Utopia Concepts and Beliefs Quiz

Utopia, Book II: Visibility, Productivity, and Outsides of Utopia

• The method for study is tracking the politics of nature.

Reading Quiz, Utopia, Book II

• Question 1: Which of the following is allowed in Utopia?

  • The correct answer is breastfeeding.

• Question 2: What do Utopians make out of gold?

  • The correct answer is chamber pots.

• Question 3: To which technology did Hythloday and his companions introduce the Utopians?

  • The correct answer is printing and papermaking.

• Question 4: Which one of the following is a crime in Utopia?

  • The correct answer is adultery.

• Question 5: Does Utopia have many laws, or few laws?

  • Utopia has few laws.

The Physical Geography of Utopia (51-53)

• Utopia has a "new moon" shape.
• It has a narrow, hidden, guarded opening.
• It encloses a vast, calm, navigable bay, which allows ships to travel between shores in all directions.
• Utopia is characterized by maximum closure, separation, hiddenness, invisibility, privacy, and defense when compared to the outside.
• Utopia is characterized by maximum communication, connection, accessibility, visibility, publicity, and exposure when compared to the inside.
• Utopia is made up of nearly identical cities that replicate an insular (island) structure surrounded by thick walls, and moats.
• The cities streets are constructed for ease of traffic flow.

Utopian Lines of Sight/Visibility/Mutual Surveillance

• In Utopia, choosing spouses involves a ritual where the bride and groom are presented naked to each other by respected members of society.
• In Utopia there is no idleness, no alehouses, no brothels.
• Constant surveillance ensures that everyone works and that, distributing resources equitably, there is no poverty.

The Utopian Day/Mathematics of Social Productivity (61-61)

• Utopians wake up at 4 AM.
• They have free time for virtuous/intellectual interests from 4-9 AM.
• They work from 9-12 AM.
• Lunch is from 12-1 PM.
• They rest from 1-3 PM.
• They work from 3-6 PM.
• Dinner is from 6-7 PM.
• They participate in virtuous recreation (music, talk, board games) from 7-8 PM.
• They go to bed at 8 PM.
• Six hours are dedicated to work, which is enough to provide for all citizens
• there is no shortage of supplies in Utopia

Landscape of Conquest & Manufactured Isolation (from "insula"/isola, island)

• The Utopia land was not surrounded by the ocean at first.
• Utopus (the founder) created a channel around the island to make it an island.

Colonization & "Natives": Agriculture and the Law of Nature

• Colonization in Utopia is justified by the belief that native land is not "owned" and that the native populations need to be civilized.
• Utopians consider it just to make war against people who possess land that they do not use productively.

Human/Subhuman and Genocide: “The Zapoletes” (p. 109)

• The Zapoletes are a rough, rude, fierce people who live in the forests and mountains to the east of Utopia.
• They have no interest in agriculture or other crafts, and only care about livestock.
• They are a warrior people that are constantly fighting.
• They are hired as mercenaries and are used for war by other nations.

Work of Distinction/Purification: The Slave

• In Utopia, there are slaves but they are not considered less human.
• Slaves are prisoners of war, people who have committed serious crimes, or foreigners who choose it.
• Utopian citizens do not have to engage in work that is associated with the animal kingdom.
• Slaves perform the tasks that are considered less desirable.

Direct Discussion

• Prisoners of war, people of foreign nations/countries, and those who commit crimes are considered slaves.
• Utopians do not condemn those who commit crimes to death but rather send them to work off the crime they committed.
• The Utopians differentiate the type of slaves they have. There are prisoners of war, those who commit crimes, and foreigners who choose to be slaves.

Laws of Nature, “Natural Bonds”

• Patriarchy, seniority, and custom shape social behavior within Utopia.
• Utopians use customs in place of laws.
• Utopians do not make treaties.
• Utopians believe that their love and respect for each other should replace treaties.
• In Utopia, elders (the oldest men) preside over households.
• Wives serve husbands and children serve parents.

Nature, God, and the Ethics of Happiness

• Utopians value pleasure and happiness, which is influenced by Renaissance Humanism and Christian faith.
• Utopians believe that true pleasure comes from activities that are not unnatural and that have a purpose.
• Utopians are critical of unnatural or base impulses, and vices in activities like gambling and hunting.
• Utopians condemn luxury and wealth.

Mother Nature offers the Critique of Money:

• Nature provides for everything that people need to survive.
• People can live without a system of monetary exchange.
• Utopians think that gold and silver are of little value compared to natural resources (iron, water, and earth).

The Final Set-Piece: Freedom from Anxiety (the end of economic precarity)

• In utopia, people are free from anxiety and poverty.
• Utopians prioritize the community's good over individual gain.
• Everyone works for the public good, meaning no one is poor.

Tracking the “Politics of Nature”

• Topography, geography, and terraforming of utopia shape community, human interaction, and the concept of what is natural.
• Significance of chickens, pre-marital nakedness rituals, priests in feathered gowns, or euthanasia are considered to be extravagant details that should be considered in utopia.

Evidence of Indigenous Encounter (Scanty)

• The text contains little information about indigenous encounters.

Utopia as the Name for the Place/Lack of Place

• Utopia is a place that does not exist.

Utopian Details

• Incubation of eggs, dinner seating arrangements, euthanasia and suicide, city/country relations, timber, and forestry, beauty, disability, and the scholar.

Final Discussion Question

• The reason for slavery exists is that they believe that the people who are prisoners are not people to begin with.

The Question of "Fictionality”

• More's book is a fictional portrayal of a society that is not possible to create, but he uses his book to create a critical response to the way society functions.
• The book is considered a critique or an evaluation of society.