Progressivism is a broad
philosophy based on the
Idea of Progress, which asserts that advancement in science, technology,
economic development, and
social organization are vital to improve the
human condition. Progressivism became highly significant during the
Age of Enlightenment in
Europe, out of the belief that Europe was demonstrating that societies could progress in civility from barbaric conditions to civilization through strengthening the basis of
empirical knowledge as the foundation of society. Figures of the Enlightenment believed that progress had
universal application to all societies and that these ideas would spread across the world from Europe. Sociologist
Robert Nisbet defines five "crucial premises" of the Idea of Progress as being: value of the past; nobility of Western civilization; worth of economic/technological growth; reason over faith (scientific/scholarly knowledge obtained through reason and learning must supersede faith); the intrinsic importance and worth of life on Earth. Beyond this, the meanings of progressivism have varied over time and from different perspectives.