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Utopian Thinking
Utopia denotes an imagined ideal society that, though nonexistent in reality, is envisioned as a perfect habitat for its members. The term gained widespread usage following the publication of Thomas More's 1516 book ''Utopia (More book), Utopia''. Building upon the work of sociologist Ruth Levitas, social psychologists have tested the functions of utopian thinking among people. Utopia is fundamentally a cultural and psychological concept, existing solely as symbols within people's minds. Empirical evidence supports the connections between utopian thinking and the three primary functions proposed by Levitas: criticism, change, and compensation. Theoretical models have been developed linking utopian thinking to established social psychological concepts such as collective action and system justification. Functions Theoretical background The term "utopia" gained widespread usage following the publication of Thomas More's book Utopia (More book), "Utopia" in 1516. Nevertheless, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia (book), Utopia'', which describes a fictional island society in the New World. Hypothetical utopias focus on, among other things, equality in categories such as economics, government and justice, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying according to ideology. Lyman Tower Sargent argues that the nature of a utopia is inherently contradictory because societies are not homogeneous and have desires which conflict and therefore cannot simultaneously be satisfied. To quote: The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia. Utopian and dystopian fiction has become a popular literary category. Despite being common parlance for something imaginary, utopianism inspired and was inspired by some reality-based fields and concepts such as utopian architecture, architecture, Cyber-ut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
