Eliminating Evil in Thomas More's Utopia
Thomas More's Utopia is in many ways a very hopeful book; it implies that humans can be good if put in the right environment. Many people would argue that this could never happen; that the inequalities and injustices in our world are a product of human nature. Thomas More however would argue that rather than being a product of human nature, they are a product of the corruption within society. Thomas More believed that although humans may be inherently evil, if put in the right environment this tendency can be corrected. He develops the idea of the right environment; it is Utopia, a place where people are honest and equal because of the way that society is structured.
Utopia is as close to the ideal society as possible because it assumes and accepts that its inhabitants are not perfect; the starting premise of the society is that human nature is dishonest and selfish. The laws in Utopia are constructed in a manner that makes immoral action absurd. Schools and the everyday structure of life are used to educate its population to think morally without even questioning it. Utopia operates on the assumption that people have and will always act in their own best interests and, then, the laws and institutions create a climate where the best interests of the community as a whole also correspond to those of the individual. Thomas More was an extremely religious person and this can clearly be seen in the way that he structures the laws and everyday life of Utopia. Using this organization he effectively eliminates all seven of the deadly sins, because of their absence Utopian society shapes its citizens to be upstanding people and obey the many rules without resentment. It does this by making ...
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..., greed and envy with the abolishment of private property. He then rids Utopian society of gluttony with the way that they eat their meals, and sloth with hard work and a well-structured day. Finally he gets rid of wrath and lust with the Utopians policies surrounding war and marriage. All of these morals are reinforced by more laws than just those listed above; such as how the rules about politics also stop people from being greedy. The plethora of rules and structure built into Utopian society may seem excessive but every one of them serves its purpose and causes the Utopians to act morally. In essence, in Utopia a citizen must make a choice: would one rather live in a society full of corruption, poverty, death and inequality or in one with many rules, some of which even hinder people's personal freedoms but where everyone is well-fed, treated fairly and equal.
Utopia is a term invented by Sir Thomas More in 1515. However, he traces the root two Greek words outopia and eutopia which means a place does not exist and a fantasy, invention. It is widely accepted that Plato was to first to picture a utopian order. In his masterpiece, “Republic”, he formed the principles of ideal commonsense and his utopia (Hertzler, 1922:7). After the classical age, Sir Thomas More assumed to be the first of the utopian writers in early modern period. As a humanist, he gave the world in his “Utopia” a vision of a perfect communistic commonwealth (the history of utopian thought). Utopia’s influence on contemporary and rival scholars is so deep that it has given its name to whole class of literature. Following the appearance of More’s Utopia, there was a lack of Utopian literature for nearly a century (Hertzler, 1922:7). This period ended with the works of Francis Bacon, Campanelle and Harrington. These early modern utopians, being the children of Renaissance, filled with a love of knowledge and high respect for the newly truths of science. Thus, they believed that the common attainment of knowledge means the largest participation of all members of society in its joys and benefits. After the period of early Utopians, continuation of a sprit of French Revolution and initial signs of industrial revolution resulted in the emergence of a new group of Utopians called Socialist Utopians (Hertzler, 1922: 181). The word “Socialism” seems to have been first used by one of the leading Utopian Socialists, St Simon. In politics utopia is a desire that never come true neither now nor afterwards, a wish that is not based on social forces (material conditions and production) and is not supported by the growth and development of political, class forces. This paper discusses the validity of this claim, tries to present and evaluate the political reforms, if any, offered by Socialist Utopians.
Imagine a world where there are no crimes at all, where there are no personal possessions, and where religions are practiced everywhere - the “perfect” Utopian society, essentially. The general purpose of this society was so that “Man could live with his fellow Man and find personal fulfillment without doing harm to others.” It’s almost a given that this Utopian concept has been deemed as mankind’s ideal world, thus it having been sought after so fervently. With that so, it’s almost a foreign idea that perhaps, the concept of a Utopian society given could prove not to be as perfect or ideal as thought - perhaps, it could be self-destructive in itself, a non-permanent society. Yet, the question remains: how exactly is that possible?
The definition of Utopia is, “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect.” The rules and controls listed above and the many more that are in the book “Anthem” describe a society trying to become collective but in a utopian way. The purpose of these rules and controls is to keep the society collectivist. Fear is what runs this society. “.
While ideally seeming like a positive and working society, Utopia has its flaws. In particular, Utopia struggles with the concepts of freedom, greed, and depravity. These issues are subsets of human nature and humanism. Throughout Utopia, More touches on humanism by providing examples of thievery and greed. Acting as himself in order to communicate the ideas of Utopia, More talks about a chain reaction linking soldiers to thievery, claiming they are not responsible, due to not knowing how to associate back into society. More also discusses the initial good in individuals, providing proof that More supports the concept of ultimately “good” human beings. An example of this opinion is found in Book 2, when stated “No living creature is naturally greedy, except from fear of want – or in the case of human beings, form vanity, the
In both of the purported "Utopian" worlds, the imperfect religious traditions, rigid governing systems, and askew philosophical beliefs mar what are otherwise model worlds for all other nations to imitate. Margaret Cavendish and Sir Thomas More, in their differing styles, are able to convey that no world is perfect, but there is room for change, for everyone can fabricate their own imaginary worlds and travelogues.
In order to create structure in a society, one must ensure the care of its people. In the imaginary civilization of Utopia, the main strategy is to "get through life as comfortably and cheerfully as we can, and help other members of our species to do so too" (More 92). More focuses on the well being of its citizens to create happiness and order within the society. He does this by initiating the idea of human rights and equality. With the sense of equality in society people can help each other to live blissfully, and stop trying to become better than their neighbors.
Thomas More was born in London in 1478. He studied at Oxford where he took a profound love of classical literature. In Utopia, More shows his own skills in humanism. In this story, modeled after Plato's Republic, More examines his culture against a hypothetical culture he invents. His Utopia varies greatly from both his society and our society today. Four ways Utopia differs from our society are social system, attitude towards jewelry, marriage customs, and religion.
Thomas More’s Utopia and Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World , are novels about societies that differ from our own. Though the two authors have chosen different approaches to create an alternate society, both books have similarities which represent the visions of men who were moved to great indignation by the societies in which they lived. Both novels have transcended contemporary problems in society , they both have a structured, work based civilization and both have separated themselves from the ways of past society. It is important when reading these novels to focus on the differences as well as the similarities. The two novels differ in their views of love, religion, and the way to eliminate social classes. These differences seem to suggest that if we do not come closer to More’s goal in Utopia, we will end up in a society much like that of Huxley’s Brave New World.
More’s Utopia is more like a fictional story on the surface, but of course there is a great deal of depth to this piece of literature. Utopia is set mainly as a conversation between three men: More, Hythloday, and Giles. Hythloday is arguably the most significant character in this story, as he is the one relaying all of the information about the land of Utopia to More. Hythloday went on many explorations with Amerigo Vespucci, and came across the island “Utopia” in his travels – there he had the opportunity to act almost like an anthropologist, observing and studying the ways of the Utopians.... ...
A utopia does not necessarily need to be absolutely perfect to be accepted by all the people. For example, in Brave New World, John says, “But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want
In Thomas More’s Utopia, an ideal society is presented, and several of this society’s different institutions are detailed. I will compare More’s version of an ideal society with Marx’s vision of what a conflict free communist society would be. I will examine the societal system as a whole focusing on the hierarchy of Utopia, the process of production, distribution of resources, and money.
Sir Thomas More composed the book Utopia in the year 1516. Utopia looks into many of the problems that faced England in the sixteenth-century and what a society would look like in order to relieve those complications. The Utopian society is brought about through conversations between the characters Thomas More, his friend Peter Giles, and the traveling philosopher Raphael Hythloday. Giles and More are quickly impressed by the level of travel that Hythloday had experienced; they want to know what he has seen and heard from other regions in regards to government and civilization. In More’s Utopia, we will uncover some of the problems that England was facing at the time and see where the Utopian commonwealth would do to alleviate said problems,
In 1516, Thomas More first coined the term “Utopia” with his novel by the same name. The word itself is derived from the Greek words ou, which means not, and topos, meaning place. Combining those two words, you create a new meaning of “no -place”. Utopia itself is a place that does not exist. Utopia is nowhere. Throughout the history of Utopian literature, Utopia’s are meant to symbolize an ideal place or society, one often very different than the author's own. Within Thomas More’s Utopia, we see characteristics that contrast greatly with 16th century Europe. However, the ideal society in More’s Utopia tends to mask the consequences of said society, and with further consideration, shares characteristics with a Dystopia.
Moore, Thomas. "Utopia Book 2." Utopia by Thomas More. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
Because they are described in a detailed manner, the Utopia book itself seems to be enough to be a blueprint for the future. However, Thomas More clearly stated that he just wishes Europeans to follow some good qualities of the Utopian society—“there are many things in the Utopian commonwealth that in our own societies I would wish rather than expect to see” (97)—because he himself knows that it is impossible for any country to be like Utopia. This is apparent, because Utopia is possible on the premise that every factor comes together to create this ideal society. Even the geography has to contribute to this premise, as Hythloday explains the geography of Utopia as the place where strangers cannot enter without one of them (39). Moreover, from diligent and compassionate Utopians’ characteristics and their ways of life, they seem to be successful in reaching the fullest of every aspect of their life including physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, and emotional, when it is hardly possible to even have one person like that in real life.