Technology was a higher level of knowledge that elevated a person's moral standing. It was also a part of "truth." Should this progression continue then man could achieve the quality of being free from all flaws of defect.
One major idea of the 18th century was Secularism; which proposed leaving God out of almost every aspect of our lives. Reason gave way to new ideas about who God is and his involvement in our lives. Unlike the Reformation period, people started to question the relevance of God. Voltaire and Marquis de Condorcet thought that men could perfect themselves, therefore perfecting society, (121 Frances A. Schaeffer How Should We Then Live) all this could happen without an intervention from God.
They believed that God had deserted us after he created the universe, hence the blatant disregard. What a great change from the thoughts of man before the Enlightenment, where God was responsible for everything that occurred. Now, in the 18th century whatever happened to mankind was not the doings of a supreme being but that of natural laws. Most of the ideas and beliefs in the 18thCentury still have a great influence on us today. The idea that humans will continue to progress and improve is as truthful as it was then and now. Medieval time's thoughts were not exactly thoughts of progression, to them life was going to continue as it was. Society today reveals the progression made concerning science, art, music and literature. It shows how wrong Medieval thinking was and how the Enlightenment era has helped us.
History shows us that anything that was new was considered to be bad or evil. So many lost their lives because they even dared to think for themselves or question the laws of authority. In these modern times, it is just the opposite, whatever is new is considered good and what is old is considered bad. The idea of progress was indeed true, and man given the freedom to think could exceed technological boundaries.