The Virtue and Vice of Reason in More's Utopia
When reason permeates society, it does not necessarily imply greater happiness. When brought to the point of rationalization, or when there are errors in the analysis used in reasoning, reason tends to have adverse effects. On the other hand, when analysis is well thought out, and the correct conclusions are drawn, reason can have an overwhelmingly positive effect on a society. Many may think that Sir Thomas More's Utopia infers that reason must be the foundation, and even the preoccupation, of any perfect society. In fact, according to Dr. Evans, More's contemporaries had no doubt that More was attempting to depict a perfect society, one firmly based upon the precepts of reason. However, More injects several major flaws in the Utopian system, which subverts the possibility of that society being truly ideal. In his attempt to expose the inherent limitations of reason, More presents us with the Utopian society, which both benefits and loses from reason in their handling of material wealth, religious toleration, and respect for human life.
More uses the Utopians' total rejection of material wealth to present the possibility of reason overcoming petty greed. The Utopians' realization that material wealth has little value is, at least on face, one of the higher pinnacles of their civilization. As Raphael says, "Nor can they understand how a totally useless substance like gold should now, all over the world, be considered far more important than human beings . . ." (89). With this statement, Raphael is pointing out one of the great flaws of any capitalistic society, that human beings often pursue gold and riches at the expense of human dignity and morality. Some human beings, ...
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...posing ideas within it, Thomas More is not only exposing the limits of reason, but he is encouraging intellectual discourse and diversity of opinions. He is challenging individuals and society as a whole to not accept the so-called "perfect society," but to think about the consequences that would occur if a Utopian system were to be adopted. Yet he presents to us the notion that even reason has its limitations and is only as good as the person who analyzes the situation. There is no perfect society, no perfect individual, and certainly no Utopia, but that does not mean that we should not strive toward that end. When we use reason, a perfect state of society, or a perfect individual is by no means guaranteed, but at least it's a step in the right direction.
Works Cited:
More, Thomas. Utopia, ed. And trans. HVS Ogden. AHM Publishing Corporation, Illinois, 1949.
Morgan, J. The biology of horror: gothic literature and film. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 2002.
Jackie knew why he shouldn’t fight back. If he acted out, it would affect the chances of other black players hoping to join the majors. Jackie knew how to control himself, so before he left the building, he signed up with the ball club.
Thomas More sees physical labor as very important. Not only to survive, but so that everyone contributes to society. Idleness can be a disease. There must be a balance to work. Everybody in Utopia does some farming. Farming was considered a ver...
Zetter, Kim. "FBI Fears Bitcoin's Popularity with Criminals." Wired. Conde Nast, 9 May 2012. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
These are the words of Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play baseball in the Major Leagues. Jackie Robinson changed the face of baseball. Back then, in 1947, blacks and whites didn’t have the same opportunities. Blacks weren’t as respected as whites were. National and American teams, like the Major Leagues, were segregated because people thought that blacks weren’t as talented or smart as whites were. Jackie Robinson proved all those people wrong and made history by greatly impacting the sport of baseball with both his mental and physical ability.
Since the earliest days of human civilization music has been a key tool for communication of stories which carried emotions through them. If we think back to our youngest years of life music has surrounded us whether it was from our parents singing us lullabies or from some sort of toy that played music we can say that musical melodies have helped shape or lives one way or another. Once we start growing up and figuring out who we are our musical preferences change; some people like classical and some like punk. We start to befriend people who like the same music as us and eventually we may attend a musical event. Our lives somewhat revolve around the music that we listen to.
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Schmalleger, F. (2011). Criminal justice today: An introductory text for the 21st century. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Prentice Hall.
In order to maintain a society free of social inequality both authors set up a civilization based on strict societal structure. In More’s Utopia, a system was set up so that all work was completed.
"7 Myths About Arizona's Religious Freedom Law." Breitbart News Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.
Schmalleger, F. (2009), Prentice Hall, Publication. Criminal Justice Today: An introductory Text for the 21st century
Moore, Thomas. "Utopia Book 2." Utopia by Thomas More. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
framework. More may have felt that his Utopia was "no place," but in actuality, it was merely a few branches down the tree of human thought from Plato's Republic.
The most key and predominant aspect of More’s Utopian society is the abolishment of private property. This then leads to a battle and debate over the common welfare of the people against their private interests. Raphael and by extension More, feels that society and people in general greatly benefit from the loss of private interests. The general loss of privacy in Utopia leads to a situation in which ‘everyone has an eye on you’ so that the people of Utopia are ‘practically forced to get on’ with their jobs and ‘make some proper use’ of their spare time. This system creates a city in which every single member works and contributes to society in a positive way. Under this arrangement each member is considered equal in that no one man owns greater possessions or property than another.
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.