The Dreams of Philosophers

"The Dreams of Philosophers" by Salama Moussa

A Critical Vision of Utopia

The Book and Its Author

Published in 1926 by Al-Hilal Press in Cairo, The Dreams of Philosophers spans 131 pages.

Its author, Salama Moussa (1887–1958), was a pioneering socialist thinker in the Arab world.

During his years in Europe (1906–1909), he absorbed the ideas of Darwin, Marx, and Voltaire, and became a member of the Fabian Society in Britain, where he met George Bernard Shaw.

Moussa’s goal in this work is to trace the idea of utopia through the history of human thought, showing how philosophical “dreams” have served as tools for social and political reform.

For him, imagination is not an escape from reality but a driving force of progress: “Without the dreams of philosophers, humanity would still be naked and miserable in caves.”

Foundations of the Utopian Idea

1. Human Duality: Reality vs. Imagination

Moussa distinguishes between two modes of life:

Life in reality: bound by time and place, full of contradictions and shortcomings.
Life in imagination: where the mind completes what reality lacks and invents ideal worlds.

As he puts it: “The human mind is destined to complete, through imagination, what it finds missing in the facts around it.”

2. The Role of the Philosophical Dream

An instrument of reform: Dreams are not empty fantasies but blueprints for reshaping society. Plato’s Republic followed the destructive wars of Athens and Sparta, just as Woodrow Wilson conceived the League of Nations after World War I.
A critique of stagnation: Moussa links civilizational decline to the suppression of imagination, arguing that institutionalized religion and authoritarian rule often constrain free thought.

The Evolution of Utopian Thought

Philosopher	Main Vision	Historical Context	Core Features
Plato	The Republic	Wars of Athens & Sparta	Class-based, abolition of property
Thomas More	Utopia (“No Place”)	European Renaissance	Socialism, economic equality
Al-Farabi	The Virtuous City	Turbulent Abbasid era	Philosopher-prophet leader, justice
Socialists	Confronting capitalism	Industrial Revolution	Class abolition, redistribution
Salama Moussa	Khemi (Egyptian dream)	British occupation of Egypt	Scientific-social harmony, Pharaonic identity

Key Models of Utopia

Plato

Plato envisioned a collectivist system that abolished private property and treated women and children as common. Moussa highlights the boldness of Greek thought: “Greek literature thrived on daring and freedom… it became a model of liberated thinking.”

Al-Farabi

Drawing not only on Plato but also on Mesopotamian traditions, Al-Farabi fused philosophy with Islamic law. His ideal city was based on cooperation aimed at happiness, led by a ruler who was both philosopher and prophet.

Thomas More

More coined the term Utopia (“No Place”), presenting a socialist alternative to exploitative capitalism rooted in practical communal living.

Moussa’s Egyptian Utopia: Khemi

Foundations

Pharaonic identity: A call to revive pre-Arab roots, arguing that the Arabic language diluted Egyptian national identity.
Social justice: A solidarity-based system blending socialism in economics with democracy in politics, aimed at resisting colonialism and class privilege.
Secularism: Advocating the separation of religion and state, replacing dogma with science, under the conviction that “religion is a human invention.”

Critique of Egyptian Reality

Moussa condemned entrenched backwardness: “We still live in the caves of worn-out traditions.”
He called for adopting Egyptian colloquial Arabic instead of classical Arabic to foster cultural unity.

Imagination as a Force for Change

Dreams in History

Civilizations flourish where imagination is free, as in ancient Greece, and wither where thought is suppressed in the name of religion or politics.
Revolutions such as the French and Bolshevik uprisings were, for Moussa, philosophical dreams made real.

Risks and Limits

Utopia can devolve into tyranny if detached from reality, as seen in Stalinist communism.
Blind imitation of the West is dangerous; Moussa argued instead for an authentically Egyptian utopia.

Literary Method and Style

Satirical voice: Moussa often employed irony, describing Arab societies as “revering the past while living on the margins of civilization.”
Direct dialogue: He addressed youth openly: “Young man, your dream is the bridge to your future.”
Wide-ranging references: From Hammurabi to Marx, he wove a tapestry of global philosophical visions to highlight the universality of utopian thought.

Impact and Controversy in Arab Thought

Reception

Supporters: Saw the book as a “manifesto for renewal,” especially in its calls for women’s liberation and social justice.
Opponents: Accused him of atheism and Western dependency, particularly after his proposal to write Arabic in Latin script.

Legacy

Moussa’s ideas indirectly influenced Egypt’s 1952 Revolution and its socialist aspirations.
His student Naguib Mahfouz drew inspiration from him; Children of the Alley can be read as a symbolic utopia.

Utopia as a Human Necessity

Moussa concludes that philosophical dreaming is not a luxury but a vital human need: “Imagination is the principle of progress, the attempt to create a better future.”

Nations that abandon their dreams, he warns, become prisoners of their past. His Khemi remains a bold attempt to assert cultural specificity in shaping utopia.

As he puts it: “Philosophers differed on the name of the city, but they agreed on the dream.”

The Historical Trajectory of Utopia

Era	Intellectual Current	Key Figures	Main Features	Challenges Faced
Ancient	Political idealism	Plato	Rational hierarchy, rule by philosophers	Impracticality of application
Renaissance	Humanism	Thomas More	Equality, critique of capitalism	Religious persecution
Islamic	Political philosophy	Al-Farabi	Fusion of philosophy and sharia	Sectarian conflicts
Modern	Socialism	Marx, Moussa	Class struggle, social justice	Colonialism, backwardness
Postmodern	Cultural specificity	Salama Moussa (Khemi)	Local identity, secularism	Western dominance