Verified Document

Criticism On Author Aldous Huxley Term Paper

Aldous Huxley The purpose of this work is to explore Aldous Huxley's view of religion, his belief in "moderate" applicable use of mind-altering and mind-expanding drugs as well as the prediction he made for the future of mankind. This will be done through reading of his works, as well as one interview.

Aldous Huxley has been described as many things such as the great "English novelist," "essayist," "iconoclast," "social prophet," and "proponent of psychedelic drugs." Born Aldous Leonard Huxley on July 26, 1894, into a distinguished family of the intellectual elite due to his experiences was somewhat set apart from the family to which he was born. His mother died with Cancer when he was 14, that as well as other events in his life were the elements that set him apart. At age 16 he suffered from an eye illness that kept him from fighting in World War I as well as pursuing his dreams in Science.

His work, Brave New World" is in some ways similar to George Orwell's "Utopia." Huxley's brave new world was written prior to Hitler's rise to power in Germany. The Huxley's came to the U.S. In 1938 where he pursued screenwriting.

I. What Huxley believed concerning the Use of Mind-Expanding Drugs:

Huxley became famous for his use of LSD and then writing of it during the 1950's. It is thought that he was seeking a drug to expand his mind in an attempt at self-escape. He wrote the following concerning the nature of drug use in religion:

For these Native Americans, religious experience is something more direct and illuminating, more spontaneous, less the homemade product of the superficial, self-conscious mind. Sometimes (according to the reports collected by Dr. Slotkin) they see visions, which may be of Christ himself. Sometimes they hear the voice of the Great...

Sometimes they become aware of the presence of God and of those personal shortcoming which must be corrected if they are to do His will. The practical consequences of these chemical openings of doors into the Other World seem to be wholly good. Dr. Slotkind reports that habitual Peyotists are on the whole more industrious, more temperate, more Peaceable than non-Peyotists. A tree with much satisfactory fruits cannot be condemned out of hand as evil. (The Doors of Perception)
It is clearly seen from this statement above that Huxley did believe that moderate use of certain drugs could be beneficial. In fact, to support this belief it is worthy to note that the U.S. government just released funds for the experimental use of LSD in the cases of trauma and schizophrenic patients for yet again another study of the substance.

II. Huxley and Religion

In his last work, "Shakespeare: An Essay" Huxley asks, "And what about religion?" He then answer by stating:

The Lord is used to designate things as different from one another as Satanism and satori, as fetish-worship and the enlightenment of a Buddha, as the vast politico-theologic of financial organizations known as churches and the intensely private visions of an ecstatic."

Huxley further wrote that:

He (Shakespeare) knew, of course, that established churches and the regimes they support are great machines for consolidating power and acquiring wealth..."

Huxley was known for his cynical view of religion. However, he was dynamic in his writing concerning religion and spent much of his life exploring religion even venturing into Buddhism at one point in the 1960's. He had previously announced himself to be "officially an agnostic" in his 1929 essay entitled "One and Many." In…

Sources used in this document:
Bibliography

Aldous Huxley" [Online] available at http://www.online-literature.com/aldous_huxley/

Murray, Nicholas (2004) Aldous Huxley: "A Biography" Thomas Dunne Books http://www.yalereviewofbooks.com/archive/summer03/review19.shtml. htm

Biography of Aldous Huxley" (nd) located [Online] available at http://somaweb.org/w/huxbio.html

Huxley, Aldous (1932) "Brave New World" [Online] available at http://mural.uv.es.marcorvi/brave.html
Pahnke, Walter (1971) "The Psychedelic Mystical Experience in the Human Encounter with Death" Psychedelic Review No. 11 [Online] available at http://www.erowid.org/entheogens/journals/entheogens._journal1.shtml
Bakke, B. (nd) "Themes in Aldous Huxley's Life and Literature" [Online] available at http://www.somaweb.org.
Hockenhull, Oliver (nd) "Mind-Altering Documentary Double Bill" on Aldous Huxley [Online] available at http://www.cinematheque.bc.ca/archives/mind.html.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Huxley & G. Orwell Two
Words: 2815 Length: 8 Document Type: Essay

Whatever happened you vanished, and neither you nor your actions were ever heard of again" (Orwell, 1949, p.168). Capitalism Principles of mass production are very clear in the novels. Huxley for instance, applied the idea of mass production in human reproduction, since the people has abandoned the natural method of reproduction. Mass production as the conventional feature of capitalism and Huxley's novel reinforces such. He talked about the requirement of the

Drugs and Society Why Do
Words: 1399 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Abusing illegal drugs can give rise to crime and violence, even if they are used in an allegedly positive way to 'open up' and 'free' the mind. Even overusing antibiotics, and insisting upon taking them even though one's disease is likely caused by a virus can cause a rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and can impact general human health. However, refusing to take certain medical treatments, such as refusing to

Freedom, Individuality, and Totalitarianism in
Words: 2847 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

He also says that he wants to be more on his own, "not so completely a part of something else. Not just a cell in the social body" (90). Later, he tells her that he wants to "know what passion is... I want to feel something strongly" (94). The only way that Lenina can respond is by telling him that when the "individual feels, the community reels" (94). His feelings

Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us to
Words: 1577 Length: 6 Document Type: Term Paper

Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us To Choose Between Privacy and Freedom?" There seems to be no doubt that the genie is out of the bottle, never to be capped again. Individual privacy is being treaded upon daily by new technological devices that a mere generation ago were considered science fiction to be found only in novels such as George Orwell's "1984" and Aldous Huxley's "The Brave New World." However, today

Dystopia the Idea of the
Words: 4215 Length: 10 Document Type: Term Paper

The actions of these collective groups lead only to frustration, a lack of responsibility, ineptitude, and inefficiency. What sort of world does this lead to? The people who are most capable seem to be disappearing, while the least capable are left in charge. Dagny wants to know why the capable people are disappearing, and she has to find the answer to this question in order to understand what is happening

Fan of Science Fiction Writing,
Words: 1760 Length: 5 Document Type: Essay

While the system is not exactly the same as that described in We, the result is much more dramatic, since a far greater number of Americans are disenfranchised. As I mentioned above, We was not the first dystopian work that I encountered. However, it was the first dystopian work that I encountered, for the first time, in a post 9-11 world. What shocked me was not how far OneState was

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now