Brave New World Socratic Seminar
Pre-Write
What is the overall message of BNW?
I think that the overall message of Brave New World is that having a controlled society has its hidden motives, including how happiness can be forced upon the citizens in a way that not all people can see. I think that this shows through in our society and world today in the form of how different groups of people- races, gender, economic class- view happiness. I think that the main focus of this book was to draw attention to the difference between groups in society. This book has specifically taught me, although it may not have been the point, to respect each societies decisions and peoples choices, because I never know if my values and norms are seen as something completely outrageous and silly coming from a different groups with opposite opinions than mine. I think that this book was also trying to show how adjustments need to be made in order for one to feel as though they fit in and start feeling like they belong in the place they desire to strive in. This is shown very strongly in how at first John is very eager about being in this new society and is anxious to join in on all of the activities they are doing and act the way that they do; he is willing to make many sacrifices in order to fit in. I believe that this book is trying to promote the acceptance of those who are trying hard to fit in with new societal groups.
In what ways has Brave New World made you think about the concept of happiness?
I think that this book has really opened my eyes to how people in different societies perceive happiness. This idea is very apparent when John enters the new society of the civilized people that he has never seen and it completely overwhelms him to the point of suicide. John is engulfed in this new society with completely separate norms and values that of those that he has been used to his whole life. In the last chapter of the book, when John is beating himself, he is trying to free himself of the sins that have happened since he entered this new society because of the way the people have tried and made him act and think. This proves that those in the civilized nation viewed happiness in a form completely separate from those also know as savages in the book. It also showed me the sacrifices that people are willing to make in order to meet their own definitions of happiness. I think that this specifically showed through as well in how John is beating himself.He is voluntarily physically abusing himself to free himself of all the harm that has come to him from trying to live up to the standards known as happiness in the civilized areas.
What does John mean by saying nothing in civilization costs enough (pg 239)?
I think that John means that, putting money aside, civilization is not worth putting it at the hands of ones happiness. I feel as though John is saying that it is not worth risking your happiness in order to conform to the ideals of a specific society. Although John says this to Mustapha on page 293, he had previously said something similar to the D.H.C., and in response, the DHC states something relating to how much money they had spent recently on a new Conditioning Centre. This proves further how when those who are civilized think of cost, they automatically think of money, compared to how when John refers to the cost of something, he means happiness. This proves the differences between these societies and how they are shaped to think of happiness as different things. Those in the civilized nation thinks of true happiness as soma, whereas those known as the savages think of happiness as more natural things than a drug. This shows an even stronger example of how John views happiness compared to those who are civilized view it.
How much of our society do you think is focused on comfort and how much do you think is focused on truth and beauty?
I think that a lot of our society is based off of comfort compared to truth and beauty. We, as Americans, and as the world in a way, always resort to the way that we believe things should be or have been told they should be. This could include the way we dress, talk, and even act, as we learned in the Socialization and Identity Project. We find comfort in not standing out in the crowd and dressing the way that everybody else is just because it is a fashion trend and we will be able to fit into the crowd. Reassurance is found in the way we do what we have been told do and act the way we have been told to be and look the way we have been told to look. Of course we still focus quit a lot on beauty in our society such as showing beauty through propaganda. Although a lot of this type of propaganda is seen as negative, there is still a positive side to how women are portrayed, whether it may be through empowerment. Even though truth may still be something very important to certain people and societal groups, I feel as tough there is a lack there of, of truth in the American society today. I think that, whether we like to admit it or not, we have been socialized all our lives to tell what we need rather than the truth to get the most benefit out of a situation.
Seminar Reflection
I think that I really reacted strongly to when we were talking about the affect of technology on our happiness. I remember when Zoe made a comment about how it was something that is hard to discuss due to the fact that it can have both a negative and positive affect on our happiness. I agreed with Zoe and I felt as though it was sort of confusing that this was the direction that our conversation took about happiness even though it does play a huge part in our society in America. I do think that technology plays a positive role in our society along the lines of communication with those who mean most to us that live longer distances away. This is included in the idea of how communication is a key role in happiness. I can see the opposite, or negative side, of the Technology point of view; it is seen as entertainment and it takes away from our everyday lives which includes our interactions with each other as well as distracts us from the meaning of what some believe to be true happiness. I agreed with Zoe on this comment and thought about it in the same perspective because technology is a controversial subject.
I feel as though in this seminar I did a better job of getting my point across when I made comments. Since last seminar, I feel as though I have gotten better at analyzing what my peers were saying and using what I have gotten out of it to make my comment stronger and achieve more points in my moves, mainly including Connections and Communication. I think that this seminar was, in a way, harder for me to come up with answers to the questions compared to previous seminars due to the complexity of the subjects. Most of the content we discussed is very broad and many of the questions have several perspectives to them. I believe that in this seminar I expressed my opinion in a thorough way through my comments and they allowed for more discussion to branch off of after I was finished. I feel as though I was more comfortable in this seminar as well as open to more opinions and willing to open my eyes to other perspectives.
Both the book Brave New World and the seminar taught me that in our society we often mistake happiness for materialistic happiness. I think that my biggest take away of this book was that true happiness will not be achieved from materials, rather than what comes from inside of you and what you are using your time on earth doing. This book showed me that these people were accomplishing what they believed to be true happiness through an item: soma. I feel as though this shows through in our society as well; whether it is tough money or alcohol or even something as simple as clothes. But after thinking about it a little deeper, one can discover that happiness can not be truly met though something like objects. This is what was mainly discussed in the seminar, and I believe that this could be argued as one of the most important points made. I think that my biggest take away from the seminar specifically is that people view happiness as different things and to respect others morals and ideas of what they believe happiness to be. I feel as though this seminar as well as book has opened my eyes to the way that different societies view happiness.
I feel as though in this seminar I did a better job of getting my point across when I made comments. Since last seminar, I feel as though I have gotten better at analyzing what my peers were saying and using what I have gotten out of it to make my comment stronger and achieve more points in my moves, mainly including Connections and Communication. I think that this seminar was, in a way, harder for me to come up with answers to the questions compared to previous seminars due to the complexity of the subjects. Most of the content we discussed is very broad and many of the questions have several perspectives to them. I believe that in this seminar I expressed my opinion in a thorough way through my comments and they allowed for more discussion to branch off of after I was finished. I feel as though I was more comfortable in this seminar as well as open to more opinions and willing to open my eyes to other perspectives.
Both the book Brave New World and the seminar taught me that in our society we often mistake happiness for materialistic happiness. I think that my biggest take away of this book was that true happiness will not be achieved from materials, rather than what comes from inside of you and what you are using your time on earth doing. This book showed me that these people were accomplishing what they believed to be true happiness through an item: soma. I feel as though this shows through in our society as well; whether it is tough money or alcohol or even something as simple as clothes. But after thinking about it a little deeper, one can discover that happiness can not be truly met though something like objects. This is what was mainly discussed in the seminar, and I believe that this could be argued as one of the most important points made. I think that my biggest take away from the seminar specifically is that people view happiness as different things and to respect others morals and ideas of what they believe happiness to be. I feel as though this seminar as well as book has opened my eyes to the way that different societies view happiness.