Technology_in_a_Brave_New_World

Technology in a Brave New World First let me state that Edwin Jonestown’s article has some truths and some falsehoods in it. Aldous Huxley is trying to envision a world that is so far advanced that it does not parallel our world, but some technology has advanced in today’s society. It is ever present that in the novel Brave New World, there is proof that technology controls humans from the time it is in the test tube. Technology is so good that they can make you highly intelligent or not highly intelligent while you are still an embryo. Jonestown says that “People will only want a partial control over reproduction.”(Jonestown) I believe that this statement is false. Jonestown is wrong in his assessment of human beings I believe. If technology was so advanced that humans could control the intelligence of their own offspring, everyone would want their children to be mini Einstein’s… Who wouldn’t' Mr. Foster says (chapter 1, pg. 11) “The lower the caste the shorter the oxygen.” This means that one doesn’t even have control over your intelligence. You cannot try your best, nor do more work because your intelligence is predetermined. Also, there is no choice as to whether one will allow technology to think for them, since their intelligence is chosen when one is an embryo. Technology is also evident in sleep teaching. While one is sleeping, a recording is played over and over again. By the time one wakes up, it has been memorized without knowing it. This type of hypnosis is present in today’s society as well. This technology allows one to be conditioned without knowing it. There is no opinion of right and wrong, instead, one learns what one is taught. Thus, technology overcomes the ability of one to think. Jonestown is correct in his Last, soma proves that one has no control over their mind. Lenina says (Chapter 4, pg. 54) “A gramme is better than a dam!” When one is feeling sad, they have been conditioned to take a pill, called soma. Thus, one doesn’t have the control to be sad because of soma. Once again, technology has overpowered the use of one’s mind. This is something I believe that Jonestown left out in his article. He does not really explain the use of “soma” in the novel even though he mentions it a couple times. Soma in a Brave New World is most likely compared to all the medications we as humans take for the many symptoms that we go through. We as Americans take pills for everything. If you have a headache, take an Advil or Tylenol. If your stomach is upset, then take a Tums or Gas-X. This is another instance where I believe that the novel and today’s society coincide. Jamestown mentions in his article that when technology gets more advanced religion would become less important. I believe that this point is valid. In the event that the world does not ever need the reproduction methods we use now, and we use the Brovanovsky method. The world will need religion less and less. This is starting to come to fruition in today’s society as well. With the advances in the medical field in creating new bodily organs and appendages, it is almost like human beings are playing “god”. Also, with the “Evolution theory” by Darwin becomes more and more socially acceptable, more people are almost giving up on believing in religion. I agree with Jamestown’s assessment in saying “People will fight fewer wars and get into fewer annoying arguments about things that ultimately don’t matter.” As in most cases, most wars are fought because of religious beliefs. For instance, the crusades, and more recently the Jihads in the Middle East. Huxley's community of Utopia is a futuristic society designed by genetic engineering, and controlled by neural conditioning with mind-altering drugs and a manipulative media system. Yet, despite the similarities, there are many contrasts between the two societies. Although you can see some dissipation of social classes in modern society, in Utopia, the class distinctions were substantial. A five-tiered caste system is maintained which ranks Alphas and Betas on top followed by Gammas, Deltas, and the semi-moronic, universal Epsilons. The motto "Community, Identity, Stability" frames the Utopian social structure. In Huxley’s "community" each tier has its purpose in the society, from the Alphas who serve as intellectuals to the plebeian Epsilons who function as the pure humble laborers. "Identity" is established in the Conditioning Centre through the separation of the embryos into one of five classes and "stability" is insured through the limitations placed on the intelligence of each group. Whereas in today’s society a person’s outer appearance and garb may not reveal his wealth and status, in Utopian society, a person’s uniform is the badge of his class. “...eight-month-old babies, all exactly alike and all dressed in khaki.” (20). This very visible reiteration of one’s status serves to further condition the tiers to non-interaction, something that modern society conceives of as a throwback to unenlightened times. Jonestown once again does not mention anything about the caste system in the novel. I believe that in order to further make his point about Huxley being wrong about the technology in his novel. “Beneath them lay the buildings of the Golf Club-the huge Lower Caste barracks and, on the other side of a dividing wall, the smaller houses reserved for Alpha and Beta members.” (73) Lastly, Jamestown states “a society that is based on consumerism is the best society the world has ever known”. I believe that to be true as well. In a consumer based society, people are pre occupied with buying the next thing rather than focusing on all of the bad things that happen every day in the world. “We like buying things and owning fun and entertaining consumer gadgets and accoutrements” (Jamestown). Most people’s ambition in life is to be rich and have everything they ever dreamt about having. Such ambitions drive most people to succeed in life to attain those physical things in which they desire. Jamestown is right in saying that most people these days do not desire a “meaning” in life. I am the first person to state that I do not know why I am here or what the purpose of life is, but I can tell you that I want to be rich and have the nicest things in life. In the novel, Huxley denounces such societies as being almost ridiculous and thinks they are wrong. I disagree with Huxley on this point, simply because in today’s society that is all there is. The world is a consumer based world for the most part being having more is better and it has worked out thus far. Maybe in the future that will not be the case for right now it works. So in conclusion, Brave New World and the essay “Huxley and True Progress” by Edwin Jonestown both bring up good points about Technology both in the novel and in today’s society. As I stated previously, there are some points that I think Jonestown left out of his essay that he shouldn’t have, but on the most part I believe there are many similarities between both works. Technology is always going to be present as long as human beings are on this planet. It is our job to learn to live side by side with the ever advancing pace that technology grows. We should not fear it nor shy away from it, but embrace it and make it useful to everyone in the world. Works Cited Jonestown, Edwin. “Huxley and True Progress.” Huxley and the Brave New Biology. New York: Hardcourt Press, 1993. Huxley, Aldous. Brave New World. New York: Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2006. Print