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Compare eastern and western religions
Thomas More's utopia essay
Thomas More's utopia essay
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Recommended: Compare eastern and western religions
Throughout the ages, man has come to idealize a word that is most commonly related to ‘heavenly’ or ‘perfect’ without actually picking up the book and realizing for themselves that there is no such thing. A Utopian society could never exist because man is made to want, to desire success. Man is competitive by nature and would never be happy in a society where everyone is equal and there is no chance of advancement. Sir Thomas More dreamt of a land that was much like England but could never surpass time. He opened the eyes of a nation and made its people desire something new. Views were significantly changed and the world would never be the same. Sir Thomas More inspired dramatic changes in religion, community life and even paved the way for communism. And he did all of this through one simple book about one simple society.
In a perfect utopian society, there is no official religion. The people are allowed freedom of belief. “Some worship for god the sun, some the moon, some some other of the planets” (117). The only thing that they all believe in is that there is one supreme ruler that creates miracles and brings them such joy. This is all quite contrary to the beliefs held in 1516 England. Their opinions resemble those of Christianity: their priestly caste, their high standard of morality, their prayers, and their hymns. However, in England the Roman Catholic Church allowed no freedom of beliefs. In fact, the church was firm in its insistence upon the principle of one church and one authoritative doctrine. More even went so far as to poke fun at the idea of the priests of Utopia being men of eminent piety. This remark, under normal circumstances, should be taken as a matter of course. However, in Europe at the time there were many outcries against the laxity and corruption among the clergy. Therefore, many saw this as an indirect thrust at the Christian priesthood. The fact that Utopian priests could marry represents a significant difference from the Catholic vow of celibacy. This was shocking to the citizens and especially clergy of England and Europe. The idea of a married priest was not something that they were quite ready for but were willing to think about. Another surprising contrast to Christian rule was that in Utopia, women were appointed to the priesthood occasionally. Although there were many contrasts, there was o...
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...topian society everyone works the same amount of time, at the same job and for no money. In a Utopian society, everyone shares everything and no one gets ahead. In a Utopian society, very few are able to explore their talents and dreams, they are required to work if visiting another city for too long and do not even know what vacations are. In a Utopian society a true American would commit suicide after realizing that they could no longer be individuals. In a Utopian society ... there is no such thing. Utopia is England with no specific jobs. It is England with more structure and a little bit more freedom. Utopia is England if Sir Thomas More was ruling England. Utopia is not an idealistic place to live. It is a trap for those who can not get ahead in the real world and for those who just want to belong. Utopia changed the eyes of a nation and opened the minds of millions. It gave light into what perhaps the world should be like without forcing it upon anyone. It has crept into most governments and lands and has remained there ever since. It is Utopia and its presence is immense. Utopia may not be the perfect society but some of its traits could help to create one.
The authors therefor saw the ‘utopian’ societies to be a trap for weak minded publics, and that once in place, such systems would be able to perpetuate indefinitely due to the efficiency at which they protect and propagate themselves. Through fear, diversion and sedation the utopia can maintain a strong grip on the people it encompasses before anyone realizes the sacrifices made. The popularity of these books does rule out the possibility of such a society coming into existence in the future, however. The state of people is not about to change, and their ignorance will continue regardless of the harshness of the wake up calls issued.
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.
The so-called Utopia – the quasi-perfect society – flourishes in Margaret Cavendish’s “The Description of a New World, Called a Blazing World” and Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. While the former is a dreamlike account of fantasy rule and the latter a pseudo-realistic travelogue, both works paint a picture of worlds that are not so perfect after all. These imperfections glitter like false gemstones in the paths of these Utopians’ religious beliefs, political systems, and philosophical viewpoints.
The intention of this work was to open the minds of its readers, in this case the people of Europe. This is the case of every writing in relation to philosophy and politics. Utopia can easily be restricted to satire and art; nevertheless, this work is so much more. The channel of communication was unorthodox; nonetheless, it took creativity and ingenuity to make ideas as radical has his were during the 16th century to be transmissible to those who had the eye and mind to interpret it. This work, like various others has its flaws and key pros. This system cannot be seriously enacted into society today due to its limitations for the advancement of society. That said this is a great starting point for colonization on distant planets and the bases for a new version of democracy that could evolve into something more desirable and unimagined today.
A perfect society has always been the goal for many; unfortunately it has only existed in books. The Prince by Niccoló Machiavelli, written in 1513, provides necessary information to become a Prince who will obtain, keep, and please his empire. Thomas More's Utopia, written in 1516, creates an ideal civilization that will live happily, comfortably, and without any problems. Both books attempted to solve problems within a society by critiquing other institutions and creating their own solutions. With the rise in cities, trade, and the economy in the 15th century, people began to realize order and structure in a society is necessary to flourish. Machiavelli and More left a modern legacy by striving for a better well being in societies and creating an ideal civilization that would prosper even in times of social, economic, and political difficulty.
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.
In regards to religion, utopias are somewhat ambiguous. In general, either exclusive or inclusive religious communities were created. The Puritans were exclusive.
The dictionary definition of utopia is “a theoretical "perfect" realm, in which everyone is content, where things get done well by people who are happy to do them, and where all the problems which have plagued our world for millennia no longer apply.” My definition of utopia is a “world” where everything is perfect and there are no issues or conflicts of any kind. Utopias also usually turn into dystopias. The dictionary definition of dystopia is “an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.” My definition of a dystopia is a “place” where there is only chaos and disorder.
More, Sir Thomas. Utopia: A New Translation, Backgrounds, Criticism. Ed. and trans. Robert M. Adams. Toronto: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1988.
Utopia, a term that appeared in the 16th century, was invented by Sir Thomas More in 1516. Many define utopia to be an idealistic and utterly perfect society. However, theoretically, utopia has nearly perfect qualities, not exactly perfect. In history, there has not been any specific record of a utopian society existing and there has been controversy on that it will never exist. However, a utopian society is possible because a utopia does not necessarily need to be absolutely perfect, society can come together and put aside its differences, and because the people learn how to improve situations that can happen or have happened.
Our fascination with utopias stems from our attraction to and pursuit of progress within our own society. We study utopias with the hope that our society will someday evolve into one. But what often goes unnoticed is that if our society improves enough to become utopian, it won't be able to improve any longer. Hence, it will be rigid and unchanging, the complete opposite of what it was as it evolved to its elevated state. This is an awful truth for us because we place value and virtue in the ideas of desire and progress. Our reason tells us: once in an ideal land, desire cannot simply cease to be, because desire is part of our human nature. And our reason is right. An ideal society should accentuate our human nature, not suppress it. As we desire a perfect society we know that a perfect could not exist without our desire. And as long as we desire, we hope for progress. The idea that an utopia wouldn't allow such progress to occur is enough to make us stop believing in utop...
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,
Thomas More’s Utopia is a work of ambiguous dualities that forces the reader to question More’s real view on the concept of a utopian society. However, evidence throughout the novel suggests that More did intend Utopia to be the “best state of the commonwealth.” The detailed description of Utopia acts as Mores mode of expressing his humanistic views, commenting on the fundamentals of human nature and the importance of reason and natural law while gracefully combining the two seemingly conflicting ideals of communism and liberalism.
I believe that this society, at least the economic aspect of it, would be possible to attain. However, I believe it cannot happen with our entire world. More made a point by putting Utopia on an island in the middle of the "real world": there is no way to apply Utopia to the "real word". In order to create a Utopia like this today, we must take very young children and raise them apart from society. If we do this and teach them about the society we are trying to create, I believe their reason will make the Utopia a lasting one. But if we try to create this Utopia over the whole Earth, we will fail miserably. The world is filled with billions of people who have been raised in our current society, and it is human nature to resist change. The economic situation of More's Utopia is possible, but only in a situation very close to the one in his book.
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.