The Concept of Happiness in `Brave New World` by Aldous Huxley

Seminar paper from the year 2013 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1.0 ("excellent"), Free University of Berlin, language: English, abstract: In this paper, the happiness concept in Brave New World will first be described in some detail by defining different parameters. It will be argued that the happiness concept grounds on five different aspects of life: entertainment and leisure, conditioning and ignorance, productivity and stability, promiscuity, and consumption as well as the happiness drug soma. In chapter 3 problems with the concept and the underlying assumptions about happiness will then be examined. The goal of this paper is to describe the underlying happiness concept based on the primary source. Moreover, doubts the novel casts on the concept will be described in conjunction with findings from the research on subjective well-being. The conclusion of the paper is thus that the measures undertaken in Brave New World are insufficient to attain happiness.