Brave New World Socratic Seminar Guide

Aldous Huxley

GUIDING SEMINAR QUESTIONS: (Use these questions and linked articles and webpages to help you in writing your own questions and comments. You may use two of the sources below as your own.)

  1. How are our minds manipulated by outside sources: the media, government, parents, peers? Is this always "bad" for us? See:
  • Propaganda
  • Propaganda Techniques
  • Hypnopaedia (sleep learning)
  • The Braindead Megaphone
  1. What are the ethical issues surrounding human cloning (in Brave New World,the parallel is Bokanovsky’s process)? Are there any scenarios where it could be justified? See:
  • Not So Brave New World
  • Stem Cell Research (NIH)
  • Say No to Genetic Engineering
  • Should We Be Cloning Around?
  • Dr. Frankenstein I Presume?
  • Got a Copyright on Them Genes?
  • Cloning Ethics
  • Religious Views on Cloning
  1. What steps should a government take to keep order among its people? Where does one draw the line between protection and personal freedom? See:
  • The Pro of the Patriot Act (United States Department of Justice)
  • Reform the Patriot Act ACLU
  • ACLU Alleges Patriot Act Misuse
  • If you want the Wiki
  • Consider, interpret, and react to this Ben Franklin quote: “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.”
  1. Why is it important to conform? Why is it important to be different?
  • Conformity (see embedded links about social impact theory, norms)
  • The MuzaferSherif Experiment
  • Asch Conformity Experiments
  • New rebuttal argument: “Is the Tipping Point Toast?”
  • Milgram Experiment
  • Conformity and Obedience
  • Mores (and Folkways)
  • Paradox Shifting
  • What If Einstein Had Taken Ritalin?
  • Outside the Box (the actual exercise with explanation) – broken, sorry! I’m working on it
  • Conscientious Objector
  • Civil Disobedience
  1. What is psychological conditioning? See:
  • Introduction to Learning
  • Pavlovian conditioning video – for information on Pavlov, see
  • Implicit Association Tests (take 2-3 and consider the HONEST results)
  1. What function does a caste system serve? Connect to the roles of Alphas, Betas, Epsilons—notice that each caste has a color associated with them…why? See:
  • Law to Segregate Nebraska School System
  • An Untouchable Subject
  1. What hasMcDonaldization done to society?

8. How does our media technology shape our thinking and discourse?

  • Amusing Ourselves To Death (Read Last Chapter: "The Huxleyan Warning")

Other real world topics discussed in class with links on Google Classroom:

Dehumanizing/Alienated Labor

Happiness and Solitude...Reclaiming Conversation

High Art vs. Low Art

Corruption Of Science...Prof. Tyrone Hayes and Syngenta

Effects of Sexualization...

Importance of Journalism/Freedom of Information