In 'Signs of the Times' (1829), Carlyle famously diagnoses his contemporary era with a specific label. What is this label, and what is his primary critique of the age?

Correct answer: The Mechanical Age; society fixates on machines at the expense of the spiritual mind.

Carlyle calls his century the 'Mechanical Age,' arguing that the rise of the Industrial Revolution has led to a mechanical habit of mind. He critiques the contemporary belief that every human problem can be solved by institutions, calculations, and external systems rather than internal moral cultivation. He asserts that this reliance on the mechanical weakens individual genius and genuine spiritual connection.