Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A lot of interesting things to consider, but I can’t swallow the reduction and even near-banishment of suffering as synonymous with slavery. The first clue is when you consider pure slavery is synonymous with suffering. The second clue is that Huxley’s world isn’t a real improvement in suffering, as for example, when we cured polio. No one would legitimately claim we were in any way better off with polio. Instead, Huxley’s world is devoid of true joys like parenting and full of things that bring momentary pleasure like sexual encounters devoid of intimacy and drugs. So in that regard, he fails to sell me.

On the other hand, the Brave New World is more similar to the current world in 2017 than it was in the 1930s when it was written. The dogma of capitalism and positivity as religions does appear to rule our society for the worse. So as pure prediction Brave New World succeeds.

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The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley

The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A very interesting book about how peyote/mescaline affect perception and consciousness. Mescaline is the active property occurring naturally in peyote and some other breeds of cactus. It was particularly interesting to me in light of the meditation and mindfulness books I've read this year. Huxley takes mescaline, records it, and have friends observe him and ask him questions while he's on it. It's a very interesting format.

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