Euclidean Embodiments in the Twenty-First Century: An Allegorical Ode to Aldous Huxley (1894-1963).

An allegorical thought experiment occurring in a pseudo Huxleyean world in the future is conducted, in which "Euclidean" geometry has been forgotten and can only be retrieved by traversing backward in time, physically and virtually by two protagonists, Alpha and Beta, inspired by the challenge issued by their teacher Aleph 1. In the year 136 A.H (After Huxley, or late twenty-first century of the Common Era), all instruction occurs virtually. Mathematics is the exclusive purview of 0.01% of society (the alphas). The thought experiment leads to the discovery and realization from the two protagonists that Euclidean geometry is possible using sensorimotor functions with tools called a straight edge and compass or simply a rope with knots. As an ode to Aldous Huxley (1894-1963) this article is deliberately in the form of a satirical provocation that examines the interaction of technology with the learning of mathematics in a dystopian future. A prolog explaining the context of the thought experiment along with a coda with implications for the immediate future in the learning of mathematics is made. A glossary with terms unfamiliar to the reader is also provided.

"No Country for Old Men": Huxley's Brave New World and the Value of Old Age.

This article inserts Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932) into a bioethical conversation about the value of old age and old people. Exploring literary treatments of bioethical questions can supplement conversations within bioethics proper, helping to reveal our existing assumptions and clear the way for more considered views; indeed, as Peter Swirski has argued, literary texts can serve as thought experiments that illuminate the ramifications of philosophical ideas. This essay examines the novel's representation of a society without old people in conjunction with ideas about aging and life narratives put forward by philosophers and bioethicists such as Ezekiel Emanuel, Gilbert Meilaender, and Alasdair MacIntyre. While critics, and Huxley himself, view the Brave New World as dystopian primarily because of its depiction of a totalitarian society where art, truth, and meaning are sacrificed to pleasure and distraction and where the ruled are programmed not to question the values of their rulers, the novel also makes clear that the excision of old age has significant political, moral, and emotional costs.

Lamarckism by Other Means: Interpreting Pavlov's Conditioned Reflexes in Twentieth-Century Britain.

This essay examines the reception of Ivan Pavlov's work on conditioned reflexes in early to mid-twentieth century Britain. Recent work on the political interpretation of biology has shown that the nineteenth-century strategy of "making socialists" was undermined by August Weismann's attacks on the inheritance of acquired characters. I argue that Pavlov's research reinvigorated socialist hopes of transforming society and the people in it. I highlight the work of Pavlov's interpreters, notably the scientific journalist J. G. Crowther, the biologist Lancelot Hogben, and the science writer H. G. Wells, who made Pavlov's work accessible to a British audience and embraced the socialist implications of his research - especially the idea that people could be persuaded to become socialists through science writing for a nonspecialist audience and through use of a simplified language such as Basic English. They saw, in the followers of National Socialism, how Pavlovian conditioning could create a national movement, and believed that this could be used for their own more democratic form of socialism. In the final part of the essay, I suggest that this broad socio-cultural movement to reshape humanity proved controversial, especially in the post-war period and in light of Soviet use of brainwashing. The likes of Aldous Huxley and F. A. Hayek feared that conditioning could only lead to totalitarianism, while the historian E. P. Thompson put forward a socialist humanism that left room for human agency.

Ficção científica e o Admirável mundo novo: previsões concretizadas no atual século e considerações bioéticas / Science fiction and the Brave New World: predictions fulfilled in our century and bioethical considerations

A celeridade com que a ciência gera resultados na sociedade moderna torna necessária uma reflexão sobre os limites da aplicação do progresso científico. Essa é a discussão de base de Admirável mundo novo, livro de Aldous Huxley publicado em 1932, que retrata uma futura sociedade tecnológica nos moldes do fordismo. Este artigo estabelece uma relação entre a sociedade tecnocrata atual e a sociedade descrita por Huxley, discutindo a viabilidade dos aspectos técnicos e biológicos das manipulações narradas à luz dos conhecimentos atuais. São também elaboradas algumas considerações bioéticas sobre os procedimentos 'inventados' pelo autor e que já são, ou poderiam ser, desenvolvidos na sociedade moderna.

The speed with which science generates results in modern society requires reflection on the limits of scientific progress. This is the foundation of Brave New World, a book published by Aldous Huxley in 1932 that portrays a future technological society along the lines of Fordism. This article establishes a relationship between our current technocratic society and that described by Huxley, discussing the viability of the technical and biological aspects of the manipulations narrated in the book in light of current knowledge. Some bioethical considerations with respect to the procedures 'invented' by the author - and which are already or could be developed in modern society - will also be addressed.

Proyección y líiites de la neuroteología en el ensamiento de aldous huxley: laa interdisciplinariedad a prueba en estudios existenciales / Projection and limits of neurotheology in the test of aldous haxley

En este artículo perfilo el área de la "neuroteología", estableciendo sus límites metodológicos, proponiendo una clasificación temática y analizando su proyección actual. Para ello, y utilizando el esquema inicial dado por Aldous Huxley, identifico tres grupos de objetivos posibles, los orientados al "operacionismo práctico", al "operacionismo trascendental" y al "operacionismo místico". Brindo además ejemplos de investigaciones en curso en cada uno de ellos así como los nuevos debates que de éstas emergen. En definitiva, destaco el renovado interés de la ciencia experimental por lo religioso; ofrezco un mejor marco desde donde poder reflexionar sobre el lugar y el peso de tales estudios en neuroética, y examino los obstáculos específicos que acompañan a este tipo de proyectos interdisciplinares.

The area of "neurotheology" is outlined in this article. In doing so, the author identifies its methodological limits, proposes a thematic classification and analyzes its present scope. Using the scheme proposed initially by Aldous Huxley, three groups of possible objectives are identified: those focused on "practical operationalism", "transcendental operationlism" and "mystic operationalism". Examples of ongoing research into each of these groups of possible objectives are provided, with some discussion of the new debates they have sparked. The renewed interest in religion on the part of experimental science is underscored and a better framework for reflecting on the place and weight of such studies in neuroethics is provided, together with a look at the particular obstacles that accompany interdisciplinary projects of this type.

Neste artigo eu exponho a área da "neuroteología", fixando os seus limites metodológicos, propondo uma classificação temática e analisando a sua projeção de hoje em dia. Mediante o esquema de Aldous Huxley, identifico três grupos de objetivos possíveis: enfocados na "operabilidade prática", "operabilidade transcendental" e "operabilidade mística". Além disso, apresento exemplos de pesquisas em cada grupo, assim como os novos debates que propiciam. Em síntese, sobressai o renovado interesse da ciência experimental pelo religioso. Também proporciono um quadro desde onde reflexionar melhor sobre o lugar e o valor destes estudos na neuroética e analiso os obstáculos específicos que acompanham esta classe de projetos interdisciplinares.