Aldous Huxley - Darkness and Light

A documentary about one the the most influential authors of the 20th Century; Aldous Huxley, presented for your enjoyment and discussion.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

mmm fun..
I'll have to get to that in about 30 minutes..

a reply to: GENERAL EYES
Great, thanks, will watch the Orwell flick you posted as well. S+F

a reply to: GENERAL EYES
Just finished. A thought came to me while I was watching, War is a process of Eugenics.

I also love the line "The Truth is at the bottom of a very dirty well".

a reply to: ugmold

Eugenics has a dark history born of frequent misapplication.

I like the quote you shared.....I shall ponder this for a while.

Glad you enjoyed the documentary.

I don't expect many to be interested in such things these days anymore what with all the orgy-porgies, modern media reels and movies, hyper-sensationalist news stories, public outage over trifles and an overabundance of rampant cat videos.

So it goes, and to each their own I suppose.
No worries.

Thanks for watching.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

I liked my version of who Huxley was in my head better than what I just learned about him..
Where I thought he was making huge statements in Strength, it looks like his own fears drove him..

I've read brave new world, and doors to perception, AND
"perennial philosophy"

I have less respect for his work now.
I still want to re read Perennial philosophy now, but it's funny seeing peoples psychology molding their work.

a reply to: Reverbs

I never knew he was partially blind.

Kinda inspiring that in spite of that adversity he maintained a sense of humor and became one of the most respected authors of his day.

Most people would take a setback like that and just whine about it and give up in the modern landscape.

As a writer facing my own challenges, I found his ability to overcome that setback somewhat inspirational.

Also, the manner by which he wields language is timeless.

His simple, concise and elegant style has been emulated by many of the more succinct writers of our current age.

Call it foolish romanticism, but I respect the hell out of the man.

Always have, always will.

You might enjoy Ape and Essence or Island....the first is somewhat harder to find than the latter.

Happy reading.

a reply to: GENERAL EYES

I wont take any of that from him. He was worse than partially blind.
Everything else you said is spot on as well.

Realizing for myself that he may have supported genetic manipulation himself especially due to his own genetic short comings leaves an odd taste in my mouth..

He's always been in my top 10 list just so you know. Up there with Carl Jung, and some others.
I put Perennial philosophy in " " " " for a reason though. I don't think many people know about that one.

It might be the coolest book I've ever read. I would have to re read it to remember, and I let someone borrow it... Never got it back..

Perennial philosophy

He's a bit old and sheltered for me to take too seriously these days. He's just a guy like me. If he was a poster on ATS, he wouldn't even be one of the main guys here.

Thank you for posting. I am going to watch this when I have time.

a reply to: Reverbs

I think a lot of people misunderstood the intention of Brave New World....I got a cautionary tale out of it, not the worship of the fictional "Utopian" state and the Savage Reservation, but tales of that nature are not always universal in their translation. If I recall correctly, the book was actually perceived as an absolute abomination and banned in many areas because of it's suggestion to abolish the family unit in favor of genetic testing.

In Brave New World Revisited, he went further to explain the parallels of the world he was already living in and the same applied methodologies he modeled the "Utopian" model of. I don't believe he was really advocating a dispassionate and clinical substitute for natural law, but rather taking an extreme case of scientific engineering gone to extremes, hence the reason John the Savage (the Everyman, a possible reflection of Huxley himself?) struggling to understand the profoundly inhuman landscape he found himself trapped in.

John didn't fit into either world. In one he was abused and punished for being himself, and in the other he was given celebrity status and surrounded by people who fawned over his every move, but with whom he had no deeper connection because such was impossible due to their conditioning.

I believe John was a representation of how isolated and alone Huxley felt from the rest of the world.

I kinda relate in some ways and have a deep relationship with the major thematics covered in that work, but I'm certainly not implying everyone has to like it. Nor do I think everyone will have the same level of connection I experienced while reading. But that's ok - the wonderful thing about books is that if one doesn't suit you, there is always an alternative to explore.

The Perennial Philosophy was a mainstay in my backpack for many years, but it was during a time when I was going through much chaos and somehow I lost my copy. It really is a wonderful and worldly perspective and could most definitely use another comprehensive read.

a reply to: Reverbs


I agree that is one fantastic book.


Karma is the causal sequence in time, from which we are delivered solely by 'dying to' the temporal self and becoming united with the eternal, which is beyond time and cause.

Here is a PDF.

a reply to: ColeYounger

Thanks for the link. I'm still kinda forgetting I have a portable ereader because I'm still totally engineered towards conventional paper media. It'll be nice to have an additional and portable copy should need arise. Danke!

a reply to: karmicecstasy

Heya Karmic! Good to see ya! Sorry it took so long to respond, got a million things over here and I missed ya back there! Hope you enjoy! Your insights and perspectives are eagerly awaited should you feel so inclined!