What Notes from the Underground seems to say about human progress

The underground man seems to accept the idea of human perfection. He says that "previously man saw justice in bloodshed and exterminated whomever he wished with a clear conscience; whereas now, though we consider bloodshed to be abominable, we nevertheless engage in the abomination even more than before" (p 1319). The is telling us that he believes that human perfection is unrealistic. That no matter how much we, as humans try to better ourselves, we still fail. Even with scientific observation and reasoning, our free will will overtake us and we will act badly. The 18th century scientists believed they could devise a way to predict free will and in-turn the human race will act justly and be kind to all; however, the underground man knows this will never happen.