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Perhaps yet another use of Whitehead's notion of "the aim of life"-to 
live, to live well, and to live better-is to shed light on the main stages of 
human progress from barbarism to civilization to enlightenment. If the aim 
of human life at the earliest stage of barbarism is to live or to live well, its aim 
at the intermediate stage of civilization is to live well or to live better, and at 
the final stange of enlightenment, to live better still. Clearly, the transitions 
between the stages are fluid, even as the distinctions between living, living 
well, and living better should never be drawn too sharply. And yet there are 
important differences between the three stages, rather as, on John Oman's in 
many ways parallel account, the differences between the stages in the 
development of the human capacity to use general ideas are also important. 
Perhaps yet another use of Whitehead's notion of "the aim of life"-to live, to live well, and to live better-is to shed light on the main stages of human progress from barbarism to civilization to enlightenment. If the aim of human life at the earliest stage of barbarism is to live or to live well, its aim at the intermediate stage of civilization is to live well or to live better, and at the final stage of enlightenment, to live better still. Clearly, the transitions between the stages are fluid, even as the distinctions between living, living well, and living better should never be drawn too sharply. And yet there are important differences between the three stages, rather as, on John Oman's in many ways parallel account, the differences between the stages in the development of the human capacity to use general ideas are also important. 

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