New Atlantis and The City of the Sun: Two Classic Utopias

In keeping with the inquisitive spirit of their times, two 17th—century writers envisioned their own philosophical and intellectual utopias. Tomasso Campanella, a Calabrian monk, published The City of the Sun in 1623, and Francis Bacon's The New Atlantis appeared in 1627. Campanella was a student of logic and physics; Bacon focused on politics and philosophy. Despite differences in setting and treatment, both authors employed the latest methods of scientific experimentation to restructure t...