Utopia, Myth, and Narrative (original) (raw)
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Utopianism: Literary and Political
Utopian Horizons: Ideology, Politics, Literature, 2017
The introduction to the edited volume Utopian Horizons (CEU Press, Budapest and New York, 2017) discusses the problems arising during the analysis of utopianism, the necessity of the coopration of literary scholars, political scientist and historians of ideas. These disciplines treat certain concepts, such as fictionality or the role of the author differently. An excerpt is uploaded, for a full text contact CEU Press or email the author.
The Dialectic Interplay between Utopia and History: Plato's The Republic and Thomas More's Utopia
Depictions of Utopias in English (pp: 17-38) (ISBN: 9789754914436), 2017
Utopias stem from the hope for better circumstances to live in and to provide alternative lands replacing discontent conditions of their related eras. While one of the first examples of the utopia genre, "The Republic" (c. 380 BC) by Plato focusing on the nature of justice mirrors Athens in the first quarter of the fourth century BC, "Utopia" (1516) by Sir Thomas More meditating on the nature of politics projects England in the early sixteenth century. The characteristics of these fictive narratives essentially refer to the historical realities of both the Athenian society and the English one. The imagined lands portrayed by Plato and More focus on the political turmoil and social upheaval of their eras; thus, the authors’ attempt to refine and re-shape the systems and institutions in their real lands by means of idealised conditions which are fundamentally shaped by justice and philosophy. At that point, the relationship between the concepts of history and utopia needs to be examined because these two concepts are mostly accepted as opposite notions. It is a common understanding that history is concerned with the past and utopia is concerned with the future. For that reason, history is perceived as the ‘other’ of utopia which could potentially create positively different experiences in the future of the society in question. The aim of this paper is, first, to place a particular emphasis on the backgrounds of the primary representative utopias by Plato and More and to reveal distinctive instances about the connections between utopian proposals and historical facts. Then, the go-between/intermediary notion of utopia in terms of benefiting from the past events will be analysed, along with examining historical problems with the recommendations and reformative solutions for the future given in these utopias.
Utopianism and its discontents A conceptual history
Algemeen Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Wijsbegeerte, 2016
Utopianism is often rejected out of hand for one of two reasons: either it is thought to be politically dangerous, or it is thought to be a mere fantasy. It is nevertheless an important theme in contemporary political philosophy. This article reviews part of the political-philosophical career of ‘utopia’ as a concept by considering the different traditions that have been influential in shaping the way utopia and utopianism are perceived today. A brief reading of Thomas More’s Utopia is followed by a consideration of the utopian socialist tradition and Karl Marx’s criticism of it. Their understanding of utopia continued into the twentieth century. Utopianism’s bad reputation is partly due to its association with the attempt to realize communism in the Soviet Union, but other factors include the Eastonian empirical turn in political theory and the onset of postmodern incredulity. It made a perhaps surprising comeback in the work of John Rawls, whose work was recently criticized by Amartya Sen for being overly ‘utopian’ – a criticism that is highly analogous to Marx’s onslaught against the utopian socialists. With the help of counterarguments devised by Pablo Gilabert, the article considers three ways in which utopianism can be useful to contemporary political thought.
The myth of the Lost Paradise was present in more or less complex forms in almost all primitive culture and it can be considered the first manifestation of human thought on the harsh conditions of human existence, having as background the image of some primordial mythical happiness. All the peoples of the world have started to have a theological and mythological vision on the world since ancient periods of their existence. The idea of beauty, equilibrium, equitableness and justice presented in different forms, represented with no exception a semiconscious need of life. MATERIAL AND METHOD The basic materials for the research included: myths, writings and works with utopian content from Antiquity and Renaissance. The working methods we used were selection of texts and authors, text contrastive analysis and explication as well as historical criticism of the works under study.
Mental Roots of Utopias as Representations of Social Fantasy Utopias in Ancient Times
2020
The search and the wish for an ideal, with a historical and societal insight, have always occurred in various forms since the oldest times of human history. To figure out the motivation for utopias as representations of societal fantasy, the roots of individual wishes and societal needs must be analysed. Even though, a state of complete happiness for the individual and the society is impossible; utopias, setting an allegory to define the defects of the era and the society in a unique way and manner, offers a vision to transform the social setting. With a similar insight, pioneering stirrings are encountered from the first modern utopia works backwards, to change the social setting. When the relation of utopias to the past and future is discovered, utopias make sense. Ancient Age works though cannot be defined as utopias, can be counted as sources of thought for utopias. These works are the first examples of thoughts that have influenced utopias handling the themes of social gender issues, education, economic structure, urbanisation and give clues as to the social life. The first experiences of morality, religion, battles, justice, types of government, and intercommunal affairs of the Ancient Age and the their effects of mental crises and revolutions and the imaginary collection of these reflected in utopias have made it possible for efficient works to come out.
In What’s New in the New Europe? Redefining Culture, Politics, Identity;. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego., 2019
Utopia is indiscriminately charged with pathologies such as teleology and stability in much contemporary political-philosophical literature. Yet, a closer conceptual examination of utopia shows that there is no compelling argument about utopia being intrinsically linked to such pathologies. Therefore, I argue, conceptions of utopia that justifiably invite such charges are projections of epochal, indeed, specifically modern, understandings of the notion. The static and teleological semantic contents of the term are in no way indispensable. In other words, if we ask again the question about what is and is not utopia and whether utopia is comprehensible and theorizable without predicates of teleology and stability, we will come up with a reconceptualization of utopia that challenges modern framings of the notion. In this paper, I deal with such questions and explore why utopia is not inescapably unrealizable, teleological and finalist, too determinate and, consequently, tyrannical. Drawing from relevant sources (I rely mainly on Marianna Papastephanou’s theory and I show its relevance to such conceptualization), I take issue with those thinkers who, in the effort to stave off bad utopianism, resort to defining utopia as empty of content or as exclusively processual. I side with those sources which consider a degree of determinacy important for conceptual, explanatory, justificatory and normative reasons.
Utopia(s) - Worlds and Frontiers of the Imaginary
Utopia(s) - Worlds and Frontiers of the Imaginary, 2016
Summary The idea of Utopia springs from a natural desire of transformation, of evolution pertaining to humankind and, therefore, one can find expressions of “utopian” desire in every civilization. Having to do explicitly with human condition, Utopia accompanies closely cultural evolution, almost as a symbiotic organism. Maintaining its roots deeply attached to ancient myths, utopian expression followed, and sometimes preceded cultural transformation. Through the next almost five hundred pages (virtually one for each year since Utopia was published) researchers in the fields of Architecture and Urbanism, Arts and Humanities present the results of their studies within the different areas of expertise under the umbrella of Utopia. Past, present, and future come together in one book. They do not offer their readers any golden key. Many questions will remain unanswered, as they should. The texts presented in Proportion Harmonies and Identities - UTOPIA(S) WORLDS AND FRONTIERS OF THE IMAG...