Satire of Science and Reason in Gullivers Travels Gullivers Travels has set a standard for satirical writing for a long time, and Swifts imaginative ability and talent can explain a lot of the texts continued popularity. People can approach Gullivers Travels like a childrens book, and not search for deeper meaning. They read the story as a fantasy, and seek only to be entertained. Gullivers Travels is valuable and enjoyable for its plot and surface elements alone, but a deeper level of meaning and significance can be achieved if we take note of the satirical elements in the novel. Although to gain a full appreciation of the satire, the reader needs to be somewhat familiar with the events of Swifts time.Taking the historical period in which Swift was writing into consideration, one of the major changes that was occurring was the shift to a more scientific, empirically-informed worldview (being advanced by the Royal Society of England and Francis Bacon). However, Swift and others were concerned that if this new scientific outlook could lead to disaster if it continued unchecked. Swift and other nonconformists argued that science without context could have widespread harmful consequences, and this position profoundly reveals itself in his satirical treatment of science and knowledge in Gullivers Travels. This paper will discuss Swifts satirical treatment of these subjects in the novel.Several critics have pointed out that evidence exists that suggests that Swift was not uniformly opposed to all science (Phiddian 52). Therefore, it would seem unfair to read Swifts satirical approach to science in Gullivers Travels as a full rejection of the science of his day-it would be overly simplistic and reductive. Swift was not an anti-Luddite. In fact, Swift was a proponent of science in some ways, but he reacted strongly against what he perceived as its abuse or exploitation. The satirical treatment of science in Gullivers Travels is more co...
