Utopia

4263 Words9 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Scholarly analysis of Sir Thomas More's utopia

Utopia

In the year 1515, a book in Latin text was published which became the most significant and controversial text ever written in the field of political science. Entitled, ‘DE OPTIMO REIPUBLICATE STATU DEQUE NOVA INSULA UTOPIA, clarissimi disertissimique viri THOMAE MORI inclutae civitatis Londinensis civis et Vicecomitis’, translated into English would read, ‘ON THE BEST STATE OF A COMMONWEALTH AND ON THE NEW ISLAND OF UTOPIA, by the Most Distinguished and Eloquent Author THOMAS MORE Citizen and Undersheriff of the Famous City of London.’.

Utopia (Latin: no-place) is a society of great planning and capability. A community where individuals compromised their rights for the good of the collective and focused on a communal goal. These ideals of an infinitely capable and cooperative. Utopic society have captured the imagination of the greatest minds throughout the centuries. One may find the origin of Utopian thoughts in the Republic and Law conceived by Plato and in The Nicomachean Ethics and Politics created by Aristotle. The two individuals are the founding fathers of western philosophy, and their works are the basis of the western political science. Despite the thoughts on a planned society that preceded More in the field of Utopic philosophy, the first complete Utopia was credited to More and it became the pinnacle of Renaissance humanist thought. In the book, Utopia, More employed the fictional character Ralpheal Hythloday to bring a practical Utopia to the readers. The travelogue of the Island of Utopia from Hythloday would act as the model of many Eutopias (Latin: happy-place) and dystopias (Latin: opposite-place) created from a variety of interpretations by authors such as Karl Marx, revolutionist, and H.G We...

... middle of paper ...

...niversity Library Online. Nov 1996.

Eurich, Nell. Science in Utopia: A Might Design. Massachusetts: Harvard University

Press, 1967

Fox, Alistair. Utopia: An Elusive Vision. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1993

Hertzler, Joyce Oramel Ph.D. The History of Utopian Thought. New York: The

MacMillan Copany, 1926

Kateb, George. Utopia and its Enemies. London: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1963

Logan, George M., Adams, Robert M., Miller, Clarence H. Utopia: Thomas More: Latin

Text and English Translation. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1995

Logan, George M., Adams, Robert M. Utopia: More. Cambridge: Cambridge University

Press, 1988

Olin, John C. Interpreting Thomas More’s Utopia. New York: Fordham university

Press, 1989

Russell, Frances Theresa. Touring Utopia: The Realm of Constructive Humanism. New

York: The Vail-ballou Press, 1932

Show More
Related

  • Affirmative Action: Prejudice in the College Admissions Process

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    Last summer, the Supreme Court ruled against the use of race in the college admissions process in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. Since then, affirmative action has become a big issue in the media; however, many people still do not even know what affirmative action is. Affirmative action is a policy to prevent discrimination on the basis of “color, religion, sex, or national origin.” Overall, it favors minorities that are often discriminated. It might sound like an excellent policy; however, the use of this policy in the college admissions process is prejudice. In the college admissions process, affirmative action lowers the standards for some races, while raising the standard for other races. For example, an Asian might need a SAT score of 2300 to be considered for admission at a top school such as Yale and a white applicant might need a score of 2100, while an African American or Hispanic only needs a score of 1700. While affirmative action provides equality in the workplace, it has no place in the college admissions process and should, therefore, be abolished and replaced. This type of policy can be repealed completely, replaced with a college admissions process that favors first generation college applicants, or replaced with a policy based on an applicant’s socioeconomic status.

    Read More

  • Politics in the 1870s

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Affirmative Action in the Admissions Process at Universities

    1525 Words  | 4 Pages

    Why do colleges ask for “race” when filling out an application? Does it really matter? It may seem like a simple question, but it is not. There has been a great deal of controversy over this question and other similar ones. Giving certain groups of people a competitive edge when they apply for schools and jobs is known as affirmative action. There are people who are directly opposed to it and those that support it completely. More often however, people agree with certain aspects of affirmative action and disagree with others. The following introduces a small sample of people who have talked about affirmative action and their views on it. Few of the results are factual but rather they are opinions. The hope is that by combing other author’s thoughts and views it will make it easier for an individual to formulate their own.

    Read More

  • Argumentative Action: The Pros And Cons Of Affirmative Action

    2623 Words  | 6 Pages

    Affirmative action is without a doubt, one of the most controversial and debated political topics found throughout the entirety of the history of the United States, especially in regards to college admissions. On both sides of the argument, you have millions of Americans vitriolically defending their beliefs as to whether or not affirmative action is a positive thing that benefits the entirety of America as a whole, or rather an outdated model existing well past its expiration date. Both sides of the argument have its pro and cons, but personally, I am of the opinion that affirmative action in regards to college admissions does more harm than good for America as a whole on a social, political, and economic level, and that it at the very least needs to be modified heavily, if not abolished altogether. However, in order to first understand the arguments both supporting and decrying affirmative action, as well as the controversy behind it, we first need to delve into its history for the related context.

    Read More

  • Affirmative Action in College Admissions

    1570 Words  | 4 Pages

    Affirmative action has been a controversial topic ever since it was established in the 1960s to right past wrongs against minority groups, such as African Americans, Hispanics, and women. The goal of affirmative action is to integrate minorities into public institutions, like universities, who have historically been discriminated against in such environments. Proponents claim that it is necessary in order to give minorities representation in these institutions, while opponents say that it is reverse discrimination. Newsweek has a story on this same debate which has hit the nation spotlight once more with a case being brought against the University of Michigan by some white students who claimed that the University’s admissions policies accepted minority students over them, even though they had better grades than the minority students. William Symonds of Business Week, however, thinks that it does not really matter. He claims that minority status is more or less irrelevant in college admissions and that class is the determining factor.

    Read More

  • The Perfect World: The Future Of The Utopian Society

    1554 Words  | 4 Pages

    Humans, since the beginning of our first civilization and throughout the history of mankind, have always strived for a perfect world that would secure our society’s interests. Whether they are beneficial to a small group or the whole society, those interests will guide and shape the future of this new society. As of today, human civilization has never before seen an advancement of as many aspects of our lives from living commodities, entertainment, services, technologies, and so on that seem to reflect a promising world of the future. However, at the same time, human history has also witnessed great turmoil and many setbacks in our society ranging from small-scale problems such as immorality, variant of discriminations, financial crisis to

    Read More

  • affirmative action

    1823 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gose, Ben, and Schmidt, Peter. “Ruling Against Affirmative Action Could Alter Legal           Debate and Admissions Practices.” Chronicle of Higher Education. (2001): 36.

    Read More

  • Affirmative Action

    2866 Words  | 6 Pages

    Affirmative Action is a policy in the United States of America. It is in use to help minorities get equal treatment in admissions policies for big businesses and higher educational programs. In one way or another, this policy affects almost every person in America. It affects people directly, and most commonly, indirectly. When this policy affects people, it usually affects them in a negative way. When Affirmative Action first started, it was a descent policy, but with changes in society, it has become a policy that does more harm than good. Since this is what the policy currently does, Affirmative Action should be out of use for every application it has a function for. So, this policy should be out of every law book in America to eliminate the negative impact that it is causing. Affirmative Action is outdated because it is turning into a reverse discrimination policy.

    Read More

  • Affirmative Action

    862 Words  | 2 Pages

    Affirmative action is needed to create diversity in America. Affirmative action allows people of different races and backgrounds to interact in the workplace and universities. During 1996, Neil Rudenstine, president of Harvard University, explained Harvard's commitment to diversity by using John Stuart Mill, who emphasized the value of people being in contact with people who are different from them (5). Justice Powell who stated "a diversity of opinions, experiences, backgrounds, talents, aspirations, and perspectives" helped college students to feel great intellectual exchange, exploration, and growth (5). With such great advantage to the students with colleges with great diversity the education system itself should have implemented a policy such as affirmative action. According to Patricia Gurin, a psychology professor at University of Michigan, students experience better learning in a diverse educational atmosphere and are more prepared to become active in our pluralistic, democratic society after they leave college (5). In America today, we are already have enough problems with people being apathetic and not involved in society. When students grow up in diverse schools, they can become active and help the democratic society. Affirm...

    Read More

  • Affirmative Action: Keeping minorities down for 30 years.

    1508 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cohen, Carl. "Affirmative Action in Admissions Harms College Students.” 1998. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. University Library. IUPUI, Indianapolis. 14 Nov. 2004. < http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy.ulib.iupui.edu/servlet/

    Read More

  • Affirmative Action Essay

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    In conclusion, there are many opinions on Affirmative Action. These policies, which were set into place during a very different time period, were at one point extremely important to our country, which was not as accepting as it is today. Although our society has made a lot of progress, we are not perfect. For this reason, although I agree that some policies might need to be reevaluated and updated, I believe they are still important and necessary.

    Read More

  • Utopia by Thomas More

    1080 Words  | 3 Pages

    Utopia as a text is a clear reflection and representation of More’s passion for ideas and art. Through the character of Raphael, More projects and presents his ideas, concepts and beliefs of politics and society. More’s Utopia aims to create a statement on the operations and effectiveness of the society of England. This text is a general reflection of More’s idea of a perfectly balanced and harmonious society. His ideas and concepts of society somewhat contrast to the rest of 16th century England and indicate a mind that was far ahead of its time. A number of issues and themes are raised throughout the text to which More provides varying views and opinions. These are transmitted and projected through the perspectives of the fictional Raphael, More and Giles.

    Read More

  • Thomas More’s Utopia and Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World

    2373 Words  | 5 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Architectural Utopia or Dystopia?

    2400 Words  | 5 Pages

    Frank E. Manuel and Manuel Frtizie, Utopian Thought in the Western World. London: Belknap Press 1982

    Read More

  • Comparing Plato's Republic and Thomas More's Utopia

    2965 Words  | 6 Pages

    The trite cliche that no man is an island applies equally well to political philosophies. Thomas More's Utopia was written both as a product of his time, and also as a product of a previous time--that of Greek civilization, especially around 380BC, when Plato's Republic was written. The similarities between the two books are not limited to them both being a dialogue. Both contain a description of the perfect state, although they do this for different reasons and they arrive at different types of perfection.

    Read More

More about Utopia

Open Document