Between utopia and dystopia : Erasmus, Thomas More, and the humanist Republic of Letters

The figure of the intellectual looms large in modern history, and yet his or her social place has always been full of ambiguity and ironies. Between Utopia and Dystopia is a study of the movement that created the identity of the universal intellectual: Erasmian humanism.Focusing on the writings of Erasmus and Thomas More, Hanan Yoran argues that, in contrast to other groups of humanists, Erasmus and the circle gathered around him generated the social space—the Erasmian Republic of Letters—that allowed them a considerable measure of independence. The identity of the autonomous intellectual enabled the Erasmian humanists to criticize established customs and institutions and to elaborate a reform program for Christendom. At the same time, however, the very notion of the universal intellectual presented a problem for the discourse of Erasmian humanism itself. It distanced the Erasmian humanists from concrete public activity and, as such, clashed with their commitment to the ideal of an active life. Furthermore, citizenship in the Republic of Letters threatened to lock the Erasmian humanists into a disembodied intellectual sphere, thus undermining their convictions concerning intellectual activity and the production of knowledge.Between Utopia and Dystopia will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Renaissance humanism, early modern intellectual and cultural history, and political thought. It also has much to contribute to debates over the identity, social place, and historical role of intellectuals."Elegantly written, passionate, and informed by a wide learning in Renaissance studies, HananYoran's book explores the origins of the modern figure of the 'intellectual' in the philosophical theories and life-stories of Erasmus of Rotterdam and Thomas More. He shows how these two Christian humanists turned the critical methodologies of their predecessors, the Italian humanists, into a new and much more radical ideology of modern humanity, based on some classical and early Christian conceptions of civic morality. Inasmuch as they dared to challenge the ecclesiastical and political authorities of their time and to create an independent Republic of Letters, they set a compelling example of intellectual nonconformity that is still relevant today."-- Joseph Mali, Tel Aviv UniversityThis study should prompt readers to think carefully about the early sixteenth-century humanist movement from a fresh perspective. ― Renaissance QuarterlyRecommended. ― CHOICEReaders who resist Yoran’s characterization of the autonomous universal intellectual for being tendentious will miss some of the more provocative insights this approach yields....Yoran’s bold and insightful investigation solves old problems and raises new questions, and specialists in Northern humanism generally, as well as interpreters of the two focal figures [Erasmus and More], will be instructed and stimulated by this comparative study. ― Erasmus Of Rotterdam SocietyIndeed, the whole book is redolent of deep immersion in its subject, and of a passionate desire to make Milton's masque speak to contemporary society. ― Milton QuarterlyBetween Utopia and Dystopia will be of considerable interest to those concerned with the history of ideas for its exploration of oppositions in humanist texts. ― Sixteenth Century Journal

The figure of the intellectual looms large in modern history, and yet his or her social place has always been full of ambiguity and ironies. Between Utopia and Dystopia is a study of the movement that created the identity of the universal intellectual: Erasmian humanism.
Focusing on the writings of Erasmus and Thomas More, Hanan Yoran argues that, in contrast to other groups of humanists, Erasmus and the circle gathered around him generated the social space—the Erasmian Republic of Letters—that allowed them a considerable measure of independence. The identity of the autonomous intellectual enabled the Erasmian humanists to criticize established customs and institutions and to elaborate a reform program for Christendom. At the same time, however, the very notion of the universal intellectual presented a problem for the discourse of Erasmian humanism itself. It distanced the Erasmian humanists from concrete public activity and, as such, clashed with their commitment to the ideal of an active life. Furthermore, citizenship in the Republic of Letters threatened to lock the Erasmian humanists into a disembodied intellectual sphere, thus undermining their convictions concerning intellectual activity and the production of knowledge.
Between Utopia and Dystopia will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Renaissance humanism, early modern intellectual and cultural history, and political thought. It also has much to contribute to debates over the identity, social place, and historical role of intellectuals.

The figure of the intellectual looms large in modern history, and yet his or her social place has always been full of ambiguity and ironies. __Between Utopia and Dystopia__ is a study of the movement that created the identity of the universal intellectual: Erasmian humanism. Focusing on the writings of Erasmus and Thomas More, Hanan Yoran argues that, in contrast to other groups of humanists, Erasmus and the circle gathered around him generated the social space―the Erasmian Republic of Letters―that allowed them a considerable measure of independence. The identity of the autonomous intellectual enabled the Erasmian humanists to criticize established customs and institutions and to elaborate a reform program for Christendom. At the same time, however, the very notion of the universal intellectual presented a problem for the discourse of Erasmian humanism itself. It distanced the Erasmian humanists from concrete public activity and, as such, clashed with their commitment to the ideal of an active life. Furthermore, citizenship in the Republic of Letters threatened to lock the Erasmian humanists into a disembodied intellectual sphere, thus undermining their convictions concerning intellectual activity and the production of knowledge. __Between Utopia and Dystopia__ will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Renaissance humanism, early modern intellectual and cultural history, and political thought. It also has much to contribute to debates over the identity, social place, and historical role of intellectuals The figure of the intellectual looms large in modern history, and yet his or her social place has always been full of ambiguity and ironies. Between Utopia and Dystopia is a study of the movement that created the identity of the universal intellectual: Erasmian humanism. Focusing on the writings of Erasmus and Thomas More, Hanan Yoran argues that, in contrast to other groups of humanists, Erasmus and the circle gathered around him generated the social space_the Erasmian Republic of Letters_that allowed them a considerable measure of independence. The identity of the autonomous intellectual enabled the Erasmian humanists to criticize established customs and institutions and to elaborate a reform program for Christendom. At the same time, however, the very notion of the universal intellectual presented a problem for the discourse of Erasmian humanism itself. It distanced the Erasmian humanists from concrete public activity and, as such, clashed with their commitment to the ideal of an active life. Furthermore, citizenship in the Republic of Letters threatened to lock the Erasmian humanists into a disembodied intellectual sphere, thus undermining their convictions concerning intellectual activity and the production of knowledge. Between Utopia and Dystopia will be of interest to scholars and students interested in Renaissance humanism, early modern intellectual and cultural history, and political thought. It also has much to contribute to debates over the identity, social place, and historical role of intellectuals. LEXINGTON BOOKS BETWEEN UTOPIA AND DYSTOPIA 4 Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Abbreviations 12 Introduction 14 Part I: THE ERASMIAN REPUBLIC OF LETTERS 28 Chapter 01: Humanism as Form 30 Chapter 02: The Construction of the Erasmian Republic of Letters 50 Chapter 03: Erasmian Humanism: The Reform Program of the Universal Intellectual 82 Part II: THE ERASMIAN REPUBLIC AND ITS DISCONTENTS 118 Chapter 04: The Politics of a Disembodied Humanist 120 Chapter 05: More’s Richard III: The Fragility of Humanist Discourse 146 Chapter 06: Utopia and the No-Place of the Erasmian Republic 172 Conclusion 200 Notes 204 Bibliography 242 Index 258 073913647X,9780739136478,9780739136492 Between Utopia and Dystopia offers a new interpretation of Erasmian humanism. It argues that Erasmian humanism created the identity of the universal and critical intellectual, but that this identity undermined the fundamental premises of humanist discourse. It closely reads several works of Erasmus and Thomas More, employing an interdisciplinary approach to the study of intellectual history, and adopting theoretical insights and methodological procedures from various disciplines.