This is a special post for quick takes by Alix Pham. Only they can create top-level comments. Comments here also appear on the Quick Takes page and All Posts page.
Why does nobody use the term "eutopia"? From Greek etymology, dystopia means "bad place", and utopia means... "non-place" - like an unachievable place, while eutopia means "lucky place". Shouldn't we use a word pointing toward something that we can hope for?
Wikipedia mentions that the fact that both utopia and eutopia are pronounced identically might have given rise to a change of meaning. But I think the difference in meaning is important - should we deliberately use - and thus mispronounce - eutopia /ɘːˈtoʊpiə/?
In practice, people mean "eutopia" when they say "utopia", and in a Wittgensteinian sense 'meaning is use', so changing language won't actually result in much.
You're probably right. It still feels like many other languages are using this word in its original meaning, so even if the English language has a different definition, bringing some "utopian" concepts to a global community might be misunderstood.
Why does nobody use the term "eutopia"? From Greek etymology, dystopia means "bad place", and utopia means... "non-place" - like an unachievable place, while eutopia means "lucky place". Shouldn't we use a word pointing toward something that we can hope for?
Wikipedia mentions that the fact that both utopia and eutopia are pronounced identically might have given rise to a change of meaning. But I think the difference in meaning is important - should we deliberately use - and thus mispronounce - eutopia /ɘːˈtoʊpiə/?
Actually, In Chapter 1 of What We Owe The Future, reintroducing this distinction is something that MacAskill does!
In practice, people mean "eutopia" when they say "utopia", and in a Wittgensteinian sense 'meaning is use', so changing language won't actually result in much.
You're probably right. It still feels like many other languages are using this word in its original meaning, so even if the English language has a different definition, bringing some "utopian" concepts to a global community might be misunderstood.