Brave New World #4

Even though the idea of people being happy without pain or suffering sounds appealing, the means to achieve that are disturbing. Individuality and knowledge are important parts of being human, and these qualities are taken away. It's possible that a utopia can only be achieved by taking away knowledge so that people can't be happy and rebel, but it's a bothersome thought. People should be able to feel different emotions and not be brainwashed or placed in a part of society without any choice. I think scientific knowledge is abused by making all those test tube babies and then putting them in different societal groups and conditioning them in certain ways to fit the society. Ignorance and lack of knowledge fuels the success, if you can call it that, of the utopian society. People have no reason to be unhappy or question standards if they can't think for themselves. Although the idea of a utopian society in terms of everyone being happy sounds nice, I don't think it can be achieved in a way without taking away basic human rights such as thought and individuality. 

Brave New World #3

In chapter 17, Mustapha Mond and John Savage discuss civilization. Mond thinks that society is fine the way it is and that it's necessary to keep people occupied so that they don't think about thinks and rebel. He thinks that there's no need for a god and people only think about god when people are alone thinking about death. People in this society aren't alone and don't fear death. Savage says, "If you allowed yourselves to think of God, you wouldn't allow yourselves to be degraded by pleasant vices." Mond says that there's no need for civilized people to  bear anything unpleasant. When Savage says, "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." he doesn't want to live in a constant state of happiness and wants to feel emotions and be able to think individually. He wants change. Mond also says that "civilization has absolutely no need of nobility or heroism" because it shows political inefficiency. He says that conditions have to be unstable for these opportunities to become available. People have to obey the rules that society gives them and aren't allowed to be individuals or think for themselves.