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  • Essay / Thomas More's Utopia: The Concept of Truth

    It is undeniable that Thomas More's Utopia is a product of fiction, this is evident by his use of the combination of fictional characters and locations, with characters and places that are actually real. . Aside from literary genres, in More's letter to Peter Giles, More emphasizes the sense of truth to which the book belongs, citing that he "would rather tell an objective lie than an intentional lie." In short, I prefer to be honest than intelligent. » (19). There is another place where More plays with the understanding of truth, in which he wants Peter Giles to speak to a fictional character to ensure that the utopia "understands nothing false and omits nothing true . »(19).Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay The letter that More writes to Peter Giles is also a fictional piece that makes one wonder what More might be saying about human nature and honesty. , the state of truth and the objective goal for its audience? From the very first word to the very last, More writes a piece of fiction but in this, More sets up an almost realistic setting for his audience using the letters he "sends" to real people and a specific dialogue called Platonic dialogue . But the “truth” in More’s Utopia lies not in the setting, the characters, or the type of dialogue he uses, but in the ideas he tries to convey. This is described at the end of the book, how More and his character choose to end it with this quote: "-I can't agree with everything he said. Yet I freely admit that there are many things in the utopian Commonwealth that I would like to see in our own societies rather than expecting to see them. "(97) With this quote, More's character touches on a subjective truth, namely that while he may not agree with everything Hythloday had to say, there is still a certain aspect of his ideas which seems faithful to him, which he would like to see in our societies, but does not expect to see them. The reason I found More to end his book in this way was so that his audience would, in a sense, do the same thing, draw out the ideas that he found true in the world. book and take a conscious look at our own societies and see where they might fit best. This gives his audience a sense of hope, that if they wish to see things change in their society, they will try to change them using the ideas explored by More. More doesn't want his audience to be like his character at the end of the book, just wanting a change, but he wants his audience to be that change. This ties in with what More had said in the first part of his book, when he spoke of men having experience and knowledge which should put them to good use at court and in the public interest, but they should with “an indirect approach and with secret suggestions. » (34). By the end of the book, and even more so in the reiteration of the last paragraph, More realizes his own ideal. More gives his audience a world that is, arguably, close to perfect, and wants his audience to use the truths they have found in his ideas to change the world around them. In one way or another, More educates his audience to be "men of experience and knowledge" so that they can use what he has taught them to put them to good use in society. court or in the public interest. But More cannot induce this in his audience without doing it himself, “indirectly and with secret suggestions.” »(34). More does not directly tell his audience to adopt his ideas, but he sets up a.