Rousseau challenges the idea presented by Hobbes in his book the Leviathan arguing that man is naturally aggressive only wiling to accept a “social contract” with a ruler solely for the purpose of survival. In essence, Hobbes’ argument takes a …
Throughout history, societies have been evolving and gradually improving to raise the overall standard of living, therefore it is natural to question if mankind will ever reach a stopping point. A society that is flawless, a utopia, is believed to be…
Throughout her travels in the 19th century, French feminist Flora Tristan wrote in depth about the way women lived in other societies and how she perceived their lives to be. Specifically in England, not extremely different from France in most ways, s…
The Farm is a secluded, 1750 acre intentional community in Tennessee that was founded in the 1960s. Created to be a totally self sufficient and environmentally friendly socialist haven, founder Stephen Gaskin earned a following of almost 1,500 young a…
If the savage man only understands his instincts and has no concept of abstract thought, can it be said that he is truly happy if he doesn’t understand happiness?
Throughout A Discourse on Inequality the author, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, details th…
At the midway point in the semester I have developed a stronger understanding of my writing; what I do well and what I need to improve upon. Each FYS class shares the common purpose of improving students writing and reading ability. Therefore, we h…
There are many definitions of what a utopia is and how to achieve a society of this caliber. Throughout Plato’s Republic, Socrates details how he believes a utopia could come to be. Kallipolis, the utopia in question, would be made to have several, h…
In reading Thomas More’s Utopia, one can infer that the society he describes in the book is so far from the Europe he lived in, that it might be some sort of ironic critique of European culture. This becomes even more evident when other pieces of Mor…
In the article More on Utopia: The Historical Journal, the author Brendan Bradshaw presents an interesting twist on the way More’s utopia has always been viewed. He offers his view on J. H. Hexler’s interpretation of the classic utopian novel, whic…
Plato set out to design what he believes to be the best society possible, one able to not only sustain itself, but to flourish. In order to do so, he states that it cannot be governed by anyone but a philosopher, because philosophers are those best ab…
