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Utopia
by
Thomas More
First published in 1516, Thomas More's Utopia is one of the most important works of European humanism. Through the voice of the mysterious traveler Raphael Hythloday, More describes a pagan, communist city-state governed by reason. Addressing such issues as religious pluralism, women's rights, state-sponsored education, colonialism, and justified warfare, Utopia seems rema...more
Paperback, 124 pages
Published
September 23rd 2002
by BookSurge Classics
(first published 1516)
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More's fusion of Christianity, socialism, and republicanism reflects his humanist conception of an ideal society, and in so doing constitutes criticism of contemporary English society. More argues that virtue is natural and something for which all humans have an innate desire. He characterizes virtue more concretely than most philosophers of his day, defining it as doing the utmost to increase happiness (found primarily in simple pleasures) for all. The state should remain minimal and intervene...more
Thomas More is traveling in the Low Countries when he sees his friend, Peter Giles. Giles introduces him to a well-traveled friend of his, Raphael Hythloday.
Raphael speaks of many countries and their policies and laws, and freely criticizes the laws of their own countries.He then begins speaking of a country, Utopia, which he thinks is ruled very well and is a perfect country.
More begs Raphael to speak more of Utopia, and he does. He first tells of their towns, which are all as identical as poss...more
Raphael speaks of many countries and their policies and laws, and freely criticizes the laws of their own countries.He then begins speaking of a country, Utopia, which he thinks is ruled very well and is a perfect country.
More begs Raphael to speak more of Utopia, and he does. He first tells of their towns, which are all as identical as poss...more
12 likes · like · see review
Oct 06, 2007
James
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
European History Interests...maybe
Shelves:
classical
Thomas More was better at being a martyr then being an engaging writer. Probably going to hell now, but with all the science fiction out there, all the utopia/dystopia motifs oozing out of everything, and this version not even being the first example of a literary Utopia (not to mention that this "Utopia" is clearly no utopia at all), this book is better left to Medieval literature classes or on the shelf all together.
6 likes · like · see review
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If you need a reason to be a pinko communist sissy, I imagine you can do a little better than this. The Greek word for utopia actually means "no-place" or "nonsense". For the two or three of you who still haven't figured out why people use Marx's Manifesto as toilet paper, you might actually appreciate the ideas presented here, but bear in mind that it's likely not even Thomas More himself was taking it seriously.
You could call this a work of fiction as much as one of philosophy or political th...more
You could call this a work of fiction as much as one of philosophy or political th...more
7 likes · like · see review
Jun 06, 2008
Ryan
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Commies, socialists, naive suburban kids
This is one of the worst books I have ever read. Poorly written, annoyingly condescending, ridiculously simplistic and more than anything, stupid.
No wonder why the commies (Lenin and others) commemorated More in the early days of communist Russia. his ideals are to "get rid of the beggars" by forced labor, allow no private ownership of anything, no specialization of labor, (yet still have a highly artistic/agrarian society, everything totally equal, (except for the "temporary" ruling class) a b...more
2 likes · like · see review
The term 'utopia' in the way we use it today, to refer to an ideal but unattainable state, comes from this book, which More wrote in 1516. The form is political critique disguised as fantasy disguised as travelogue. More casts himself as the recorder of Raphael Hythloday's travels to the island of Utopia, where, despite their lack of Christianity, the people are closer to realizing the Christian ideal society through rational government than Europe ever was. Today serious criticism doesn't have...more
11 likes · like · see review
Aug 30, 2009
Madeline
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
assigned-reading,
science-fiction
Interesting, mostly just because it's cool to see what people (or at least Thomas More) considered to be an ideal society back then. Because really, it isn't.
There's a lot that I thought was really strange about Utopia (Latin for "no place"), but here's what I remember most: when parents are considering marrying their children off, they have the two teenagers stand naked in front of each other (accompanied by dependable chaperones, of course) so they can make sure neither of them has any weird...more
There's a lot that I thought was really strange about Utopia (Latin for "no place"), but here's what I remember most: when parents are considering marrying their children off, they have the two teenagers stand naked in front of each other (accompanied by dependable chaperones, of course) so they can make sure neither of them has any weird...more
10 likes · like · see review
As much as I enjoy reading 16th century ideas (or rather, ideals), this book is pretty unforgiving.
It's safe to say that I enjoy the idea of this book more than the book itself. I love the importance of this book, but have a semi-difficult time plodding through it (especially on a re-read, when the ideas itself aren't new).
I am fascinated by Sir Thomas More's legend, and the time period this book was written in. I'm also astonished that the ideals he put forth didn't result in him being barred...more
It's safe to say that I enjoy the idea of this book more than the book itself. I love the importance of this book, but have a semi-difficult time plodding through it (especially on a re-read, when the ideas itself aren't new).
I am fascinated by Sir Thomas More's legend, and the time period this book was written in. I'm also astonished that the ideals he put forth didn't result in him being barred...more
Both more and less readable than one would expect. Ultimately, more an insight into the minds of Renaissance-era Englishmen than anything useful today as a philosophical statement.
هى حلم الفلاسفة عبر العصور ,الفردوس الارضى ,المجتمع المثالى بلا شر او قهر حيث تعلو قيم العدل والانسانية وتتحقق للانسان السعادة. هى جمهورية افلاطون وآراء اهل المدينة الفاضلة للفارابى ومدينة الله عند القديس اغسطينوس حتى استطاع توماس مور ان يعطيها الاسم التى اشتهرت به عبر التاريخ يوتوبيا.
استطاع توماس مور المفكر والفيلسوف والسياسى والقديس ان يقدم يوتوبيا كعمل روائى وليس مجرد نظريات او افكار مجردة ليرسى بذلك ماعرف باسم قواعد الرواية اليوتوبيةحيث يستطيع ان يضع الكاتب افكاره الاجتماعية والسياسية فى عال...more
استطاع توماس مور المفكر والفيلسوف والسياسى والقديس ان يقدم يوتوبيا كعمل روائى وليس مجرد نظريات او افكار مجردة ليرسى بذلك ماعرف باسم قواعد الرواية اليوتوبيةحيث يستطيع ان يضع الكاتب افكاره الاجتماعية والسياسية فى عال...more
Niet echt het juiste boek voor mij de afgelopen weken. Heb me er behoorlijk doorheen moeten worstelen, hoewel het inderdaad best makkelijk leest, ook vond ik het bijwijlen saai. Wel blij dat ik het nu eens gelezen heb.
Bijzonder om te lezen dat er al in 1515 ideeën waren over euthanasie al vraag ik me af of het zo moet gaan: ‘er komt een delegatie van priesters en andere gezagsdragers bij de patiënt op bezoek om hem voor te houden dat hij, nu hij het leven niet meer aankan en een last is geworde...more
Bijzonder om te lezen dat er al in 1515 ideeën waren over euthanasie al vraag ik me af of het zo moet gaan: ‘er komt een delegatie van priesters en andere gezagsdragers bij de patiënt op bezoek om hem voor te houden dat hij, nu hij het leven niet meer aankan en een last is geworde...more
University has started again which means I am not only buried in essays I need to hand in and format but also means I have to read books for the next couple of weeks. One of those books was 'Utopia' by Thomas More. I spent about 20 minutes in the bookstore looking for it until I had the bright idea to check out the philosophy aisle. I have nothing against reading philosophical works, I quite enjoyed Plato's 'The Republic' so I thought I would enjoy this too. How wrong I was. This is what Goodrea...more
I read this in high school, but of course I didn't really appreciate it then. What made this book even more interesting to me was reading about how it's been interpreted over time, probably incorrectly in many cases. Although people have interpreted it as More writing about what the ideal society looked like and it has been promoted by communists as such, Sir Thomas More probably didn't really write this book about an ideal society, and he intentionally made things about it that weren't ideal. C...more
It's obviously very interesting to read about Socialism from the perspective of the 16th century. This reminds me of Bellamy's Looking Backward, which obviously took a lot of ideas from More's book. I rate it so low only because it's not very pleasant to read: a social commentary in Middle English=brain fatigue. Still, it's an important text. What More suggests is reflective of our society even today: that penal punishments do not prevent crime, which in and of itself is a result of the inequity...more
I picked up the penguin "Great Ideas" version of this at the Tate Modern. It's part of a series of influential works re-released with new covers.
This book is a thinly veiled commentary on the political, social and economic state of Europe at the time of writing in the sixteenth centuary, in which the narrator is being told tales of faraway lands by Raphael, a well-travelled explorer. Raphael has been particularly taken by the island kingdom of Utopia which is a post-scarity, communist society i...more
This book is a thinly veiled commentary on the political, social and economic state of Europe at the time of writing in the sixteenth centuary, in which the narrator is being told tales of faraway lands by Raphael, a well-travelled explorer. Raphael has been particularly taken by the island kingdom of Utopia which is a post-scarity, communist society i...more
Thomas More attacked the chief political and social evils of the early sixteenth century in his classic book, UTOPIA. His purpose was to give practical suggestions largely based on Plato's "Republic" and written as dialogues between the worldly intellectual, Raphael Hythloday, and others.
More became a Catholic Saint in nineteen thirty-five. He was a friend of Erasmus of Rotterdam, a student of the ancient Greece, and an advocate of the northern Renaissance movement. His focus was to wed the Chr...more
More became a Catholic Saint in nineteen thirty-five. He was a friend of Erasmus of Rotterdam, a student of the ancient Greece, and an advocate of the northern Renaissance movement. His focus was to wed the Chr...more
Jan 24, 2012
Lucille
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
for-school,
classics
I'm taking a class in Utopian Fiction. Not surprisingly, this was the first book on the reading list. Thomas More's Utopia is comprised of two books. Book One involves setting up the discussion between More's character in the novel, Raphael Nonsenso the explorer, Peter Gilles and a few other characters. In the first book, some of the flaws of the current (16th century) English society are pointed out, including but not limited to issues such as poverty, theft and the idleness of the upper class....more
The first exchange in Utopia challenges the way nearly all governments operate: why do we make it difficult for people to meet their basic needs, and then punish them when they turn to theft?
Thomas More then goes on to describe his ideal society, the commonwealth of Utopia. In Utopia, all people freely share their labor, and take only what they need of others' labor, so there is no need for money. The cities are carefully controlled, so that there is no lack of a certain thing anywhere. It goes...more
Thomas More then goes on to describe his ideal society, the commonwealth of Utopia. In Utopia, all people freely share their labor, and take only what they need of others' labor, so there is no need for money. The cities are carefully controlled, so that there is no lack of a certain thing anywhere. It goes...more
Utopia goes nicely alongside Brave New World, 1984, Animal Farm and all that for those interested in different approaches to running society and the pros & cons of idealism. In the first part some dudes argue about how laws, kings and societies should operate, then in the second we get a detailed description of life in 'Utopia'. Most of the arguments in here we still have today (whether the death penalty is viable, how to distribute wealth, the length of the working day) and there are shades...more
This is one of the few books that continue to completely puzzle the world. No body really knows why, with what intention, for what purpose, or with what emphasis it was written. More was undoubtedly a very intelligent man, and knew what he was doing, but the very character of the book makes it hard to decipher (at least that's my view).
However, that hasn't stopped me from making up my own theory, and it is this: the key passages of the entire work are in the First Part, where More rebukes Raphae...more
However, that hasn't stopped me from making up my own theory, and it is this: the key passages of the entire work are in the First Part, where More rebukes Raphae...more
Aug 14, 2011
Todd Martin
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
culture-politics,
fiction
Probably the most lasting impact of Thomas More's book Utopia is that it brought the word "utopia" into the English language. With that said, the book (published in 1516) was rather forward looking in that it put forth ideas of socialism, egalitarianism, women’s rights, euthanasia, divorce, religious tolerance, the ability of a priest to marry and others, long before they had been tried in practice (in fact, some are still being debated today).
The book takes the form of an imaginary dialog betw...more
The book takes the form of an imaginary dialog betw...more
Jul 31, 2011
Patrick Gibson
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
classic-literature
Sir Thomas: you died a noble death. Your immortality lies in both words and deeds.
“For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this but that you first make thieves and then punish them?”
“For most princes apply themselves more to affairs of war than to the useful arts of peace; and in these I neither have any knowledge, n...more
“For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this but that you first make thieves and then punish them?”
“For most princes apply themselves more to affairs of war than to the useful arts of peace; and in these I neither have any knowledge, n...more
The Utopian society More advocates is actually a form of bureaucratic communism with slavery and acceptance of religions added.
He keeps saying that there aren’t many laws but his every description is another law. True, if kept to the level described it probably is less laws than most modern nations but it is still burdensome and the lack of laws is countered by having every triviality brought before judges.
He describes the land not having lawyers as a good thing, but I’m not so sure. For one th...more
He keeps saying that there aren’t many laws but his every description is another law. True, if kept to the level described it probably is less laws than most modern nations but it is still burdensome and the lack of laws is countered by having every triviality brought before judges.
He describes the land not having lawyers as a good thing, but I’m not so sure. For one th...more
Apparently More agrees with Dr Nitschke on VE (voluntary euthanasia), giving me an excuse to read this book as part of my research.
to wit -
"I have already related to you with what care they look after their sick, so that nothing is left undone which may contribute either to their health or ease. And as for those who are afflicted with incurable disorders, they use all possible means of cherishing them, and of making their lives as comfortable as possible; they visit them often, and take great p...more
to wit -
"I have already related to you with what care they look after their sick, so that nothing is left undone which may contribute either to their health or ease. And as for those who are afflicted with incurable disorders, they use all possible means of cherishing them, and of making their lives as comfortable as possible; they visit them often, and take great p...more
I'm actually really loving these classic pieces of literature I'm reading for class... Although that may have something to do with the inhuman amounts of caffeine that I'm typically under the influence of while doing school work. And it's clear I need more coffee when my annotations go from "central theme of education" to "dude- awesome."
I probably would have given it 5 stars if not for the complete and utter ridiculousness of Rafael's reflections at times, and his offhanded remarks of how supre...more
I probably would have given it 5 stars if not for the complete and utter ridiculousness of Rafael's reflections at times, and his offhanded remarks of how supre...more
An interesting presentation of a mythical/imaginary communist nation. I found myself wondering how much influence this book had on Marx when he wrote his Communist Manifesto. It's set up as a dialogue, although it's pretty one-sided since it's a traveler named Raphael telling More about the nation Utopia. There are lots of intriguing ideas and opinions about what makes a functional society, and ways that societies could/would be made better. There is also a peppering of wit and humor, such as th...more
Everyone has heard of Utopia and knows what it stands for, but I don't think a lot of people have actually read the book that used the term for the very first time (More 'invented' the word). I had no idea what this book was going to be like, but I did expect something a bit more.. well, like a novel. The first book is actually quite conventional, although it gives the impression of being a non-fiction work (very nicely done). Book two on the other hand is almost like an anthropological account...more
Raise your hand if you, like me, were a little girl growing up in the 90s who's favourite movie was at one point or another, "Ever After" starring Drew Barrymore and Anjelica Huston? Good, good. Now, how many of you remember Danielle (Barrymore) receiving a book from her father at the beginning of the movie? Remember that? The book was Thomas More's Utopia. It was Daneille's most treasured possession.
Now, reading it at 21 years old, nearly 15 years later, I am seeing moments where Danielle quot...more
Now, reading it at 21 years old, nearly 15 years later, I am seeing moments where Danielle quot...more
"Utopia" has been on my to-read list since eighth grade, so maybe it is not surprising that it did not quite live up to my expectations. Despite its fictional explorer as the storyteller's voice, it was unexpectedly dry. It was also unexpectedly non-Catholic, considering that next to authoring this book, Thomas More is best known for getting himself beheaded when he refused to turn Protestant under Henry VIII. Utopian literature by its very nature must assume that natural man is good and civiliz...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FHS English 12 - ...: Utopia | 6 | 5 | Mar 01, 2013 01:13pm | |
| Utopian Society | 5 | 56 | Dec 03, 2012 02:05pm | |
| What is your impression and analysis of the book | 1 | 20 | Jan 18, 2012 10:15pm |
Sir Thomas More also known as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, scholar, author, and statesman. During his life he gained a reputation as a leading Renaissance humanist, a violent opponent of the Reformation of Martin Luther, and a government official. For the last six years of his life he was Lord Chancellor.
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“For if you suffer your people to be ill-educated, and their manners to be corrupted from their infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded from this, but that you first make thieves and then punish them.”
—
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“A pretty face may be enough to catch a man, but it takes character and good nature to hold him.”
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