In the 1530s, More wrote polemical tracts and essays attacking Lutheranism as heresy. Though Aristotle was opposed to the idea of common property and the abolition of private property, Aristotle's ideas of aesthetics, justice and harmony are present in the Utopian's philosophy.Ī devout Catholic, More was beheaded as a martyr in 1535, standing opposed to the principle of the Anglican Church and the King of England's role as the head of the Church (replacing the Pope in Rome). Sustaining the arguments of The Republic, Utopia fashions a society whose rulers are scholars (not unlike Plato's philosopher-king). As a philosopher brave enough to tackle the idea of the "ideal state," More leans away from Aristotle and towards Plato, author of The Republic. Is an ideal state possible? Utopia means "no place" but sounds like "good place." At the very least, Utopia exposes the absurdities and evils of More's society by depicting an alternative.Īs a satirist, More continues the tradition of Ancient Roman writers like Juvenal and Horace.
In depicting Utopia, More steps outside the bounds of orthodox Catholicism, but More's ultimate goal is to indicate areas of improvement for Christian society. Alongside his close friend, the philosopher and writer Erasmus, More saw Humanism as a way to combine faith and reason. Utopia is a work of satire, indirectly criticizing Europe's political corruption and religious hypocrisy.
The work was written in Latin and it was published in Louvain (present-day Belgium).
0 kommentar(er)
