Term Paper on "Utopia Dystopia"

Term Paper 6 pages (1581 words) Sources: 10 Style: MLA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Utopia Dystopia: Did Science/Technology Bring Us

To a Better or Worse Perception of Our World?

Advances in science and technology from the late 18th century to the 21st century have contributed to a less utopian and growing dystopian worldview.

Utopia or utopian is defined as: the 'ideal' future; and Dystopia - Negative utopia.

Therefore dystopia which means the exact opposite from utopia s the worst future imaginable. The difference of the imagined utopian future and the imagined dystopian future is in that which is envisioned and that being either the ultimate and ideal future or the worst possibly conceived future. The divergence between the two began in the 19th century to be clearly evidence in literature. The term 'utopia' is a combination of two Greek words which are those of 'no' (ou) and 'place/land / (topos) meaning 'nowhere' or actually meaning literally 'no-place/no-land'. Dystopia is a "negative utopia. A word where utopian ideals have been subverted. Thomas More, Romand Catholic saint and martyr coined the term utopia in his reference to "an imaginary, idealistic island where society lives in harmony with government and everyone is free from poverty, tyranny and war." (ANSWERS.COM (http://www.answers.com/topic/utopia)

I. The Begum's Millions - Jules Verne;; The Iron Hell - Jack London; & The World Set Free - HG Wells; and others

Jules Verne's work entitled: "The Begums Millions" is called "one example of the first modern dystopian publications that the electrical revolution inspired in that his work is: (1) inspired by the electrical revolution; (2) insured by the first airplane flight; and (3) represents dystolic school of thought. H.G. Wells (1914) wrote the work entitled: "The World Set Free" which has become known as the first prophetical work relating to nuclear disaster. In the work entitled: "The World Set Free: (nd) written by author H.G. Wells (1914), known as the first prophesy of a nuclear Wells spins a story in which the catastrophe cause by the atomic bombs shook men out of their complacency and mindset and made them challenge their beliefs as well as forcing them to question their prejudices own prejudices.

II. Norbert Weiner

Howard Rheingold writes in the work entitled: "Tools for Thought" (1999) and specifically in Chapter Five entitled: "Ex-Prodigies and Antiaircraft Grounds" that: Norbert Wiener was the son of a Harvard professor described as a "colorful character in his own right....[who also]."..had his own opinions about education, and publicly declared his intention to mold his young son's mind. Norbert Weiner in conjunction with Von Neuman and others defined what is known as cybernetics. Weiner works entitled: "Cybernetics: Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine" relates this theory which has much to do with the creation and development of the computer. Rheingold (1999) states that:

The manipulation of information looked like something more like a game mathematicians play, even more than a capability of machines. Information, in a way that was not mathematically demonstrated until Claude Shannon's 1948 publications, began to look like a reflection of the way the universe works. The whole idea was a wrenching of mind-set, at first for scientists, then for many others." At the start of the twentieth century the universe was viewed by scientists."..in terms of particles and forces interacting in complicated but orderly patterns that were, in principle, totally predictable. In important ways, all of the nonscientists who lived in an increasingly mechanized civilization also saw the universe in terms of particles and forces and a clockwork cosmos. Around sixty years ago, quantum theory did away with the clockwork and predictability. Around thirty years ago, a few people began to look at the world and see, as Norbert Wiener put it, "a myriad of To Whom It May Concern messages." Information is still held to be an integral characteristic of the cosmos such as energies The idea that information is still a fundamental characteristic of the cosmos, like matter and energy, is still young, and further surprise discoveries and applications are sure to pop up before a better model comes along. Before the 1950s, only scientists thought about the idea that information had anything to do with anything. The information-related equations were useful in building computers and telephone information-communication model has provided clues to some of the fundamental features of the universe, from the way the cellular instructions for life are woven into the arrangement of atoms in DNA molecules, to the process by which brain cells encode memory. The model has become what Thomas Kuhn calls a "scientific paradigm." The two fundamental pillars of this paradigm were Claude Shannon's information and Wiener's cybernetics." Information ethics was for identification or to be envisioned in relation to ethical problems and that information technology has been rated or is likely to generate in the future (Ibid)

Weiner gives as his thesis: "...that society can only be understood through a study of the messages and the communication facilities which belong to it; and that in the future development of these messages and communication facilities, messages between man and machines, between machines and man, and between machine and machine destined to play an ever-increasing part. (Wiener, 1954, p. 16) Stated is that:,,in her history or artificial intelligence research notes that: "Paula McCorduck, in her history of artificial intelligence research notes that "Cybernetics recorded the switch from one dominant model, or set of explanations for phenomena, to another. Energy -- the notion central to Newtonian mechanics -- was now replaced by information. The ideas of information theory, such as coding, storage, noise, and so on, provided a better explanation for a whole host of events, from the behavior of electronic circuits to the behavior of a replicating cell.... These terms mean pretty much what you'd think. Coding refers to "a system of signals used to represent letters or numbers in transmitting messages"; storing means holding these signals until they're needed. Noise is a disturbance that obscures or affects the quality of a signal (or message) during transmission." (Rheingold, 1999) The satire of Huxley focuses on futuristic themes of science advancement and its impact upon people. This work is inclusive of elements of propaganda, sexual promiscuity and the shallow nature of all those living in the "brave new world of the future. In the work of Weiner offered were examples of decision-making machines such as:

1) checkers-playing machine that learned from experience and defeated everyone; and 2) a war-game machine used by the U.S. government to teach military planning and tactics.

These machines can be learned in two different senses which are those of:

1) they can record information from their past activities and then use this information to adjust their future behaviors; and 2) They can save information about how successfully their programs guided their behavior. Then use this information to re-program themselves to alter their future behavior."

In the work entitled: "1984" by George Orwell presented is a classic dystopia through a review of literature states findings that Dystopian though penetrates each layer within society. In the views of Orwell and his work entitled: "1984" In the world of Orwell's 1984 the question of who it is that rules the party is without meaning because the Party is using "terror and orthodoxy" in assuring their monopoly on power with the goal of that power being "...the retention of power: power in the sense of the ability to enforce terror and orthodoxy (III 3, pp. 216-22)

Conclusion

It is necessary after review of the material in this study that a retraction of the initial statement be made and that the new thesis wills state that: Advances in science and technology from the late 18th century to the 21st century have contributed to a less utopian and growing dystopian worldview." Destruction of utopian images by the Technological/scientific revolutions Dystopian thought continue to permeate our society today Final statement:… READ MORE

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