Utopia. The work “Utopia” by Thomas More

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The term Utopia was created by the english Thomas More to title a philosophical novel in 1516. To compose the word, Thomas More added two Greek words: "ου" (it is not "τοπος" (place), that is, if we are to interpret the word following its etymology, Utopia means a place that does not exist in reality. However, the work became so famous that the term was considered a kind of writing genre characterized by containing as main theme an ideal political and/or social organization, usually in counterpoint to a current political and/or social organization.

For example, if an author lives under a totalitarian regime and writes a work about a society that does not exist, representing through it a form of government considered ideal, it is possible that he has written a utopia, even if his work is not directly linked to the philosophy. Also by the later definition of the term, as genre, we can understand that the work "The Republic" of Plato, although written before More's work and therefore before the word was invented, it is a utopia, as it shows the creation of a city ruled by philosopher-kings to answer the question “what is justice?".

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One of the marks that indicate, in a philosophical work, the difference between a utopia and a Moral or Political Philosophy it is the exposition of thought: instead of the author of a utopia working with concepts and arguments, he expounds the concepts applied to a concrete situation. For example, Thomas More creates an island kingdom, with the geography probably described from narratives about America, in which he demonstrates how a society without private property and without religious intolerance, in which the reason it is the criterion for establishing social behaviors and not the authoritarianism of the King or the Church – which, in its historical context, sixteenth-century England, were gathered in the figure of Henry VIII, head of State and of the Anglican Church, created by him as a way to reverse the Catholic Church's ban on his new marriage to Anne Boleyn.

Thomas More's Utopia

Thomas More, also known by the Latinized form of his name, Thomas Morus, was a very influential man in his time, even occupying the position of Chancellor of Henry VIII of England. he studied in Oxford, where he met another important thinker of the period, Erasmus of Rotterdam who dedicated to him his main work, “Elogio da Madness”, and with whom he established a correspondence. Both humanists and readers of classical philosophers, with great sympathy for what the stoics and epicureans, challenged the scholastic tradition and wanted to promote a political education that would allow people freedom of thought. This foundation laid by them was a fruitful ground for later philosophical discussion.

Precisely for valuing freedom of thought, More he was sentenced to prison for treason and then to death for standing firm in his refusal of Henry VIII's remarriage that ran counter to a of the dogmas of the Catholic Church, to which he belonged, and according to which it is said that it is only possible to contract a new marriage in the event of the death of the spouse.

Religion in Utopia

Despite having so firmly opposed the Anglican Church created by the king, in Utopia everyone has religious freedom and only those who professed no faith should be regarded with suspicion. This is because, in the work of Morus, faith is a consequence of reason and an instrument for exercising justice: Utopians believe in God because, by reason, they recognize that their existence depends on him; the belief in a future judgment makes everyone apply themselves to exercising justice and not indulging in pleasures in an unruly way. That is, Utopians are recommended to have faith in God, but they may disagree about their identity.

The Utopian religion is formed from precepts of Christianity and also from philosophical schools such as Stoicism and Epicureanism. It has three basic truths:

1) Faith in the existence of a supreme being, as has already been said;

2) God's providence towards men is kind;

3) Faith in providence and future retribution for the soul, which is immortal.

The common good, the division of labor and private property

One of the main points of Utopia is the concern with the common good to which the individual good is submitted. Therefore, the Utopians prefer the division of goods among all, as they believe that this would guarantee abundance for all and not the concentration of wealth in the hands of a small group. Says Morus:

“It is my firm conviction that distribution according to criteria of equity or fair planning of human affairs is not possible without totally eliminating private property. As long as it remains, I am convinced that it will always continue to exist, among a very large part of the humanity and among the best part of it, the harrowing and inescapable burden of poverty and misery.” (MORVS, 2006, p. 479).

Through the division of labor, everyone would work only as much as necessary to ensure the general good, as just as no one would work for someone else, no one could dodge their responsibility. Even travelers should work before being fed. In case there is production in addition to the need for consumption, the working hours would be reduced. In this regard, says Morus:

“If everyone worked, the workload would decrease for everyone. With only six hours to work, [...] this time is enough to produce abundant goods. that suffice for the needs and that they arrive not only to remedy, but even overflow” (MORVS, 2006, P. 507).

Geography of the island of Utopia and political-social organization

In the second book, the island is described as a semicircle of five hundred miles of arc where there are fifty-four cities organized on the basis of the family structure. In the capital, there are thirty families, each headed by a philarch, the oldest and, in literal translation, “the one who loves her” (MORVS, 2006, p. 517). The main role of the philarch is to mediate the population's participation in political decisions, but his function is to supervise the work and avoid laziness. Monogamy is practiced and everyone knows who their children are. However, each nuclear family is integrated with other families with whom it has blood ties. Each family, understood in this broader context, contains between ten and sixteen adults in the city and up to forty in the countryside.

in short

  • The word “Utopia” appears for the first time in the homonymous work by Thomas More. It means “no place”, that is, a place that does not exist in reality.

  • Later, "Utopia" came to be considered a kind of writing genre characterized by containing as main theme an ideal political and/or social organization, usually in counterpoint to a political and/or current social

  • The island kingdom created by Thomas More was named after Utopos, its discoverer.

  • The island's geography was probably described from narratives about America.

  • "Utopia" is described as a semicircle of five hundred miles of arc where there are fifty-four cities organized according to the family structure:

  • In the work, in an ironic style and narrated by the character Rafael Hitlodeu, Thomas Morus demonstrates how a non-proprietary society and no religious intolerance, in which reason is the criterion for establishing social behaviors and not the authoritarianism of the King or the Church.


By Wigvan Pereira
Graduated in Philosophy

Teachs.ru
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