Scientific and Literary Context of Brave New World
By Ryan Nunez
In order for readers to fully understand Aldous Huxley’s novel Brave New World, they must also understand the scientific and literary influences of the time that shaped his work. Aldous Huxley gained inspiration from several literary sources when he was writing Brave New World, and he had initially intended for his book to be a parody of H.G. Wells’ novel Men Like Gods. Huxley took many of his scientific ideas and theories from J. B. S. Haldane’s book Daedalus: or, Science and the Future and Bertand Russell’s developed response to Daedalus, The Scientific Outlook (Congdon 86). Other suspected influences include Shakespeare, Dostoevsky, Anatole France, Zamiatin and Joyce (Firchow 302).
Scientific advancements during the early 1900’s—especially in eugenics—contributed to Huxley’s Brave New World. Eugenics is the manipulation of genes in order to promote and enhance favorable human traits, such as intelligence, and eventually do away with less favorable ones, such as mental disabilities. Some methods implemented in order to achieve this goal were segregation (the separation of people with less desirable traits from the regular population), and sterilization (the prevention of people with less desirable traits from reproducing), as well as positive and negative eugenics. Promoting reproduction among smart, healthy, strong people is called positive eugenics, while dissuading reproduction among people with less favorable traits is called negative eugenics. This movement was popular in both the United States and England during the early 1900’s (Woiak 109). In 1913, England passed the Mental Deficiency Act in an effort to oversee and segregate those whom they considered “feebleminded”; their hope was to prevent these people from having children of their own, stopping them from passing on their genes (Woik 109, 120). Economic pressures during this time period encouraged America and Germany to go one step further and actually pass laws legalizing compulsory sterilization; their hope was to limit the number of people burdening an already fragile economic system (Woiak 120). Aldous Huxley was a strong supporter of eugenics at this time.
Scientific advancements during the early 1900’s—especially in eugenics—contributed to Huxley’s Brave New World. Eugenics is the manipulation of genes in order to promote and enhance favorable human traits, such as intelligence, and eventually do away with less favorable ones, such as mental disabilities. Some methods implemented in order to achieve this goal were segregation (the separation of people with less desirable traits from the regular population), and sterilization (the prevention of people with less desirable traits from reproducing), as well as positive and negative eugenics. Promoting reproduction among smart, healthy, strong people is called positive eugenics, while dissuading reproduction among people with less favorable traits is called negative eugenics. This movement was popular in both the United States and England during the early 1900’s (Woiak 109). In 1913, England passed the Mental Deficiency Act in an effort to oversee and segregate those whom they considered “feebleminded”; their hope was to prevent these people from having children of their own, stopping them from passing on their genes (Woik 109, 120). Economic pressures during this time period encouraged America and Germany to go one step further and actually pass laws legalizing compulsory sterilization; their hope was to limit the number of people burdening an already fragile economic system (Woiak 120). Aldous Huxley was a strong supporter of eugenics at this time.
References
Birnbaum, Milton. Aldous Huxley’s Quest for Values. Knoxville: U of Tennessee P, 1971. Print.
Congdon, Brad. "Community, Identity, Stability": The Scientific Society and the Future of Religion in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World." English Studies In Canada 37.3/4 (2011): 83-105. Print.
“Eugenics.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2013): 1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Firchow, Peter. "Science and Conscience in Huxley's Brave New World." Contemporary Literature 16.3 (1975): 301-316. Print.
Woiak, Joanne. "Designing a Brave New World: Eugenics, Politics, and Fiction." Public Historian 29.3 (2007): 105-129. Print.
Congdon, Brad. "Community, Identity, Stability": The Scientific Society and the Future of Religion in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World." English Studies In Canada 37.3/4 (2011): 83-105. Print.
“Eugenics.” Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition (2013): 1. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Mar. 2014.
Firchow, Peter. "Science and Conscience in Huxley's Brave New World." Contemporary Literature 16.3 (1975): 301-316. Print.
Woiak, Joanne. "Designing a Brave New World: Eugenics, Politics, and Fiction." Public Historian 29.3 (2007): 105-129. Print.