<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The word “utopia” was coined by Thomas More and refers to the unreal and ideal state described in his <italic>Utopia</italic>, first published in 1516. Following the example of Plato’s <italic>Republic</italic>, More as well as other thinkers and writers of the 16th and 17th century reflect on the political relevance of utopia and provide unique accounts of ideal, just, and perfect “no places”, as paradigms and standards of social, political, and religious reformation of the coeval world. However, the <italic>political</italic> significance of utopia relies on a basic <italic>anthropological</italic> feature, which incidentally is already underlined by More: the relationship between imagination and experience. This means that: 1) the human being’s “eidetic” freedom is characterised by the inseparable relationship between imagination, reflection, experience and action; 2) utopia is capable of disclosing the transformative and normative features related to the human being’s constitution; 3) utopia can be fruitfully used to motivate human will and mobilise support for human flourishing. In this article I endeavour to show that among contemporary philosophers it is Hans Jonas who most fully develops the anthropological significance of utopia by investigating the very relationship between imagination and experience, and by underlining how the eidetic and reflective constitution of the human being leads to ethics. As a further goal, I wish to highlight that the anthropological relevance of utopia can shed light on our imaginative and ambivalent nature, and provide a practical and educational basis for the achievement of an “ethics of images” for the current digital era. For this purpose I shall draw on the thinking of Marie-José Mondzain and Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, among other scholars.</abstract>

The word “utopia” was coined by Thomas More and refers to the unreal and ideal state described in his Utopia, first published in 1516. Following the example of Plato’s Republic, More as well as other thinkers and writers of the 16th and 17th century reflect on the political relevance of utopia and provide unique accounts of ideal, just, and perfect “no places”, as paradigms and standards of social, political, and religious reformation of the coeval world. However, the political significance of utopia relies on a basic anthropological feature, which incidentally is already underlined by More: the relationship between imagination and experience. This means that: 1) the human being’s “eidetic” freedom is characterised by the inseparable relationship between imagination, reflection, experience and action; 2) utopia is capable of disclosing the transformative and normative features related to the human being’s constitution; 3) utopia can be fruitfully used to motivate human will and mobilise support for human flourishing. In this article I endeavour to show that among contemporary philosophers it is Hans Jonas who most fully develops the anthropological significance of utopia by investigating the very relationship between imagination and experience, and by underlining how the eidetic and reflective constitution of the human being leads to ethics. As a further goal, I wish to highlight that the anthropological relevance of utopia can shed light on our imaginative and ambivalent nature, and provide a practical and educational basis for the achievement of an “ethics of images” for the current digital era. For this purpose I shall draw on the thinking of Marie-José Mondzain and Jean-Jacques Wunenburger, among other scholars.

Thinking and behaving “Otherwise”: An anthropological enquiry into utopia, image and ethics

Ethics & Bioethics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

The word “utopia” was coined by Thomas More and refers to the unreal and ideal state described in his Utopia, first published in 1516. Following the example of...

Thinking and behaving “Otherwise”: An anthropological enquiry into utopia, image and ethics

Published Online: Jun 13, 2019

Page range: 3 - 10

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2019-0003

Keywords
utopia, image, imagination, imagery, ethics, education, Hans Jonas, Marie-José Mondzain, Jean-Jacques Wunenburger

© 2019 Roberto Franzini Tibaldeo, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Thinking and behaving “Otherwise”: An anthropological enquiry into utopia, image and ethics

Published Online: Jun 13, 2019

Page range: 3 - 10

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2019-0003

Keywordsutopia, image, imagination, imagery, ethics, education, Hans Jonas, Marie-José Mondzain, Jean-Jacques Wunenburger

© 2019 Roberto Franzini Tibaldeo, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
utopia, image, imagination, imagery, ethics, education, Hans Jonas, Marie-José Mondzain, Jean-Jacques Wunenburger