In umbilico terrae sita: o território utopiano e a nova territorialização epistemológica

In Utopia, Thomas More provides a conceptual relocation that revitalizes the debate on the role of philosophy in the prince's court, calls into question policies in force in the Europe of his time and makes of the island of Utopia the reference for the best form of governance. This article identifies the island as a geographical and, at the same time, sacred place, where the square of the city and the circularity of the island and the maritime gulf are combined with a common center, and therefore only accessible to the initiates or to those who have a knowledgeable guide to this magical-religious space, as illustrated by the trip of the Portuguese navigator to Utopia. Focusing on the central debate of the dialogue on the philosopher's contribution to the public good, the article reveals a less theological and more civilian rationality of peoples' governance, underlines a conception of political action as an art of navigation and the need for, sometimes, to follow a less direct route that best fits the theater of the world, where they play the rectitude of intention and the effectiveness of the means used.