I’m taking a bioethics class this semester, and I have to say it’s one of the most interesting classes I’ve taken during my four years at college. A few weeks ago, we discussed the repercussions of cloning, whether for medical reasons or for social reasons. One of the philosophers we studied that week (although I can’t recall his name at the moment) continuously drew references to Aldo Huxley’s “Brave New World” which I had never read before. “Brave New World” has always been looked upon unfavorably as an example of what happens when technology goes too far, but after reading the arguments in the course, I wasn’t too sure of this. I decided I should give this oft-cited book a read before deciding what I thought of such a “new world.”
After reading the book, however, I found myself even further drawn into the argument that “Brave New World” is not a dystopian future at all, but instead a perfect world, a perfect place.