The term Utopia represents an ideal state for society however, Utopia is impossible to achieve because a perfect world does not exist. The same term Utopia was coined from the Greek by Sir Thomas More from his book Utopia which describes a fictional island society. The word Utopia comes from the Greek: ou (not) and τóлоç (place) and means “no-place”, and strictly describes non-existent society which is perfect. There are two types of Utopia, negative and positive.
The negative one is called Dystopia which describes type of a society that has strict rules, authorities, and no room for people’s fault. While looking at the works we have done in the class, one must also keep in mind that the border between utopian and a dystopian society is rather vague. In other words, what can be considered one man’s paradise is another man’s worst nightmare – especially if we analyze it from the more “modern” point of view of a reader living in a 21st century.
Though Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis is imbued with a scientific spirit, scientific and technological utopias tend to be based in the future, when it is believed that advanced science and technology will allow utopian living standards; for example, the absence of death and suffering; changes in human nature and the human condition. Technology has affected the way humans have lived to such an extent that normal functions, like sleep, eating or even reproduction, have been replaced by artificial means.
New Atlantis is an incomplete utopian novel by Sir Francis Bacon, published in 1627. In this work, Bacon portrayed a vision of the future of human discovery and knowledge, expressing his aspirations and ideals for humankind. The novel depicts the creation of a utopian land where “generosity and enlightenment, dignity and splendour, piety and public spirit” are the commonly held qualities of the inhabitants of the mythical Bensalem. The plan and organisation of his ideal college, Salomon’s House (or Solomon’s House), envisioned the modern research university in both applied and pure sciences.
First of all, the concept of Utopia was fascinated by many writers in the Victorian Period. As More’s Utopia was written so he could criticize the contemporary society of his era, so did Francis Bacon in his work New Atlantis. Francis Bacon can be considered as one of the founders of the modern scientific method to write the concept of Utopia. The focus on the new scientific method is in the experimentation of the literature itself. For Francis Bacon, experiments that can produce some kind of results towards the Utopian and Dystopian society. Bacon pointed out the need for a clear and accurate thinking, showing that mastery of the world in which a man can live dependent upon careful understanding of the society.
This understanding is based solely on the facts of the world and not as the ancient teachings and the ancient philosophy. This new modern science provided the foundation for modern political science and the different understanding of ones livelihood. Bacon also in his work New Atlantis completely separated religion and philosophy, where nothing exists in the universe except for individual bodies. Although the complete theory and project of the nature of the universe is not represented, he has pointed out the direction that science might go in developing such a theory, as a new civil religion. Bacon divided theology into the natural and the revealed, where the natural theology is the actual knowledge of the God which we can actually study from the nature and the creature of God.
The one convincing proof is given in the existence of God and nothing more. Everything else must come and only can come from the revealed theology. Science and philosophy always felt the need to justify themselves to a non-ordained members of the Church (laymen). The actual belief that nature can be displeased and tortured towards the compliance of the man could not satisfy and man nor laymen. Natural science can find its propped method when the “scientist” puts Nature to the question and tortures her by the experiment and squeezes the answers from her to the questions.
The house of Solomon is directly related to these kinds of questions and thoughts. “It is dedicated to the study of Works and the Creatures of God” (Bacon, 436). Wonder towards the religious questions was only natural, but, as it is known from the historical events permitted free reign, where it can destroy science by absorbing the minds and concerns of men. The only advantage of Christianity is in its irrationality. The divine soul was a matter for religion to handle. The irrational soul was open to study and understanding new things by a man using the actual new methods of science.
The society of the New Atlantis is a scientific society. It is dominated by scientists and guided by science. Science conquers chances and determines a change of creating a regime permanently pleasant. Bensalem, which means the actual “perfect son”, in Hebrew language, has avoided the misfortunes of time, vice and decay. Bensalem seems to combine the blessedness of Jerusalem and the pleasures and conveniences of Babylonian society and era.
In Bacon’s New Atlantis the need for a man to be driven actually does not exist, whereby the scarcity is eliminated thereby eliminating the need for money. “But thus, you see, we maintain a trade, not for gold, silver or jewels… nor for any other commodity of matter, but only for God’s first creature which was light” (Bacon, 437). This actually shows a devotion to truth rather than a victory and it emphasizes the Christian piety to which the scientist is disposed by virtue of his method of understanding the new scientific society. As man observes and brings the fruits of his observations together, he discovers likeness’ and differences among events and objects in the universe. Bacon realized that sometimes the actual religious ideas and the discoveries of nature and careful observations were contradictory but he argued that society must believe both.
The New Atlantis begins with the description of a ship lost at sea. The crew “lift up their hearts and voices to God above, who showeth his wonders in the deep, beseeching him of his mercy” (Bacon, 419). Upon spotting land and discerning native civilians the sailors praise God. When a boarding party comes to their ship to deliver the messages, none of the natives actually speak, but the messages are delivered written in the scrolls of parchment. This parchment is “signed with a stamp of cherubins’ wings… and by them a cross” (Bacon, 420).
To the sailors, the cross was “a great rejoicing, and as it were a certain presage of good” (Bacon, 420). After the natives leave and return to the ship, they stop and ask “Are ye Christians?” (Bacon 421). When it is confirmed that they really are Christians, they are taken to the island of Bensalem. On Bensalem, the sailors are “confined” to their resting place and are attended to according to their needs. The sailors reply, “God surely is manifested in this land” (Bacon, 424). Upon talking to the governer the next day, he exclaims “Ye knit my heart to you by asking this question, [the hope that they might meet heaven], in the first place, for it showeth that you first seek the kingdom of heaven” (Bacon, 427). After the Fast of the Family, the father of Solomon’s House has a conference with the travellers.
Bacon describes the various departments and riches of Solomon’s House: Burials in several earths…high towers, the highest about half a mile in height…great lakes…artificial wells and fountains…large baths for the cure of diseases…orchards and gardens…parks and enclosures…fish pools…bread houses and bake houses…dispensaries or shops of medicines…mechanical arts…furnaces…perspective houses (light)…precious stones…sound-houses…perfume houses…engine houses…a mathematical house…
Bacon raises the question of the link between knowledge and power. Knowledge gives people power over others. Bacon’s scientists were depicted as moral paragons but also ordinary humans, and so fallible and open to corruption. This raises questions about how society controls those citizens that have powerful, potentially dangerous, knowledge.
The former obviously an indication to science as the latter is to the religion. Bacon stresses the importance of “light” as the precursor of “fruit” to suggest that they are following the divine instrument of the universe. There are two images that are used by Bacon that refer to the knowledge of the society, torture of the nature and the light of philosophy. The torture refers to the violent twisting of nature’s secrets. Nature must be conquered but is not adverse to the conquest. The forces of Nature are represented to work against society, but in rather a passive manner. Light, on the other hand, is the meaning of the natural philosophy that is already in social life of everyman. From Solomon’s house there go forth “merchants of light” and “lamps”.
Light is identified with truth. Supposing that light is another symbol of natural philosophy, then it really can dismiss the case of light being divine philosophy or the philosophy of religion. The light for Bacon is primarily the light of Nature. The obvious contrast here is one between “gold and silver and light” (Bacon, 437). Gold and silver are the base here, where light is represented as a noble thing. It is the beneficially device of all man, because all of the philosophical viewpoint of money is taken out. Bacon took the modern spirit and has put them together so as to make a real suggestion of a method by which a man could do anything and even master the universe. He actually did this to the end that he might exhibit there in a model of description of a college instituted for the interpreting of nature and the producing of great works for the benefit of the society as it is.
The society of The New Atlantis as described by Francis Bacon is far more advanced than those of any other utopian society and has some unique characteristics compared to societies that are described in Thomas More’s Utopia. The island that is described in The New Atlantis is called Bensalem. The civilians and society in general of this island are advanced in the field of science and have a lot of different values compared to the other utopian societies, and is very different from Thomas More’s Utopia. Although, the work is incomplete, The New Atlantis still informs the reader how advanced the citizens in Bensalem are in the huge field of science and understanding the universe.
The society in The New Atlantis focuses mostly on science and the understanding of life and humanity itself, while the society in Utopia is more all focused on government and politics and with that it gives a major commentary on the society of the time. The society and philosophy of the Utopia does not really accept the concept of private property and life, because it really emphasizes the role of government and the qualities among the people, and it actually gives a characteristic of a communist society. This really applies to any kind of utopian work of literature of the Renaissance. Additionally, the society in Utopia seems very ideal rather than being like a realistic society, but in The New Atlantis is different.
The society in The New Atlantis is more realistic than compared to those of other works. Realistically, the entire society does accept the concept of private property and private life. Furthermore, it is more optimistic compared to that of Utopia, mostly because of their accomplishments in science and life of individuals in social circles. Atlantians give the impression that they really believe their future will be bright. If More’s Utopia is considered as moral utopia, where the biggest issue is represented through commentary on government and politics, than Bacon’s The New Atlantis is considered to be a scientific utopia, with its all social remarks on science and religion itself.
Even if the society is represented as a realistic kind of society in this work, it is highly different from More’s Utopia. The society in Bensalem is obviously advanced in science. Its knowledge of science is equal to or advanced beyond that of realistic society. But the main difference between the society of our society and the society of Atlanta is that they actually have good morals. The society that is described in The New Atlantis is a society that is there to show a good example of how scientific and civilized people and society in general are supposed to act.
From the abstract viewpoint the story of Bensalem is a form of proper Utopia. It is a very much simple story of European visitors landing on a remote island in Pacific and have an untold story of the new age and regimes of misfortune society where no money plays a major role, but has its involvement in the science. Social life and scientific viewpoint of society is closely put together. Religion has a major impact on Victorian society but also it is one that has its own development from having religion exclude from science, and vice versa.
In the New Atlantis Utopia is represented as something that is majorly different from that one of Thomas More. Apart from being its difference in morality and its political stand, Bacon’s Utopia is more of a realistic utopian society. The one society that is not really dreamed of, but is actually being created from the very start. Religion is put in a different context and is imagined in a way that it is not harmed by society or is harming the same.
What is mostly interesting is that Bacon never describes a church, a Mass or any kind of sacrament. Trying not to face the problem of iconoclasm and the different positions of the Churches, but also it can mean that he wanted to recreate Christianity according to his wishes, and how he thinks it all should be. With that Bacon also tried to reframe the social context of the real world he actually lived in. for this kind of reason New Atlantis can be considered also to be a Christian utopia not just social utopia.
All in all, Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis is a scientific utopia that made the great impact on social circles of Victorian society. The entire depiction of this ideal society makes it exclusive all throughout the monologues or dialogues. The most important thing is to show the details and the scientific community of the Bensalem, and with that present us the actual thinking and understanding of people of the Victorian age. This work actually describes many contradictions which can be seen as realistic elements in the Utopian book.
Bacon wrote a brilliant piece of art that has uncountable interpretations which are used in the representation of social circles. However, he makes his task treacherous with various techniques of narration and describing of different elements as a philosophical field of the book, which ads an extra touch of artistic value to it, and makes it even more interesting to read.
