Utopia

Article summary

's Utopia printed by Dirk Martens in December 1516 (the first edition). A utopia ( ) is an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its residents. The term was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, which describes a fictional island society in the New World , but some utopian visions predate it. Hypothetical utopias and existing intentional communities that have utopian elements focus on, among other things, equality in the areas of economics, government and justice, with the method and structure of proposed implementation varying according to ideology. Lyman Tower Sargent argues that the nature of a utopia is inherently contradictory because societies are not homogeneous. Their members have desires that conflict and therefore cannot simultaneously be satisfied. To quote: The opposite of a utopia is a dystopia. Utopian and dystopian fiction has become a popular literary category. Despite being common parlance for something imaginary, utopianism inspired and was inspired by some reality-based fields and concepts such as architecture, file sharing, social networks, universal basic income, communes, open borders, and even pirate bases.

Key claims

1. date of establishment: 1732 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of establishment: 1841 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of foundation: 1785 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. date of foundation: 1848 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. date of foundation: 1875 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
6. date of foundation: 1670 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
7. publication date: 1984 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
8. publication date: 1656 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of establishment is "1732". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of establishment is "1841". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of foundation is "1785". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the date of foundation is "1848". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the date of foundation is "1875". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. The record states that the date of foundation is "1670". What evidence would count against this claim?
8. The record states that the publication date is "1984". What evidence would count against this claim?
9. The record states that the publication date is "1656". What evidence would count against this claim?
10. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
11. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378629652