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Defining freedom
The socio-political ideas of Thomas More's Utopia
The socio-political ideas of Thomas More's Utopia
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It is difficult to define freedom, because it varies drastically when interpreted by different ethnicities and individuals. Like many concepts that describe the human condition, freedom maintains certain features regardless of how it is interpreted. The relationship between freedom, justice and societal goals is one of these features. Through this relationship we will explore both the nature and the quality of freedom in Thomas More’s Utopia.
What relationship exists between freedom, justice and societal goals? To answer this question we, like Plato, should look to a model society. Our model society will have a goal: a characteristic that makes a model citizen and which the populace desires to achieve. Our model society will also have justice: which protects the societal goal. Finally, our model will also have freedom: which is the means by which citizens may attain the societal goal. Using this general image of society, we will examine freedom in Utopia, and compare it with freedom in Greek and Roman society. Finally we will judge the societies to determine if Utopia has the best sort of freedom.
Can we even judge Utopian society distinctly from Greek society? In Eric Nelson’s Utopia through Italian Eyes, he discusses the differences between Greek and Roman societies, and suggests that the society More creates in Utopia is an advocacy of Greek freedom, over Roman freedom. While he makes a compelling argument, he overlooks several important aspects of Utopian freedom, which make it distinct from either Greek or Roman freedom. These differences allow us to look at Utopia as a formulation of a new path for society, rather than an advocacy for either pre-existing one.
What is Greek freedom? Eric Nelson says that it “is the condi...
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...ve by their vices? They are cast from the society of Utopia or made slaves, and so it is that all citizens of Utopia are free and able to acquire the desired characteristic. Is this really sufficient for us to call it freedom? Freedom is only given by a society to its citizens, so it is technically correct to call what the Utopians have Freedom. I therefore judge Utopian freedom to be the best freedom out of those discussed. Utopian freedom is, however, far from perfect, as it does not truly allow everyone to achieve its societal goal.
Works Cited
More, Thomas. Utopia. Eds. G. Logan and R. Adams. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989.
Nelson, Eric. “Utopia through Italian Eyes: Thomas More and the Critics of Civic Humanism.” Renaissance Quarterly. 59 (Winter 2006): 1029-1057
Plato. The Republic. Trans. Desmond Lee. 1955. London: Penguin Books, 1974
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.
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...
In conclusion three notions of justice developed in Book I of The Republics of Plato are outlined in On Justice, Power and Human Nature. Justice is viewed as telling the truth and paying debts, doing good to friends and harm to enemies, and the advantage of the stronger.
More. “Utopia.” Ed. Paul Davis. Gary Harrison. David M. Johnson. John F. Crawford. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Page Range:1706-1725. Print.
The idea of Freedom can be seen in Collection 2 in the textbook. Freedom can be seen in the speech “I Have a Dream” by Martin Luther King Jr. in the ideas/rights he introduces to his country. Freedom, or the lack of it, is in of the graphic novel “of from Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi when citizens rights to dress are limited. Lastly, in the short story “The Censors” by Luisa Valenzuela lacks freedom when the government’s safety rule is to proofread all letter that go through the system to avoid their secrets being revealed or gossip about them.
The freedom taken from some is of course given to some others. In the hierarchical structure of Utopia, above is free and assigned to penalize the below, within the frame of certain rules of who will punish who: “Husbands are responsible for punishing their wives, and parents for punishing their children.”¹⁵ If the case is so much more important that you cannot cope with it at home, you take it to the Council which, due to the dearth of a constitution or any other common and collective set of laws, has the freedom to act however ...
According to the Collins Dictionary, “freedom” is defined as “the state of being allowed to do what you want to do”(“freedom”). The definition of freedom is simple, but make yourself free is not easy. Concerning about some common cases which will take away your freedom, such as a time-cost high education attainment. In this essay, I shall persuade that everyone should try his or her best to insist on pursuing freedom. For the individual, it appears that only if you have your personal freedom, can you have a dream; for a country, it seems that only if the country is free, can the country develop; for mankind, it looks like that only if people has their own pursuit of freedom, can their thoughts evolve.
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.
Interestingly enough, there are significant differences between Utopia and The Republic. According to More, key components of a perfect society consists of a minimal governmental control, a strong family unit, no private property or currency, and a six-hour work day. But Plato’s ideal republic materializes very differently.
Moore, Thomas. "Utopia Book 2." Utopia by Thomas More. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
Utopia is a reflection of More’s thoughts, feelings and opinions on politics and society at the time. While it may appear that Utopia is a representation of More’s ideal society and world, only some aspects are supported and agreed upon by More. He generally opposes and objects to certain trends of the Utopian society which he feels are ‘ridiculous.’ Despite this More still provides a comment on the social standards, ethics, operations and functions of the time. In doing this he presents his passion of ideas and art.
Freedom is a human value that has inspired many poets, politicians, spiritual leaders, and philosophers for centuries. Poets have rhapsodized about freedom for centuries. Politicians present the utopian view that a perfect society would be one where we all live in freedom, and spiritual leaders teach that life is a spiritual journey leading the soul to unite with God, thus achieving ultimate freedom and happiness. In addition, we have the philosophers who perceive freedom as an inseparable part of our nature, and spend their lives questioning the concept of freedom and attempting to understand it (Transformative Dialogue, n.d.).
Frank E. Manuel and Manuel Frtizie, Utopian Thought in the Western World. London: Belknap Press 1982
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.
Manuel, Frank E. and Fritzie P. Manuel. Utopian Thought in the Western World. Cambridge, MA: Belknap-Harvard Press, 1979.