Something that I was wondering about from this week’s reading is why intellectuals are so intrigued with seeking utopia. The reason I am curious about this because it seems like it is common sense to a non-intellectual that it is basically impossible for all of society to be perfect. However, after asking professor Riley about this after class I learned that since intellectuals dedicate their life to trying to find ways to make utopia a possibility, they overlook the rationality of it and believe that it is possible because of all of the ideas that they have come up with. It is almost like they feel that they can solve any and everything that they put their mind to. This is a great mentality to have but when it comes to utopia it is misleading. I also think about the fact that intellectuals have been seeking utopia for a very long time and still have not been able to come up with a solution but they still have not given up and channeled all of that time and energy into something else. At what point will these intellectuals realize that utopia is unattainable? We talk about how intellectuals consider highly respected individuals in communities sacred, if those sacred individuals were not able to figure this out you would think that might make them realize how difficult it is. On the other hand, it could be a dynamic where they have so much time on their hands that trying to seek utopia can’t hurt so even if they can’t find the solution it does not hurt to keep trying.
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One reply on “Week 5 Blog #2”
I agree when I was reading about the intellectuals’ goal to strive for utopia I was confused. To me it seemed like achieving a utopian society is an unattainable goal. To make sense of this I looked more into intellectuals’ relationship with reason and rationality. They desire to create a new discourse altogether using the principles of rationality. In addition to this the role of progressivism is also important. Molnar specifically addresses this as he claims that over time progressive humanity itself is working toward utopia. I think that there is a direct relationship between progressivism, rationality, and reason. According to the Progressive view intellectuals can impose Reason to govern society and get order. Through governing society in such a manner they think that society will prosper in an utopia. In my opinion I think that the progressivist worldview has the potential to be problematic. It seems like intellectuals think that they are the only ones capable of running society. This could be concerning because they are trying to elevate themselves on a pedestal above “ordinary life.” I think for a society to truly reach a utopia, ordinary people also need to have a say in how things are run. I also do not think it is reasonable to believe that ordinary people would subject themselves to the ruling of intellectuals. This type of society seems like it would be subject to revolution rather than order. As you mention, a utopian society may only be a possibility if ordinary people deem these intellectuals to be sacred which would change the dynamics of society.