Abstract: After the beginning of the twentieth century, the European intellectual view of "historical progress" was disintegrated, which led to the crisis of speculative historical philosophy. Now, a hundred years later, Western intellectuals have begun to discuss the "revival" or "reshape" of the philosophy of discursive history. In this context, it is of particular significance to revisit the development of the discourse of "historical progress" in Western historical theory from the Renaissance to the period before and after World War I. It consists of several phases: the accumulation of knowledge, the technological progress and the broadening of the world view in the late Renaissance broke away from the idea that historical progress in the classical era was an upward phase in a cyclical cycle. The stage of Enlightenment, a measure of progress was established based on the level of rationality and civilization, and the stage, inevitability and direction of historical progress were initially discussed. By the 19th century, the concept of historical progress had made decisive advances; it achieved the continuity of historical development by reevaluating the Middle Ages; it found the driving force for social progress within society through class struggle; it established the historical direction of progress from barbarism to civilization through alliance with "civilization"; and it acquired the ideological and value system of progress through association with "evolution". Generally speaking, the view of historical progress in western historical theory has a changing process from concrete factual knowledge to abstract progressive thought and then to grand narrative. On the whole, the view of historical progress in Western historical theory is not only determined by the reality and academic development of Europe, but also presents the characteristics of gradual deepening and diversified manifestations. However, there are also drawbacks such as the narrowing of the progressive connotation and the limited perspective of observation due to the European-centered view.

Published on Historiography Bimonthly, Issue 5, 2024.