world culture, flowering from the roots of the past into a new civilization more significant for its unities than for its diversities.
Study Class conducted by Miss Adelaide Sharp in Ṭihrán, Persia.
6
In the midst of this era, so characterized by chaotic upheavals and disintegrations, there is apparent the workings of a tremendous Cosmic influence which is arousing a new consciousness in mankind. Everywhere—in every land, in every culture—men of leadership are catching the vision of a glittering goal for humanity, the goal of world brotherhood and peace.
The most significant of many profoundly effective and universal movements for such a new world order is that which was born in Persia a century ago when the Báb, who eventually gave his life in martyrdom, proclaimed to those who had the ear to listen that a new era was at hand and that its Founder would presently appear. This call to humanity to lend itself anew to the will of God received its fulfillment in the pronouncements of Bahá’u’lláh, who called in the name of God upon all the nations of the world to organize peace and international government.
From his prison dungeon in ‘Akká Bahá’u’lláh in 1868 proclaimed to all the rulers and peoples of the world the call of God to humanity to cease war and to acquire a dynamic consciousness of the oneness of mankind upon which could be built world federation and world peace. ”He Who is your Lord, the All-Merciful, cherisheth in His heart the desire of beholding the entire human race as one soul and one body. Haste ye to win your share of God’s good grace and mercy in this Day that eclipseth all other created days. . . . This goal excelleth every other goal. . . . This well-being of mankind, its peace and security are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established. . . . The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race. . . . This is the straight path, the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure.”2
Bahá’u’lláh saw the decadence and dry rot at work in the blatantly material civilization with which the nineteenth century came to a close. He predicted that the materialism and lack of spiritual restraints then prevailing in the world, and destined to increase in potency, would produce immense disasters for humanity. “The world is in travail. Its face is turned toward waywardness and unbelief. Such shall be its
Bahá’í Youth Gathering, New Zealand, result of activities and encouragement of Alvin Blum, American Bahá’í.
plight that to disclose it now would not be seemly. Its perversity will long continue, and when the appointed hour is come there shall suddenly appear that which will cause the limbs of mankind to quake.”3 “The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing Order appeareth to be lamentably defective.2
Thus the tragic truth was proclaimed by Bahá, that the New Age must be ushered in by cataclysm such as would purge man of his lower impulses and prepare him intellectually and emotionally for earnest and consecrated effort to abolish war with all its evils and build for world peace. Out of tribulation was to come the beginnings of a greater civilization than the planet had ever known.
The details of the World Order promulgated by Bahá’u’lláh as set forth by Shoghi Effendi, present world leader of the Cause, are as follows: “The unity of the human race, as envisaged by Bahá’u’lláh, implies the establishment of a world commonwealth in which all nations, races, creeds and classes are closely and permanently united, and in which the autonomy of its state members and the personal freedom and initiative of the individuals that compose them are definitely and completely safe-guarded. This commonwealth must, as far as we can visualize it, consist of a world legislature, whose members will, as the trustee of the whole of mankind, ultimately control the entire resources of all the component nations, and will enact such laws as shall be required to regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust the relationships of all races and peoples. A world executive, backed by an international Force, will carry out the decisions arrived at, and apply the laws enacted by, this world legislature, and will safeguard the organic unity of the whole commonwealth. A world tribunal will adjudicate and deliver its compulsory and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the various elements constituting this universal system. A mechanism of world inter-communication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvelous swiftness and perfect regularity. A world metropolis will act as the nerve center of a world civilization, the focus towards which the unifying forces of life will converge and from which its energizing influences will radiate.
First Bahá’í Youth Conference of India, Riḍván 100 A.B. (1943, A.D.)
A world language will either be invented or chosen from among the existing languages and will be taught in the schools of all the federated nations as an auxiliary to their mother tongue. A world script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system of currency, of weights and measures, will simplify and facilitate intercourse and understanding among the nations and races of mankind. In such a world society, science and religion, the two most potent forces in human life, will be reconciled, will cooperate, and will harmoniously develop. The press will, under such a system, while giving full scope to the expression of the diversified views and convictions of mankind, cease to be mischievously manipulated by vested interests, whether private or public, and will be liberated from the influence of contending governments and peoples. The economic resources of the world will be organized, its sources of raw materials will be tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be coordinated and developed, and the distribution of its products will be equitably regulated.”2
A world civilization based upon principles of unity, of brotherhood, of intelligent organic functioning of the planet as a whole can be consummated only with a heightening of man’s spiritual vision; for man’s intellect alone will not suffice to carry him through the tremendous problems and difficulties and readjustments of such social, economic and political creations. The main emphasis of the Bahá’í Movement is on such a spiritual renaissance of mankind. The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh is not a mere evolution from the past. It is a spiritual reconstruction of humanity consummating the vision of the prophets millenniums ago—the vision of Isaiah, of Micah, of Christ. It is the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth.
"I do not know of any more perfect world pattern in all history than the World State projected by Bahá’u’lláh seventy years ago,” says Wu Ming Fu. “When the various peoples of the world realize His great yet simple truth of planetary brotherhood, war will cease.
“The oneness of mankind is the consciousness around which all principles of Bahá’u’lláh’s World Order revolve. To unite all fragments of the human race, whatever their conditions, into one cosmic family,—this was his aim and precept, the highest social and spiritual concept to which humanity has as yet attained.
“I have watched this Bahá’í Movement. It holds more promise for the world’s progress than anything else on the planetary horizon.”5
7
We stand, it would seem, at the threshold of a new age in a period fraught with a destiny more glorious than it is tragic. We are forced by the titanic pressure of world events to think in terms of world progress.
But there is needed more than intellectual acumen. The Quaker mystic, Rufus M. Jones, declares that "the crisis of our time must bring to our lives a profound spiritual awakening, a resurrection of creative faith —the discovery of the springs and resources that supply the soul of man with powers beyond himself. . . . If there does come a genuine resurgence of his dynamic faith it will be due, I am convinced, to a profounder appreciation of man’s inherent possibility as a spiritual being in direct mutual and reciprocal correspondence with a Spiritual Environment akin to us, and for which we were made.”4
In this struggle for a better planetary life we must never become discouraged. We must have faith. We must fix our vision upon ideal aims, however difficult of attainment they may seem to be in space and time. We must live in the constant spirit of progress, giving consecrated effort towards its chosen goals.
The concept of human progress is indeed the most important, the most vital that the human mind has given birth to. For progress is a dynamic idea. It is alive. It has a fostering creating faculty, a power of building for the future.
And the astounding youthfulness of this concept suggests illimitable possibilities for a humanity that has at last become collectively self-conscious and capable of projecting deliberate plans for collective self-improvement. It is indeed true, as the leaders of the Bahá’í Movement point out,
Bahá’í Temple Exhibit, San Francisco Flower Show, San Francisco City Hall, August 27, 28, 1941.
that humanity is approaching its age of maturity and is now able to envision achievement worthy of its inherent spiritual greatness. The colossal sufferings of the war era are destined to purge, inspire and consecrate mankind to the achievement of a stable and harmonious world civilization.
REFERENCES
1John C. Merriam, “The Living Past,” Charles Scribners Sons.
2Shoghi Effendi, “Unfoldment of World Civilization,” Bahá’í Publishing Committee.
3”Peace A Divine Creation.” Excerpts from the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
4”Rufus M. Jones, Atlantic Monthly, December, 1943.
5”The Way of Life of Wu Ming Fu,” Avalon Press.
