" A Cowardly Old World "
Free will, “what is it good for? Absolutely nothing.”
I recently changed my mind about the previous statement. There are people that believe that the absence of free will would be the best way to live; no one would have to ponder endlessly about arduous decisions, nor be punished for them. The world would be better and our lives easier if someone would just program us to do a specific function; we all work for a greater good and live like organized ants.
I never questioned absurdity of this idea until I read Aldous Huxley’s “A Brave New World”. Its two main topics are the pursuit of free will and the inability to adapt to a foreign society. The novel forced me to stop analyzing all the useless junk I was concerned with and to look in the mirror to truly think of where I stood in my beliefs and what I would do if put in similar situations. The young man known to many as a savage, one of the main characters of the book, leads a life of isolation because he doesn’t belong to the savage or main society. He was born from members of the main society and he possessed their physical traits, which are not accepted by the savage society. On the other hand, he was raised in the savage society and he possessed their modus operandi and belief core, which is seen as wrong and unacceptable by the main society. This character’s inability to feel accepted didn’t affect me until the end of the book when he decides that the only place where he can belong is amongst the deceased. This turn of events made me question my own strength of character. Since I was very young I have been accustomed to having to adapt to new societies and surroundings; nothing as drastic as the book but memorable nonetheless. The difference with me and the young man is that I was able to adapt, and most importantly, be accepted into new societies. The novel shone new light on this subject and has made me think of what I would do endless times.
I still think society would function better if everyone was conditioned to serve a certain purpose and their desire for free will was suppressed. However, the main problem would be the vast amount of losses; society would truly be a well oiled, nonetheless soulless machine. Efficient functioning makes society better at achieving goals but we wouldn’t be able to have dreams of our own, imagination would be obliterated, and the sweet sorrow of making a wrong choice would never be felt again.
“A Brave New World” didn’t introduce me to new ideas, but it gave me a chance to explore the ones I already had. I still don’t know what I would do if I was in the same situation as the savage, but at least I can take comfort in the fact that I have given some thought to the matter.
The lack of free will would make society function more smoothly, but the costs outweigh the benefits.
Copyright © F.Prida
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