Utopian and dystopian fiction
Utopian literature is the name given to a genus of literary works, which deals with an ideal society, the realization of which will be presented in the future as conceivable possible. The actual, current political and social reality faced, the utopia assumes a role model. This involves both idea webs of abstract and real possible concrete utopias. In contrast, the deterrence is the anti- utopia, also called dystopia.
Followup article deals with individual literary works, which conceptually the idea of utopia is based and their literary content are therefore significantly influenced by it.
Utopia
Utopia is the title of a published 1516 novel of the humanist Thomas More ( Thomas More ) who was eponymous for the utopian literature ( Original title: " De optimo statu deque nova insula rei publicae Utopia "). The name " Utopia " comes from the Greek words ou (no ) and topos ( place ) and means something like " non-place ". In English is also a pun on the Greek eu results (good) topos that is " good place ". It is in More's work thus to the design of an ideal society, which in reality does not exist and so the film serves as a background for the criticism of the existing social and political order.
Utopian novel
A utopian novel is a literary work that deals with an ideal society or form of government, which does not exist. Although the term " utopia " of the novel " Utopia " by the English writer Thomas More comes, the archetype of all utopias of Plato 's "state", the description of an ideal form of human coexistence, which is conceivable but not possible though. Characteristics of a utopian novel in the traditional sense is that it describes a closed society (for example, on an island or in the distant future ). Daniel Defoe's " Robinson Crusoe " is a special form of utopia, which is characteristic of the early 18th century shaped by Pietism. Here one man is put on an island where he learns to take care of himself and his soul forms the Pietist ideals in accordance guided by diary dialogue with God. In the 20th century appear negative utopias (see also: dystopia ) shows, most of which have the specter of a future state is being painted. These include Orwell's 1949 published novel "1984" or Huxley's " Brave New World " ( 1932).
Ideally State
The conceptual starting point of the Utopia of Thomas More is the philosophical conception of an ideal state by the Greek philosopher Plato (in his Politeia ) as a theoretical model of thought that claims solely of logical- rational principles derived the ideal interaction of social forces for the benefit of the community to. construct Although intended as a counterpart to the ideal Athenian statesman, also exerts Plato's "Atlantis" Timaeus and Critias dialogues in a utopian fascination.
Besides Plato's " Atlantis " than other ancient utopian models Euripides ' " Panchaea " (in the work entitled " Hiera Anagraphe " ), Theopompus " Meropis " (in the work entitled " philippic " ) and Iambulos ' Island of the Sun ( the work on this is only fragmentary get in Diodorus ) mention.
Basic concept
They are as classic to be designated precursor of modern utopian literature in addition to Sir Thomas More 's "Utopia " ( 1516), Tommaso Campanella's " The City of the Sun " ( 1623), " Christianopolis " ( 1619) by Johann Valentin Andreae and Francis Bacon's " New Atlantis " ( 1626 ).
The original basic concept of the utopia of an ideal state based on the abstraction of the historically grown, current power relations, the results of which were understood subject as arbitrary and structural violence and where there is no long- term investor could be awarded for the future - at least no more desirable. The power of the reality that is the spirit was opposed, the reason and the imagination rose above the imperfect conditional nature of the present. The best of all possible worlds was then held beyond the here and now, where it did not matter whether this ideal alternative world was located in a mythical past era ( the golden age ) or at a remote magical place ( Utopia ).
Example of this is the granddaddy of Utopia, Thomas More, to quote from his work. Sharpened on the ability of the humanists for abstract, systematic rational thinking, "Utopia" served him as a radical and fundamental criticism of the then social relations. In this sense, the defender of Utopia said, after he had advocated, among other things, the abolition of private property in its utopian counterpart:
How Hiltrud Gnüg in her essay " On the concept of utopia and the utopian novel" noticed was at the beginning of the utopian literature, the notion of a rational state written order, a happy human society makes in its " best state". The perceived as deficient reality, according to this view, an historical, the - grown by selfish, led by self-interest legislation false - means the effort of reason in principle be overcome. Utopia is the "appeal to help the reason for their rights in history. " ( Hiltrud Gnüg: utopia and utopian novel Stuttgart 1999, p 9. )
On the one hand, the concept of utopia developed to the literary genre of the " utopian state novel" and the kind of social utopias, as they are represented among others by the utopian socialists and their successors, on the other hand he found an increase in science fiction and fantasy. With the socialist, anarchist and feminist utopian novels of the last 150 years, the classic basic concept of historical developments beyond the imagined ideal state changed to society free of domination designs that are derived from social movements and being in the process.
Islands and distant worlds
Scene of the oldest works of utopian narrative literature, especially the eponymous work Utopia by Thomas More, is usually an island, which is the same time as the narrator, but almost unattainable far away. This idea is in the age of discoveries quite understandable, but everywhere new worlds with other people and unknown cultures were found.
Daniel Defoe's " Robinson Crusoe " is in many ways similar to the utopian novel and characteristic of the embossed Pietism early 18th century. Here one man is put on an island where he learns to feed himself and his soul forms the Pietist ideals in accordance guided by diary dialogue with God. In the stricter sense, however, it is doubtful that it is this is a utopia, because no ideal community portrayed, but a single destiny is illuminated. Not for nothing here, the term was coined " Robinson Crusoe ". However, the great success of " Robinson Crusoe " led quite to attempts to combine the utopian theme with the Robinson Crusoe: Johann Gottfried Schnabel's Island Castle Rock is probably the most famous example of this.
Perhaps the last work of this category is the novel Erewhon by Samuel Butler ( 1872), playing in a land that lies behind a nearly insurmountable mountains of New Zealand.
Future fantasies
With the complete discovery of the world and the closing of the last white spots on the maps, this type of utopian literature has survived. Instead, the hope for a better world now is in the future. A typical example of this is the novel Looking Backward (1888 ) by the American Edward Bellamy, whose narrator is sinking at the end of the 19th century into a hundred-year sleep and wakes up only in 2000. He experienced there the tremendous changes that have taken place since his time and have produced an ideal society.
In a similar direction also HG Wells is in his short stories and novels. Although the majority of which are now classified more in the category of science fiction, can be regarded as the co-founder of Wells, so there are also transitions. The novel The Time Machine ( The Time Machine ) from 1894, the travel is in a distant future in which people seem to have reached the paradise on earth, have this but actually the real human being dazed. In this respect, HG Wells engages in this work already ahead on the dystopian (anti- utopian ) of the recent literature.
Anti- utopias
During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, the positive perception of the technical development for the central idea of the utopian literature, the disillusionment of the crisis-ridden capitalism, the failure of the totalitarian state models of fascism and communism, as well as the material battles of the world wars gave the new material for negative utopias ( dystopia ).
Not only the consequences of political excesses of totalitarianism ( best known here is George Orwell's novel 1984 from 1948 - published in 1949, also Walter Jens ' novel No, The World of the accused, 1950), but also misguided science are addressed in these works. So is Aldous Huxley 's novel Brave New World (English original Brave New World, 1932) in a still oppressive current vision of what happens when science is put on ethics and the pursuit of personal happiness the only purpose in life is. In many ways, Huxley draws on the ideas of Plato's Republic in this novel. Here, here the limits to science fiction to be exceeded. The British author HG Wells describes in his novel Tono- Bungay, published in 1909, the consequences of unchecked, global capitalism and looks with rare clarity the global economic crisis of 1929 ahead.
The apparent abdication of human reason in the course of technological revolutions leaves little room for social utopia; remain delusional, eerie, unreal figment of imagination beyond utopia ( postmodern fantasy literature ).
Demarcation
A distinction is a rather theoretical conceptual utopian literature that lead, among others, in concrete models of utopian socialism, and the novelistic utopian literature, which ends in science fiction. The Utopian novel is thus one of the roots of science fiction in the 20th century. Science fiction is characterized by the fact that technological developments are in the foreground - and only secondarily or not at all, the model of an ideal society ( utopia ) and a reign of terror ( dystopia ) is described. One can summarize that not every science fiction novel is to be regarded as a utopian novel.