Plato's Dream
Encyclopedia
Plato's Dream is a short story
written in the 18th century by the French
philosopher and satirist Voltaire
. Along with Voltaire's 1752 short story Micromégas
, Plato's Dream is considered by many to be one of the earliest works in the genre
of science fiction
.
Plato's Dream is a pointed philosophical criticism of religious doctrine, and though it is obscured by two layers of dramatic facade (a dream
contained within the framework of a famous (and religiously-tolerated) personality of antiquity
), Voltaire's intentions are quite clear. His story recounts a "little known" dream attributed to Plato
, in which Demiurgos
, a god
-like entity referred to as the "eternal geometer", charges a number of "lesser superbeings" with the task of creating their own worlds. Demogorgon
, the being which ultimately creates the planet we know as Earth
, is at first quite pleased with his creation, only to find his eminently imperfect handiwork the subject of ridicule by the other beings. However, the last laugh is had at Demiurgos himself, who is humiliated after declaring himself the only being capable of creating perfection—as he was obviously the creator of the imperfect "lesser superbeings."
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
written in the 18th century by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
philosopher and satirist Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
. Along with Voltaire's 1752 short story Micromégas
Micromégas
"Micromégas" is a short story by the French philosopher and satirist Voltaire. It is a significant development in the history of literature because it originates ideas which helped create the genre of science fiction....
, Plato's Dream is considered by many to be one of the earliest works in the genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
.
Plato's Dream is a pointed philosophical criticism of religious doctrine, and though it is obscured by two layers of dramatic facade (a dream
Dream
Dreams are successions of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are not definitively understood, though they have been a topic of scientific speculation, philosophical intrigue and religious...
contained within the framework of a famous (and religiously-tolerated) personality of antiquity
Classical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
), Voltaire's intentions are quite clear. His story recounts a "little known" dream attributed to Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, in which Demiurgos
Demiurge
The demiurge is a concept from the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy for an artisan-like figure responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical universe. The term was subsequently adopted by the Gnostics...
, a god
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
-like entity referred to as the "eternal geometer", charges a number of "lesser superbeings" with the task of creating their own worlds. Demogorgon
Demogorgon
Demogorgon, although often ascribed to Greek mythology, is actually attributed to a fourth-century scholar, imagined as the name of a pagan god or demon, associated with the underworld and envisaged as a powerful primordial being, whose very name had been taboo.-Etymology:The origins of the name...
, the being which ultimately creates the planet we know as Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, is at first quite pleased with his creation, only to find his eminently imperfect handiwork the subject of ridicule by the other beings. However, the last laugh is had at Demiurgos himself, who is humiliated after declaring himself the only being capable of creating perfection—as he was obviously the creator of the imperfect "lesser superbeings."
See also
- Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's TravelsTravels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
- FrankensteinFrankensteinFrankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
- The Last ManThe Last ManThe Last Man is an apocalyptic science fiction novel by Mary Shelley, which was first published in 1826. The book tells of a future world that has been ravaged by a plague. The novel was harshly reviewed at the time, and was virtually unknown until a scholarly revival beginning in the 1960s...
- Utopia