Brave New World and God

I recently read Brave New World, and I found the dialogue at the end of the book about God really interesting, and I tried to find more discussion on it but it seems like not a lot of people focus on this point of the book. When I read it, it seemed to me like the overarching thesis behind the whole book.

Just to summarize the conversation, it’s between John (A “savage” who was exposed to literature throughout his entire life and entered “civilization” who discovers that infinite bliss without struggle is some sort of indescribable, existential horror) and the Controller (a leader of civilization whose job it is to maximize happiness, but also an intellectual who has studied literature and ultimately came to the conclusion that it was antithetical to his goals of maximizing societal happiness).

Ultimately it comes down to a conversation of happiness. John is trying to argue that God is the source of true happiness, and an ideal that only comes out through struggle and reflection. The Controller is arguing that God is a coping mechanism for the negative aspects of life and that its existence is not necessary in a society with no negative aspects. The controller concedes that God probably does exist, but it manifests itself in different ways according to man and men’s need in society. And God’s existence in the current state of civilization is his non-existence.

When you look at the surface of the Brave New World, society itself doesn’t seem that bad. People don’t work very hard, even the lower castes. Their every earthly desires are constantly given to them, and they even have a drug that gives them infinite pleasure when they get in any sort of negative mood. No one wants for anything. Everything is stable. Conflict doesn’t really exist, and when it does come up, it’s resolved peacefully. It’s almost like a pseudo-heaven. A heaven without God, without a point really. And I think that’s what most people see as the issue with the society. It’s basically just this self-perpetuating existence where no one thinks and nothing changes.

To me what he’s almost showing the paradoxical relationship between God and heaven and how infinite bliss negates the need for God. The whole idea that God is purpose, and purpose requires change, which leads to instability and ultimately struggle, and that a truly stable reality full of universal happiness is not possible without eliminating purpose.

What do other people think? Really it makes me want to read Huxley’s other stuff, especially his later stuff.

by Skippymcpoop