Constructive functions of utopias: social and philosophical analysis

The article presents a social-philosophical analysis of functioning the utopian ideas in social consciousness in the correlation of absolute and relative. We consider the theoretical field of understanding social utopia and utopian discourse in social philosophy. Based on various typologies of utopian concepts (mostly classical concepts of Plato, Th. More and others), as well as on the study of utopian ideas evolution, we have analyzed the constructive functions of utopias (social and cognitive, critical, axiological etc.). The significance of social utopias lies in criticism of the existing order of things, social problems, and the construction of a proper social ideal.