Utopianism and Anti-utopianism from Ethical Perspective

Lisac, Maja. (2018). Utopianism and Anti-utopianism from Ethical Perspective. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Philosophy. [mentor Jurić, Hrvoje].

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Abstract

As an overview of the term 'utopia', this paper presents the extension of the term from the domain of political philosophy into the very heart of ethics. The conventional understanding of the terms utopianism and anti-utopianism is based on conceptualising utopia as a destination, whereas this paper demonstrates that it should be understood as a path. From the perspective of the ethics of the future, utopia is one of the central principles of human activity, and can be equated with the concept of hope. The paper is centred on the polemic between two philosophers, Ernst Bloch who is the representative of utopianism of the ethics of the future, and Hans Jonas who positions himself as an anti-utopian of the ethics of the future. Exposing the mistake in Jonas’s criticism of Bloch’s utopianism affirms the compatibility between Jonas’s principle of responsibility and Bloch’s principle of hope, since both address the process of forging the future based on awareness of the consequences of one’s acts. Both authors oppose arriving at a single solution in the form of a ready-made utopia. Instead, they propose a different approach that allows for utopia to be understood as a driving force towards a better and sustainable life in the future.

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