Utopian Thinking

by Brad Bell

A utopia can be conceptualized as a view of an ideal society or community. What is utopian thinking?

Utopian Thinking Definition:

Utopian thinking can be conceptualized as (a) a description of an ideal society or community, (b) an explanation of how the ideal society or community can or was achieved, and (c) a type of thinking that can be viewed as ideal.

Description:

A description of an ideal society or community may involve information on education, political structure, work, rules or laws, customs, and the arts. Also, an important part of the description of an ideal society or community may be the elements that are believed to be essential for fostering the ideal society or community.

In my novel, A Bright Purple Sky (Bell, 2019) the leader of the starship wrote a manuscript that included seven elements that were thought to be essential for fostering a better society. These are collaboration, effective leadership, universal identity training, empathy training, celebrations, equality, and finding meaning in life.

In my novel, A Bright Purple Sky (Bell, 2019) the narrator states, “Granzumpi provided us with some interesting information about six fundamental principles in the Bluekeenian culture.” (p. 85). For example, the narrator of the novel states the following:

^{Second, effective leadership is perceived to be essential. Effective leadership is considered to involve four key attributes: guidance, encouragement, striving for consensus, and critical thinking. Leaders are considered teachers and mentors who help other individuals gain new knowledge and skills. They are also expected to provide encouragement to other individuals to achieve academic and work goals. Leaders are expected to make a great effort to reach a consensus. This would require significant thinking and discussion to find an option that was acceptable to most everyone. However, they also realized that sometimes they would need to vote on options if the discussion was not leading to consensus. Finally, the value of critical thinking is acknowledged. Critical thinking involved thinking of ways that strategies to solve problems may not be effective and generating alternative strategies to solve problems. (pp. 86-87).}

Explanation:

In my novel, A Bright Purple Sky (Bell, 2019), there is an explanation of how an alien society was able to change and become more positive. The narrator of the novel states the following:

^{The sky turning purple was a catalyst for increased communication between small-eyed and large-eyed}^Tranzeekans^{. This led to the realization that they had negative beliefs about each other that were in error. Realizing that the negative beliefs were faulty led to the passing of the}^e^qual^r^ights^l^{aw and changes in the educational system.}^{The new law and improved educational system were viewed as}^{causes of the Tranzeekan}^{society becoming more peaceful,}^just,^and^kind^.^{(pp. 66-67).}

Type of Thinking:

Integrative intelligence is a concept described in the fourth chapter of my novel, A Bright Purple Sky (Bell, 2019). The narrator of the novel states that, “Integrative intelligence is the ability to integrate elements into a coherent whole” (p. 24). The narrator of the novel also states the following:

^{Integrative intelligence may help you solve important problems in an organization.}^{A basic assumption in my book is that many problems in organizations are complex and require a solution that involves seeing the big picture. The person with integrative intelligence gathers data in the organization and puts it all together. The combination is a big picture perspective on the nature of the problem. (p .24)}

Thus, based on the above quotation from my my novel, A Bright Purple Sky (Bell, 2019), a big picture perspective on a problem may be an ideal type of thinking. This big picture perspective may be the product of integrative intelligence.

References

Bell, B. (2019). A bright purple sky. Portland, Oregon: Blue Fox Communications.