The Advancement Of Science In Brave New World
When thinking of progress, most people think of advances in the scientific fields,
believing that most discoveries and technologies are beneficial to society. Are these
advances as beneficial as most people think? In the novel Brave New World, the author
Aldous Huxley, warns readers that scientific advances can be a threat to society. This
is particularly evident in the fields of biology, technology and psychology. 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"(Huxley CLC 79 290).
One scientific advance of which Huxley warns readers of is that in biology. In the
setting of Brave New World, henceforth referred to as the reservation, the mass
production of humans is accomplished with the Bokanovsky process. In this process, human
beings are genetically engineered in laboratories. "... a bokanovskified egg will bud,
will proliferate, will divide. From eight to ninety-six buds, and every bud will grow
into a perfectly formed embryo, and every embryo into a full sized adult"(Huxley Brave
New World 4). One of the threats of this genetic breeding is that no family structures
exist on the reservation. Instead, humans are raised in conditioning centres. R.T.
Oerton points out that "Present knowledge indicates, for instance, that a child cannot be
deprived of parents or parent figures, as were the children in Brave New World, without
suffering lasting pathological damage to his personality."(Oerton CLC 7 308). Another
threat that the Bokanovsky process poses to society is that life is not highly valued.
"Murder kills only the individual and, after all what is an individual? With a sweeping
gesture he [Mr. Foster, director of hatcheries and conditioning] indicated the rows of
microscopes, the test-tubes, the incubators. We can make a new one with the greatest
ease-as many as we like"(Huxley Brave New World 133). Human life holds no value because
it can be easily replaced through the Bokanovsky process. Furthermore, Bokanovsky's
method of mass production prevents individuality, as on the reservation, all people are
cloned. Starting from the time of decanting, each embryo is genetically cloned to fall
into one of the various social classes. Within each social class, all members are cloned
to be intellectually and physically equivalent. Biological technology helps to achieve
this equality by genetically shaping the minds of society. In Brave New World , one's
intelligence depends on the amount of alcohol injected into their embryo. For example,
one of the lower classes in society, Epsilons, have quite a high amount of alcohol
injected in the decanting process. Mental faculty, therefore, is predestined from the
moment of cloning. By creating a world where humans are mass produced, Brave New World
demonstrates that advances in biology can be dangerous if used without regard for the
well being of the human race.
According to Huxley, advances in technology can also be a threat to society. In Brave
New World, everything is completely mechanized, eliminating the need for creativity and
imagination. Huxley warns us against mechanization, arguing "the machine dehumanizes men
by demanding mechanical efficiency of them"(Hillegas 114). Man's creativity is replaced
with mundane tasks, because machines are able to do much of the work . The occupations
available for people on the reservation, consist of repetitive mechanical operations. In
Brave New World, leisure activities are dominated by technology. The primary source of
entertainment is the "feelies," a type of movie theatre in which all the senses are
artificially created. Instead of feeling the emotions portrayed on screen, the audience
absorbs stimulated sensations. These stimulations prevent them from free thought, which
threatens society by denying people from experiencing their own creativity and
imagination. Furthermore, technology affects entertainment by being incorporated into
all games of play. Games consist of advanced technological apparatus, and low
organization, creating very superficial entertainment. According to Huxley, this
frustrates one of humanity's vital needs to be creative. "Men no longer amuse themselves
creatively but sit passively amused by mechanical devices"(Hillegas 115). Among
technological advances, one danger Huxley warns of is the advance in pharmacology. In
Brave New World, an artificial form of happiness is present in a drug called soma. Soma
propels the user into a hallucinatory dream world, providing relief from negativity,
allowing constant happiness People are rewarded for work by receiving rations of soma.
The soma ration varies according to the social classes, with the lowest classes receiving
the least, and the highest classes receiving the greatest. Society is conditioned to
believe that "One cubic centimetre cures ten gloomy sentiments"(Huxley Brave New World
53). This reasoning deceives the user into believing that soma is a cure-all remedy.
Since soma has no side effects, it can be a threat to society because people may be
drugged into a hallucinatory dream world twenty-four hours a day. It could be used as a
drug not to escape the pressures of life, but to escape life itself. Similar to biology,
technology can be a danger to society if used without regard for the welfare of mankind.
Finally, the most dangerous of all scientific advancements Huxley warns of, is the
progress in psychology. In Brave New World, every person is conditioned. The first
conditioning technique used is subliminal training. This type of psychology is utilized
to program ideas into individual's minds by a method called hypnopaedia. Hypnopaedia
consists of repetitious messages that play over a loudspeaker during sleep. These
repetitions are composed of socially accepted morals and values. "All conditioning aims
at making people like their unescapable social destiny."(Huxley Brave New World 13).
This limits individuals from exploring life and developing their idea of happiness when
"happiness" is already predetermined in their minds. According to Huxley, his "...chief
strategy was to show that the conditioned happiness of Brave New World cuts men off from
deep experience, keeps them from being human."(Hillegas 118). Direct stimulation is used
as another conditioning technique. On the reservation, society is conditioned against
love, nature, literature, and other forms of expression that are naturally desired by
man. To condition babies against nature and literature, they are mildly shocked while
encountering books and flowers placed before them. Therefore, this direct stimulation
causes them to have an instinctive hatred of flowers and books. According to reservation
controllers, "A love of nature keeps no factories busy"(Huxley Brave New World 19).
Morals and values, which normally through the growing up process can be discovered on
their own, are brainwashed into society's minds. This direct stimulation is harmful to
society as it prevents people from deciding upon their own morals and values. Another
form of conditioning in Brave New World deals with death. From the early age of eighteen
months, children are exposed to death while playing with toys and eating candy. Thus
resulting in an eternal association between happiness and death. Death conditioning can
be dangerous to society as children become unable to distinguish between good and evil.
In addition, sexual conditioning is present in Brave New World. From a very young age,
sexual play is normal and encouraged in everyone. Together, hundreds of children play
sexual games in the nude. Also, more than one sexual partner is encouraged, resulting in
the absence of committed relationships. This absence of committed relationship creates a
world without deep feelings of human affection. Society is conditioned to believe
"Everyone belongs to everyone else"(Huxley Brave New World 35). Unfortunately, these
psychological advancements cause the reservation to be a world without individual
thought. Each person is conditioned into a life, which is believed to be most
advantageous for them. Thomas D. Clareson points out that "The Brave New World is
mindless... it's citizens are 'nice tame animals'..."(Huxley, DISC). The conditioning
methods in Brave New World take away all freedom of choice and decision in society.
The society depicted in Brave New World is to many, a frightening one. Though, it may
be more of a reality than is presently thought. Society must ensure that science is
changing to suit human needs, rather than changing the human race to suit science. With
the increasing progress in biology, technology and psychology, this may be an impossible
feat to overcome. The world may one day be without individuality, emotions or free
thought. In Brave New World, the scientific advances show to be a threat to society,
where "One could of course, exist. . ." though, "... One could not-in the fullest sense
of the word-live in it."(Wright 87).
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