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The ship of fools is an allegory, originating from Plato,〔See Philosophy Now for a one-page summary of Plato's original ('Ship of Fools' argument against democracy (link to article) ), accessed March 2014.〕 that has long been a fixture in Western literature and art. The allegory or parable depicts a vessel without a pilot, taken over by force or persuasion by those who are deranged, frivolous, or oblivious, and seemingly ignorant of their course. This mob is willing to kill anyone in the way, and to drug the captain if necessary. The true pilot, that knows the stars, the wind, and how to stay on course, is considered useless by the mob. The allegory is compared to how a philosopher is rejected by the state. The concept makes up the framework of the 15th century book ''Ship of Fools'' (1494) by Sebastian Brant, which served as the inspiration for Hieronymous Bosch's famous painting, ''Ship of Fools'': a ship—an entire fleet at first—sets off from Basel, bound for the Paradise of Fools. In literary and artistic compositions of the 15th and 16th centuries, the cultural motif of the ship of fools also served to parody the 'ark of salvation' as the Catholic Church was styled. == Literary use == A 1962 novel of the same name by American writer, Katherine Anne Porter, set in the autumn of the year 1931, also uses the device of the allegory, and can be seen as an attack on a world that allowed the Second World War to happen. The novel was the basis for a 1965 film starring Vivien Leigh and Lee Marvin. ''Ship of Fools'' is also the title of a 2002 science fiction novel by Richard Paul Russo where the Ship of Fools is, not surprisingly, a space ship on which no one knows the destination. In addition, ''Ship of Fools'' was used as the title of a book by the Irish journalist Fintan O'Toole on the causes of the financial crisis in Ireland, the metaphor being used to describe the Irish political establishment and their self-deception regarding the economic situation in the country. Theodore Kaczynski, more commonly known as 'The Unabomber', wrote a play ''Ship of Fools'' while in prison, which uses the allegory for the state and advocates violent revolution on environmentalist grounds. The alternate history novel ''The Years of Rice and Salt'', by Kim Stanley Robinson, portrays a 'caravan of fools' composed of outcasts, criminals and liberals, whose clashes with Muslim ideologues prompt them to abandon their lives in newly recolonised Al-Andalus and form new settlements in modern-day France. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ship of fools」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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