BY ALDOUS HUXLEY Brave New World

The Author Aldous Huxley Born July 26, 1894 in Godalming, England Mother and sister both died in 1908 Educated at Balliol College, Oxford University At age 16 he contracted keratitis which left him blind for 2 years and unable to serve in WWI

The Author continued… Career Journalist/Critic First publication “The Burning Wheel” in 1916 Editor of Athenaeum Magazine, House and Garden, and Vogue First novel Crome Yellow in 1921 Comic novels Antic Hay (1923) and Those Barren Leaves (1925) Published “Proper Studies” in 1927 Wrote a Best Seller titled Point Counter Point in 1928

Brave New World Written in 4 months in 1931 Published in 1932 Foreword written in 1946 Brave New World Revisited written in 1958 Often compared to George Orwell’s 1984

Brave New World – the novel Novel describes “One World State” Totalitarian government Manipulates personal life by eliminating individual freedom, family, art, literature, religions, and culture diversity

Brave New World Genre – Dystopia Protagonists – Bernard Marx, Helmholtz Watson, and John Antagonist – Mustapha Mond Setting – 632 A.F. in England and Savage Reservation in New Mexico (600 years in the future, according to Huxley)

A Few Themes A Few Motifs Using Technology to Control Society Creating a Consumer Society The Dangers of an All- Powerful State Uses of Propoganda to Control Society Ethical Problems of a Technologically Driven World Henry Ford Sex Alienation Shakespeare Technology Individualism Brainwashing Ethics Drugs Brave New World

According to Huxley… “The theme of Brave New World is not the advancement of science as such; it is the advancement of science as it affects human individuals” “It is only by means of the sciences of life that the quality of life can be radically changed” From the Foreword from Brave New World

Brave New World: A Few Key Concepts Dystopia Utopia Flashback Utilitarianism Totalitarianism

Review of Literary Terms Utopia: A place in which social, legal, and political justice and perfect harmony exist; a perfected, idealistic, and often impractical scheme of political and social reform Dystopia: Polar opposite of utopia. A society in which social and/or technological trends have contributed to a corrupted or degraded state

Review of Literary Terms Flashback: A scene from the past that interrupts the action to explain motivation or reaction of a character to the immediate scene

Utilitarianism The purpose of morality is to make the world a better place. Morality is about producing good consequences, not having good intentions We should do whatever will bring the most benefit (i.e., intrinsic value) to all of humanity.

More on Utilitarianism The utilitarian has a very simple answer to the question of why morality exists at all:  The purpose of morality is to guide people’s actions in such a way as to produce a better world. Consequently, the emphasis in utilitarianism is on consequences, not intentions.

More on Utilitarianism The fundamental imperative of utilitarianism is: Always act in the way that will produce the greatest overall amount of good in the world.  The emphasis is clearly on consequences, not intentions.

More on Utilitarianism Emphasis on the Overall Good: We often speak of “utilitarian” solutions in a disparaging tone, but in fact utilitarianism is a demanding moral position that often asks us to put aside self-interest for the sake of the whole. Utilitarianism is a morally demanding position for two reasons:  It always asks us to do the most, to maximize utility, not to do the minimum.  It asks us to set aside personal interest.

Utilitarianism offers us a powerful vision of the moral life, one that promises to reduce or eliminate moral disagreement.  If we can agree that the purpose of morality is to make the world a better place; and  If we can scientifically assess various possible courses of action to determine which will have the greatest positive effect on the world; then  We can provide a scientific answer to the question of what we ought to do.

Totalitarianism A totalitarian state tries to control all aspects of its citizens lives. It is a distinctively modern form of government since it depends on huge government efforts to work Attempted totalitarian societies: France under the Committee of Public Safety in 1794, Nazi Germany, the Stalinist Soviet Union, Mao's China, and Kim's Korea