Aldous Huxley was a British writer, philosopher, and novelist. Huxley was a humanist which meant he was in opposition to religious ideas. Some major things Huxley was known for was writing the dystopian novel, A Brave New World, and The Doors of Perception. In the novel, A Brave New World people take a drug to stay happy and their government is controlling every aspect of life. The Doors of Perception was a book where Huxley ingested the psychedelic drug mescaline and he wrote a book about the experience he had (that's where the Doors got their name). Aldous Huxley was also known for using stream of consciousness writing in his novels and essays, stream of conciseness means that he wouldn't try to formulate proper sentences and he would write exactly what he was thinking. Huxley also has a book called The Perennial Philosophy that compares many different religions around the world and talks about the similarities of ideologies. Huxley studied philosophical mysticism which means becoming one with god. He also studied universalism which is in my understanding clumping all religions together. Another topic Aldous Huxley was interested in was parapsychology which is interesting because it deals with things like telepathy, psychokinesis, and ghosts. By no means do I agree with anything in the parapsychological view but I find it interesting to learn and read about what other people believe. Back to talking about A Brave new world, the book touches upon many topics ranging from social classes, sex, drugs, the meaning of life, and even the manufacturing of people. This book explores these important topics in great detail and just about everything talked about in the book is still relevant and can be learned from to this date. The book was actually written in 1932 which is almost 20 years before 1984 was published. These ideas were not as common a theme in literature and news as they are today. In fact, 1984 and A Brave New World are often compared to each other and compared to society today when people talk about dictatorships or even a communist society. A Brave New World was actually banned in Ireland in 1934 and India in 1961. This is kind of ironic because in a lot of dystopian novels censorship is a tactic used by the government to control its population. The video I attached can show how Huxley thought and how ahead of his time he really was.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
Aldous Huxley, A Brave New World
Aldous Huxley was a British writer, philosopher, and novelist. Huxley was a humanist which meant he was in opposition to religious ideas. Some major things Huxley was known for was writing the dystopian novel, A Brave New World, and The Doors of Perception. In the novel, A Brave New World people take a drug to stay happy and their government is controlling every aspect of life. The Doors of Perception was a book where Huxley ingested the psychedelic drug mescaline and he wrote a book about the experience he had (that's where the Doors got their name). Aldous Huxley was also known for using stream of consciousness writing in his novels and essays, stream of conciseness means that he wouldn't try to formulate proper sentences and he would write exactly what he was thinking. Huxley also has a book called The Perennial Philosophy that compares many different religions around the world and talks about the similarities of ideologies. Huxley studied philosophical mysticism which means becoming one with god. He also studied universalism which is in my understanding clumping all religions together. Another topic Aldous Huxley was interested in was parapsychology which is interesting because it deals with things like telepathy, psychokinesis, and ghosts. By no means do I agree with anything in the parapsychological view but I find it interesting to learn and read about what other people believe. Back to talking about A Brave new world, the book touches upon many topics ranging from social classes, sex, drugs, the meaning of life, and even the manufacturing of people. This book explores these important topics in great detail and just about everything talked about in the book is still relevant and can be learned from to this date. The book was actually written in 1932 which is almost 20 years before 1984 was published. These ideas were not as common a theme in literature and news as they are today. In fact, 1984 and A Brave New World are often compared to each other and compared to society today when people talk about dictatorships or even a communist society. A Brave New World was actually banned in Ireland in 1934 and India in 1961. This is kind of ironic because in a lot of dystopian novels censorship is a tactic used by the government to control its population. The video I attached can show how Huxley thought and how ahead of his time he really was.
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"Huxley was a humanist which meant he was in opposition to religious ideas." No, humanists are not necessarily opposed to religious ideas (though some are). But the definition of humanism I prefer is: a philosophy that affirms humans' ability and responsibility to lead meaningful, ethical lives contributing to the greater good of humanity. This definition makes no essential reference to religious ideas, though as a matter of fact most humanists think we can make signal contributions to humanity and can lead meaningful, ethical lives independent of religious ideas. They embrace humanity as a phenomenon of nature, and they urge the greater application of reason in all facets of life.
ReplyDelete"universalism which is in my understanding clumping all religions together" - I think universalists see themselves as transcending particular religious sects, not "clumping" them.
Do you think Huxley would say we are still just around the corner from the BNW, or would he say we're IT?