Influence of Aldous Huxley in Brave New World: Horror of Hedonism
Throughout history one great philosophical question that has mankind has struggled with is the question on the purpose of life. A primary answer for this question provided by different philosophers throughout history is the hedonism. The notion that the purpose of life is to be as happy as possible, so, therefore, individuals should live to fulfill their maximum net happiness while avoiding stress and suffering at all cause, because happiness and pleasure are the greatest good and fulfillment, and pain and suffering are the greatest evil. However, the validation of this notion is completely discredited by Aldous Huxley in his utopian world of his novel: Brave New World. In truth, It can be concluded that Huxley was purposefully attempting …show more content…
The bias he showed is in the portraying of his characters. the characters who argued against the hedonistic believe of world State as relatable and sincere, characters such as Bernard Marx, Watson Helmholtz and John The Savage. And Although Huxley was biased, he made valid points on his argument, in which he was able to expose how cheap and synthetic and pointless happiness would be if happiness is to achieve so easy. Instead, he argued that things that held realistic and intrinsic value are much more superior. In a sense Aldous Huxley 's World State is a thought experiment situated on the reader, as the reader is in the shoes of John the Savage, exploring the horror of a mysteries world. Moreover, the thought experiment that can be concluded from Brave New World is remarkably similar to Robert Nozick 's Experience Machine propose in his Anarchy, State, and Utopia, and that Nozick 's thought experiment holds the same ethics and purpose. In essence, based on the context given in Brave New World, that Huxley 's philosophical view of hedonism is
Throughout history one great philosophical question that has mankind has struggled with is the question on the purpose of life. A primary answer for this question provided by different philosophers throughout history is the hedonism. The notion that the purpose of life is to be as happy as possible, so, therefore, individuals should live to fulfill their maximum net happiness while avoiding stress and suffering at all cause, because happiness and pleasure are the greatest good and fulfillment, and pain and suffering are the greatest evil. However, the validation of this notion is completely discredited by Aldous Huxley in his utopian world of his novel: Brave New World. In truth, It can be concluded that Huxley was purposefully attempting …show more content…
The bias he showed is in the portraying of his characters. the characters who argued against the hedonistic believe of world State as relatable and sincere, characters such as Bernard Marx, Watson Helmholtz and John The Savage. And Although Huxley was biased, he made valid points on his argument, in which he was able to expose how cheap and synthetic and pointless happiness would be if happiness is to achieve so easy. Instead, he argued that things that held realistic and intrinsic value are much more superior. In a sense Aldous Huxley 's World State is a thought experiment situated on the reader, as the reader is in the shoes of John the Savage, exploring the horror of a mysteries world. Moreover, the thought experiment that can be concluded from Brave New World is remarkably similar to Robert Nozick 's Experience Machine propose in his Anarchy, State, and Utopia, and that Nozick 's thought experiment holds the same ethics and purpose. In essence, based on the context given in Brave New World, that Huxley 's philosophical view of hedonism is