True happiness within a community is attainable when our enjoyment and the enjoyment of others are at the heart of the pleasures we seek. In Sir Thomas Mores Utopia, Utopia is a perfect society where everyone is treated equally and everyone is concerned about the total happiness of the entire community. In a Utopian society, all the needs (food, clothing, shelter) of the society are met. The society members pleasures are balanced with and connected to the pleasures of others. More wrote to the intellectuals at that time. He demonstrated the disadvantages of a hierarchical society by describing a perfect society where everyone is equal. More used deduction to clarify the Utopian societys basic beliefs about pleasures: that the members of the society can provide pleasures for others but not at the cost of their own pleasure; that the benefit is greater than the cost when you can add pleasure or enjoyment to someone else; and that they will not seek pleasure when it ends in negative results.
Providing and receiving pleasure affects relationships within the Utopian community. The Utopian belief of nature stipulates that there is a responsibility to the individual and to others. Sir Thomas More states, After all, youve a duty to yourself as well as to your neighbor and, if Nature says you must be kind to others, she cant turn round the next moment and say you must be cruel to yourself (748). The society believes that the Utopian can provide pleasure for the others of society, but it cannot cost the individual his own pleasure. More used deduction to effectively relay his argument that we cannot be kind to others without being kind to ourselves. It is based on the premise that you have a duty to be kind to yourself and to your neighbor; therefore in Mores syllogism nature cannot call upon you to be cruel to yourself. As a result, members of Utopia must be kind to themselves and to everyone else.
. It is human to provide enjoyment to someone else without regard to his or her own pleasure. More says, Its wrong to deprive someone else of a pleasure so that you can enjoy one yourself, but to deprive yourself of a pleasure so that you can add to someone elses enjoyment is an act of humanity by which you always gain more than you lose (749). Providing pleasure to another person is more beneficial to them than the cost. More is really effective with using deduction to point out the benefit of providing pleasure to another, regardless of the sacrifice to the Utopian. Mores syllogism -- you can gain more than you lose when you deprive yourself of a pleasure to add to someone elses pleasure is base on the major premise that he/she gain something when you deprive someone else of a pleasure, and the minor premise that he/she lose something when you deny himself/herself pleasure. However, they should not disregard their own feelings.
It is possible to satisfy persons as long as there are no negative consequences. To quote Sir Thomas More, According to them, were impelled by reason as well as an instinct to enjoy ourselves in any natural way which doesnt hurt other people, interfere with greater pleasures, or cause unpleasant aftereffects (749). Naturally they want to please their selves, but not when it will produce harmful results. More is basing this argument on the assumption that the individuals reason and basic instinct will put his/her enjoyment of pleasure behind the concerns of other people, the greater pleasures, or the fact that it could cause harmful aftereffects. In conclusion, the society can survive in harmony as long as emotions are taken under consideration.
In seeking the pleasures of life the Utopians should consider the effects of those pleasures upon their environment, their community and the individual. Let us take smoking for example. The cigarette provides an immediate pleasure for the smoker. Eventually the cigarette smoke becomes harmful to the smoker and every one around him. The smoker is obtaining pleasure at the expense of his and the communitys health. Pleasures can be provided for others, but it should not come at the expense of their own pleasures. When they add pleasure or enjoyment to someone else the benefit is more substantial than the cost of providing the pleasure. In the Utopian society pleasures are not sought after when that resulting pleasure will bring about a negative result. The author provided strong arguments concerning the Utopian beliefs about pleasure. In the Utopian society happiness can be achieved when the pleasures of the society can be obtained through mutual respect for oneself and the community.
Work Cited
More, Thomas. Utopia. Ed. Paul Turner. London: Penguin Books Ltd., 1965
Barnet, Sylvan, and Hugo Bedau. Current Issues and Enduring Questions. What Is the Ideal Society? Ed. Paul Turner. Bedford/St. Martins: Boston., 2002
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