I remember this book! I read it back in high school and thoroughly enjoyed it. Unfortunately I can't remember exactly what we had to do when we studied it, so I'm not too knowledgeable on it.
What I know is that it is a classic 'utopian' novel, in contrast to a 'dystopian' novel like Nineteen Eighty-Four.
'Utopian' tends to describe an ideal community or society, but is very often associated with ideas that are unrealistic. In Brave New World, the idea of indoctrination seems quite simple, but in the real world, I don't think it could ever work like that.
So long as humans have the ability to think, they will always question. Of course, there will be some who due to their upbringing have no ability nor will to question and they will forever remain a victim of their indoctrination, but I think it would be an impossible task to get rid of the people who do think for themselves.
Can children be taught effectively to think in only one certain way?
I think that as long as they remain children, then yes they'll probably think in one certain way, usually akin to their parents. Some people never grow up and mature, and hence I would call them in a loose sense of the word, a child. But most children will grow up to be adults, and once that has happened, there is no guarantee to make them think the way you want them to think.
Can young people be taught so well that they never question their teachings later?
If child indoctrination worked properly, you would expect every person brought up as a christian to still be a christian, and to be incapable of understanding another perspective. Likewise, you would generally expect every atheist, or muslim, or buddhist, to remain a member of their respective belief/non-belief systems.
But that is clearly not the case. Many christians are now atheists and vice versa. All the evidence we can see points to people having the choice to either continue believing in their childhood beliefs, or to discard them for something else.
It's been a while since I read it, but I hope this helps
What I know is that it is a classic 'utopian' novel, in contrast to a 'dystopian' novel like Nineteen Eighty-Four.
'Utopian' tends to describe an ideal community or society, but is very often associated with ideas that are unrealistic. In Brave New World, the idea of indoctrination seems quite simple, but in the real world, I don't think it could ever work like that.
So long as humans have the ability to think, they will always question. Of course, there will be some who due to their upbringing have no ability nor will to question and they will forever remain a victim of their indoctrination, but I think it would be an impossible task to get rid of the people who do think for themselves.
Can children be taught effectively to think in only one certain way?
I think that as long as they remain children, then yes they'll probably think in one certain way, usually akin to their parents. Some people never grow up and mature, and hence I would call them in a loose sense of the word, a child. But most children will grow up to be adults, and once that has happened, there is no guarantee to make them think the way you want them to think.
Can young people be taught so well that they never question their teachings later?
If child indoctrination worked properly, you would expect every person brought up as a christian to still be a christian, and to be incapable of understanding another perspective. Likewise, you would generally expect every atheist, or muslim, or buddhist, to remain a member of their respective belief/non-belief systems.
But that is clearly not the case. Many christians are now atheists and vice versa. All the evidence we can see points to people having the choice to either continue believing in their childhood beliefs, or to discard them for something else.
It's been a while since I read it, but I hope this helps
"I think that God in creating Man somewhat overestimated his ability." Oscar Wilde
My Blog | Why I Don't Believe in God
My Blog | Why I Don't Believe in God
