Book

This book discusses the process by which the belief that each individual has the potential to shape his own future replaced the conviction that human fate was preordained. Perkins shows how, in the nineteenth century, under the banner of ‘‘progress’’, an all-out attack was launched on traditional views by labelling them as superstitious. ‘‘Truth’’ replaced ‘‘error’’, which meant that a ‘‘rationalized’’ concept of causality, as defined by Max Weber, overcame a popular worldview typified by magic and other non-natural forces. In her analysis of this extremely complex and intricate process, Perkins confines herself to one of its major aspects: the reform – in Britain – of the perception and understanding of time and temporality.