Brave New World by Aldous Huxley "Where is the life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?" T.S. Eliot

Aldous Huxley Born July 26, 1894 Grew up in the English intellectual elite At 16 an eye illness left him nearly blind Lived in England, Europe, and the U.S. Wrote 47 books, many essays, screen- plays, etc Died November 22, 1963

1. How would you feel if we had a dress code based on IQ, so that we’d be identified by a certain colored clothing? And you could only hang out with people who wore the same color?

2. How would you feel if the government told you what job you would be allowed to hold, based on your IQ?

3. What if the government gave you free birth control (encouraging sexual promiscuity) and free drugs (to combat your feelings of anxiety and/or depression)?

4. What would you be giving up to go along with these new “rules” of society?

Read the first two paragraphs. ANSWER: 5. What do you think the motto means? 6. List all of the descriptive words in the 2nd paragraph that set the mood.

UPTOPIA vs. DYSTOPIA Utopia: “an imaginary place … a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions”

Dystopia: “an imaginary place which is depressingly wretched and whose people live a fearful existence” BNW is a DYSTOPIA

In Huxley’s own words... “the advancement of science as it affects human individuals.” What is the theme of BNW?

Huxley is seeking to warn us against scientific utopianism.

BNW is a SATIRE Huxley is satirizing the social and scientific developments of the first few decades of the 20 th century.

Economic Context Written in 1931, published in 1932, after World War I ( ) The stock market crash (1929)

Henry Ford/Mass Production Production of Model T began in 1908 Standard interchangeable parts and assembly-line production (1913) Economic Context (cont’d)

The Model “T” Ford E:\Henry_Ford__The_Model_T_and_the_Model_A.asf

Scientific Context Biology cloning genetic manipulation

Psychology classical conditioning (Pavlov) behavior modification (reward & punishment ) sleep teaching (hypnopaedia) use of propaganda Scientific Context (cont’d)

Classical Conditioning A form of learning in which a reflexive or automatic response transfers from one stimulus to another. “Pavlov’s Dog”

Using the New Science for Social Control Controlling reproduction ectogenesis eugenics (cloning) chemical conditioning

Controlling behavior Classical conditioning Hypnopaedia Psychopharmacology – “soma” Using the New Science for Social Control

What is soma? A hangover-less tranquilizer— like an opiate combined with Prozac. Provides a mindless, “imbecile happiness”—an escapism which makes people comfortable with their lack of freedom.

Do We Have a BNW Today? Controlling behavior public education nationalism Controlling reproduction Sex without kids Kids without sex

Conditioning in Advertising

Moral Concerns on Genetic Engineering… Genetic engineering treats children as products. Does the ability to control the characteristics of future generations limit their freedom? Genetic engineering will reduce genetic diversity.