Analysis Of Thomas More's Utopia

2779 Words12 Pages
Essay Response to Utopia Book 2 Pages 41-72 Introduction In pages 41-72 of Utopia: Book 2 by the renowned humanist philosopher Thomas More, various political and social ideas reflecting his own take on Humanist ideas and the historical context at the time are shown through the narrative of the fictional island, “Utopia”. These elements are divided into social elements, foreign policy and military elements as well as the element of religion in the society of Utopia. In this paper, I will analyze the ideas Mr. More presents by both contextualizing it to the time period in which he had written this and making the connections to modern parallels today. Furthermore, I will compare my own personal impressions on these pages to the viewpoints and…show more content…
However, instigating conflict, tension and vocally preaching against another religion is a crime punishable by either slavery or banishment from the nation of Utopia. The law was made so that all of the inhabitants of the island would be free to worship who they wished to do so but at the same time; it was orchestrated so that tensions would be avoided between different religions. This idea can be considered progressive for More’s time as his era is one where religious wars and discrimination or condemnation against other religions were widespread in Christian states. More introduces this humanist concept of coexistence and tolerance where different faiths may exist alongside each other provided whichever third party doesn’t instigate tensions or bitter relations between different religious groups. In today’s modern political concept, aside the freedom of religion as a right in most developed states, there are laws categorized under “hate crimes” in some of these states criminalize the open hatred and discrimination towards a religious group through the use of verbal or physical…show more content…
However, it is stated that if they must, they will hire mercenaries from a barbarian nation as means of reducing casualties and bloodshed from their own kin. More describes this nation or tribe of mercenaries in a barbaric and war loving way in the sense that they aren’t civilized or don’t know how to differentiate between good or evil. This reflects More’s Humanist beliefs in that up until now, there are still very much barbaric peoples that have no sense of free will or individuality and may go as far as using money to determine who they will fight for in a war between nations. Modern variants of the idea of hiring mercenaries for war exist in today’s modern context in our complicated world of politics. Examples include reports of Russian mercenaries fighting for Assad’s government in the ongoing Syrian Civil War or the reports of US Mercenary companies being hired by the Ukranian government. During the Spanish Civil War, a number of Nazi forces volunteered to help bring Franco to
Show More
Related

  • Thomas More And Dannon Analysis

    1524 Words  | 7 Pages

    number of these people have been silenced, imprisoned and or executed for what they believe. Two of these individuals in particular were involved in moral and spiritual battles that helped shape religion and government into forms we recognize today. Thomas More and George Danton and their famous struggles were involved in the creation of the Anglican Church of England and the French Revolution respectively. Both of these highly revered and respected men helped shape history and provided a path through

    Read More

  • Elements Of Science Fiction

    3370 Words  | 14 Pages

    A study on the recurring elements and sub-genres of science fiction literature Introduction Science Fiction is a literary genre that deals with imaginative writing and incorporates elements that originate from science or scientific rudiments. It belongs to the category of speculative fiction and usually explores the impact of science and technology on the society. Science fiction has been a major literary genre consisting of various sub-genres and themes within it. A complete and inclusive definition

    Read More

More about Analysis Of Thomas More's Utopia

Open Document