A group is defined as a number of individual parts gathered together and considered as a whole: multitudinous stars considered as a galaxy. The interaction between a group and its parts is intricate: the position of each star slightly affects the movement and spin of the galaxy, and the placement of the rest of the galaxy drastically affects each star. Unraveling the causal relationships here may seem a daunting task. After studying the heavens, Jonathan Swift offers his conclusions in the work of Gulliver's Travels. One of these is the unfeasibility of grouping according to a communal ideal. Communal star clustering must fail. In explanation, Swift shows that the problems with communal clustering are not due to a faulty combustion within individual stars, but to the repercussions caused by the interaction of those stars. With the earth as our universe, societal problems are not due to malignity within individual persons, but rather to the consequences of groups and interaction within that largest of human groups: mankind.
Jonathan Swift, by Charles Jervas (died 1739). See...
First edition of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Sw...
Jonathan SwiftFor many centuries, philosophers have argued about the best method of clustering stars, grouping individuals within society, and a favorite solution has been communalism. Proponents include Plato with the 'Republic', Sir Thomas More with Utopia, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels with the "Communist Manifesto", and modern day churches (ie LDS) with their planning of future communal Zion. All these presentations of communalism have certain aspects in common: community of property (and consequent needlessness of money), contentedness of societal members, and portrayal of communalism as the method of providing maximum benefit to each member of a society. Each proscribes communalism as the direction in which future society should proceed.
In Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, we see a communal order with many of these characteristics. In Swift's land of the Houyhnhnms, abundance is distributed...
Only my humble view!
This is a well written and thought provoking piece and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, although it has left me with many questions, I will note some down here in my comment.
I too have gleaned from Swift's writing this view on Mankind but what do you think he would have to say about Human Reason? Is it something best practised in isolation? do you believe Swift would see it as a positive characteristic of humankind? Is it possible to practise Human reason without interaction with other people? I do not think so. Also if Swift saw good in man as an individual surely it is wasted in isolation, surely an individuals charity or virtue should be shared? is it not pointless unless it is practised and put to good use within mankind? Anyway, that is my perspective on it. Once again this is an extremely good well thought out piece and is in enough depth to be useful to me and my research at Degree level -it has triggered questions in my mind that will further my research -thank you!
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