Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

“Utopia” (coined by Thomas More in 1516) comes from the Greek eu-topia (“good place”) and ou-topia (“no-place”) A negative utopia is a dystopia (“bad place”) An imaginary society with both good and bad

features might be called a “mixtopia”

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Competing social systems and philosophies – socialist, capitalist, feminist, anarchist, technocratic, primitivist, etc. – as well as prevailing social trends, are often explored, criticised, or defended in utopian/dystopian fiction

Many of the most celebrated works of science fiction, and indeed of literature per se, fall in this category

One author’s utopia is often another author’s dystopia!

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Utopias, Dystopias, and Mixtopias

Philosophy and Science Fiction:Our Guides to the Future?