The End

John Savage and Mustapha Mond discuss civilization in chapter 17. Mustapha Mond tries to persuade him that overcoming unpleasant emotions and situations leads to a better world. John says two startling things: 1) “What you need is something with tears for a change. Nothing costs enough here;” and 2) “But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”

The novel ends with the death of John Savage. What conclusion(s) about the society of Brave New World does John Savage's death suggest? What advice, if any, is apropos for us?

Eugenics and Social Engineering

As we get to the end of our experiments in and presentations of utopian thinking, there are two thoughts that are lingering in my mind--genetic engineering and social engineering. There is no doubt that we can achieve some level of success, however you define success, with both of these endeavors. Some undesirable human traits can be diminished, if not eliminated, through human intervention. Many of your presentations assume that we will be able to use medical technology to mitigate physical suffering. Many also assume that we will be able to engineer communities that will foster desirable living conditions for everyone.

The catch for me is this: When we require someone to meet, for example, membership or citizenship requirements, we simultaneously exclude those who do not meet those standards. When we set standards for human behavior, we have to be aware of the fact that the elimination of the extremes extends to the the best as well as the worst. Not so, you say? Consider that when we foster something desirable like cooperation, we eliminate rebellion. The elimination of rebellion is good when rebels want undesirable things, but it's bad when we eliminate those things that appear to be undesirable only in the short run. This principle holds true when we're talking about any form of selection--social or medical.

My question is simple. What light does Brave New World shed on this dilemma? If we take no action, known evils will remain a part of our social and genetic make-up. If we take some action, unknown benefits will be eliminated.