Utopian thinkers are often criticised as naive dreamers. But if we tightly define Utopia as ‘the best possible society’, then this gives us the opportunity to imagine and learn from a morally optimal society that may never exist, but could and should. Are there prisons in Utopia? Is there private property? Who’s in charge? Can the Utopians say and wear what they want? What else can we learn from this Utopian thought experiment? What might it tell us about how freedom interrelates with other values? And about ourselves, and how we live our lives?
‘Freedom in Utopia’ — the book political philosopher Rebecca Lowe is currently writing — offers a new approach to answering the classic question: how free should we be, when we live together as members of a political society? In a series of salons, we will explore this topic together, chapter by chapter. Rebecca will open each salon by sharing her thoughts so far, followed by Q&A and discussion, and then the final 30 minutes of each session will involve group deliberation about a classic, freedom-focused, philosophy paper.
$20 individual ticket. $120 series ticket.
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Why Utopia? We’ll begin by discussing famous conceptions and descriptions of Utopia, from both philosophy and fiction, and comparing these with Rebecca’s ‘best possible society’ starting point. What is the value of setting constraints on Utopian thinking? What might the constraints of ‘best’, ‘possible’, and ‘society’, in particular, help us to conclude about the significance of freedom, and its relation to other values?
12 February 2025 (1700-1830 EST)
Who Holds Power in Utopia? Who is in charge in Utopia, and what kinds of power do they have? If you lived in the best possible society, what should you be free to decide for yourself about how you live, as an individual and a member of various groups? How should laws be established, and what gives them legitimacy?
12 March 2025 (1700-1830 EST)
What Rights Do the Utopians Have? What are rights, and how to do they relate to other concepts such as obligations, freedoms, and preferences? What is the difference between a moral right and a legal right, and what gives these rights their force? What kinds of rights would you have, as a member of best possible society?
9 April 2025 (1700-1830 EST)
Are There prisons in Utopia? If you lived in the best possible society, would you be free to do bad things to other people? If so, what kinds of societal mechanism would be in place to address crime? Is there a role for prisons in Utopia, and if so, what do Utopian prisons look like?
14 May 2025 (1700-1830 EST)
Is There Private Property in Utopia? Many classic depictions of Utopia assume a lack of private property. But what would the Utopians miss out on, if they had no private property? How is Utopia’s economy organised, at the basic level of acquiring, using, and transferring goods?
11 June 2025 (1700-1830 EST)
Can you Say and Wear What You Want in Utopia? In Thomas More’s Utopia, the Utopians all wear the same clothes. What might this tell us about the relationship between freedom and the good, in Utopian thinking? If you lived in the best possible society, how free would you be to make your own choices about expressing yourself through clothing choice and language?
9 July 2025 (1700-1830 EST)
What Do People Do for Fun in Utopia? Can we know what music the Utopians would listen to, or whether they are taxed to ensure societal access to certain cultural goods? How might the culture of Utopia change over time? If you lived in the best possible society, what kind of views and attitudes might you hold?
13 August 2025 (1700-1830 EST)
Does Utopia’s Economy Grow? How much detail can we know about the ways in which Utopia’s economy is ordered? Does it make sense to think about Utopia’s economy growing? If you lived in the best possible society, what economic opportunities would you expect?
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