Aldous Huxley Biography

Aldous Huxley was born on July 26, 1894, in Godalming, Surrey England. His early child hood he was taught by his mother but she died of a terminal illness when he was only fourteen. Non the less he continued his education at Eton college. He studied English literature and eventually studied the subject at Balliol college. This was his completion of his education and the beginning his life. Since a young age he has had terrible eye sight, nearly going blind from a genetic disease.

To begin his living he began teaching at Eton College and even taught George Orwell the future author of the famous novel “1984.” Some of his students thought he was a hopeless case as a teacher, but most of his students commented that his speeches were very well thought out and spoken. During world war one Huxley spent his time as a farm laborer on Lady Ottoline Morrell. During this period he married his wife, Maria Nijis in 1919.

Huxley made strong point about this use of these substances within their respective cultures. They offer a person the ability to comprehend and translate the meaning of things they had not before taken the time to decipher. This is true of many people any where in the world. Do these people try to lable things in one specific cold case order? No, instead they look for multiple meanings in the things that a sober person would find uninteresting and entirely unimportant. To a user of any mind altering drugs the concept of keeping a concept written in stone and only for that stone (or matter of discussion of labeling) seems almost like copywriting a concept that has a copy right law on multiple trendy items that a culture misinterprets nearly every day in their life.

Aldous Huxley's "The Doors to Perception" vol. 3

Religion is mentioned in the novel “The Doors of Perception” and is reviewed to pass a negative judgment on mind altering substances such as mescaline or LSD. Huxley was in a minority’s opinion of the matter. He felt that a mind altering substance that may seem as a religious experience should be accepted by religions. Instead he thinks the support of alcohol. This he thought was absurd and very out of character for religions considering that mind altering substances have surfaced in many cultures religions on many different continents.

He believes this urge to alter ones mind to find their own self hood is part of the “appetite of the soul.” The soul in many ways seeks to experience life in as many different ways as possible. He also notes that both the east and west have various substances that provide intoxication for the numerous souls that inhabit both sides of the world. In the west it is alcohol and pills of various sorts while in the east it is opium and hashish. This is a good point to make to bring the east and west together because it sheds light on the fact that both cultures offer the same things in a different form. This should unify people with this common interest, not divide them.

Huxley made strong point about this use of these substances within their respective cultures. They offer a person the ability to comprehend and translate the meaning of things they had not before taken the time to decipher. This is true of many people any where in the world. Do these people try to lable things in one specific cold case order? No, instead they look for multiple meanings in the things that a sober person would find uninteresting and entirely unimportant. To a user of any mind altering drugs the concept of keeping a concept written in stone and only for that stone (or matter of discussion of labeling) seems almost like copywriting a concept that has a copy right law on multiple trendy items that a culture misinterprets nearly every day in their life.

Aldous Huxley's "The Doors to Perception" response vol. 2

Huxley was escorted by his friends to various locations around the city. Their first stop was the “World’s biggest drug store.” Huxley found himself in the back of the store among a shelf of art books. He quickly became interested in a Van Gogh book and fell into conversation with his friend about artist.

His conclusion was that what a person on mescaline would normally see what an artist sees through their eyes everyday He further explained that the artist doesn’t perhaps have the perception of an altered reality; instead he meant they saw meaning behind life being portrayed in their day to day life.

Upon further conversing with friends he noted an absence of ego or self recognition entirely. He felt that more opinions were easier to express in this ego-less estate. He noted that human beings could be perceived as equally of interest or importance as his pair of trousers. His message was that the trousers were more of an “X” factor that a any day person could relate to, their music, their friends, their job, and even things of interest that pass quickly. Everyone is looking for some curiosity to cure and that can be done be taken notice and interest in anything that may be around you.

The concept of evil was also briefly discussed. Huxley’s friends and him self commented general aspects of a society with less of a marked displace of evil within its culture. A human society that has eliminated evil would be one that takes pride in its own existence and surrounding. This would naturally stem a sense of moral character in its inhabitants.

Independent Reading Response: Week Four

"The Doors to Perception" is a novel by Aldous Huxley recording his experiences and reactions while under the influence of mescalin. His experience is commented on and recorded by a group of close friends curious of the drug's effects. His time under the drug describes the interior of his house hold and the mental effects it had on his physcological sense of mind. This book is a slow read but makes you think more than an average novel.