I just finished 1984 and then I finished this 3-part lecture. Overall, I think Huxley's portrayal in Brave New World was closer to reality. It felt more representative of where a Western dystopian would realistically go. I felt that Orwell was chiefly concerned with Marxism, which was represented in his day by the particular savage and authoritarian regimes of the USSR and China. As socialism and Communism grew in popularity in the West, Orwell assumed it would look similar to what it did in the USSR, which I completely understand. Its easy to be critical of Orwell reading 1984 in 2024, with history demonstrating that Huxley got things "closer to the mark" of what a Western Dystopia could look like. I think the focus Orwell had on language was a double-edged sword. The assumption that language can ever be truly governed and controlled is proven wrong and is demonstrable with every new generations absurd slang and new terminology. A cynic might believe that the slang of today's youth is "doublespeak" but its no different from the new language they adopted in their youth, it just sounds foreign to them. And yet... the legal restrictions to language and the enforced use of language do limit one's ability to speak their mind openly. I think Orwell assumed that language could be co-opted easier than it actually can. If kids today, in a cancel-culture, pronoun-sensitive environment can come up with their own unique terms like Skibidi, bussin, big yikes, bouje, lowkey etc., then you know the kids/youth of Orwell's proposed Oceania of 1984 would have had some wild slang of their own. I think Orwell overestimated what control any power can have over communication and language, and he underestimated the profundity of humanity's spirit of rebellion. I'm currently reading "The Devil and Karl Marx" by Paul Kengor but I would love any suggestions of what to read next! I was thinking Heart of Darkness, but not sure yet.
Orwell jetzt? Ja, natuerlich. Super! Machen Sie bitte irgandwann mal was mit Burmese Days oder Down and Out oder the Road to Wiggam Pier !. Wahrscheinlich was bei Animal Farm schon gemacht, oder?
@ @LitProf Uebrigens ist eine der allertollsten Sprechstimmen auf Hoerbuchaufnahmen Orwells zu hoeren. Down and Out in Paris and London koennte im Zusammenhang von Heart of Darkness erwaehnt werden als Beispiel einer Art Dark Humors mit, natuerlich hinzuzufuegen, und nicht ohne, heilende Mileid, nicht?
yeah sorry for my phrasing, I watched his lecture series when I was like 16 , pretty interesting even though I don’t fully agree with his argument a lot of what he says makes sense
@Totallyfine29_ To say that our decisions are materially conditioned is obvious to everyone. But to the point of denying rational thought? To rejecting freedom and virtue? That is the battle between the humanities tradition and the human sciences.
I Enjoyed the course. Thank you for sharing. I look forward to your course on science fiction, hopefully next year. Thank you.
I just finished 1984 and then I finished this 3-part lecture. Overall, I think Huxley's portrayal in Brave New World was closer to reality. It felt more representative of where a Western dystopian would realistically go. I felt that Orwell was chiefly concerned with Marxism, which was represented in his day by the particular savage and authoritarian regimes of the USSR and China. As socialism and Communism grew in popularity in the West, Orwell assumed it would look similar to what it did in the USSR, which I completely understand. Its easy to be critical of Orwell reading 1984 in 2024, with history demonstrating that Huxley got things "closer to the mark" of what a Western Dystopia could look like.
I think the focus Orwell had on language was a double-edged sword. The assumption that language can ever be truly governed and controlled is proven wrong and is demonstrable with every new generations absurd slang and new terminology. A cynic might believe that the slang of today's youth is "doublespeak" but its no different from the new language they adopted in their youth, it just sounds foreign to them. And yet... the legal restrictions to language and the enforced use of language do limit one's ability to speak their mind openly. I think Orwell assumed that language could be co-opted easier than it actually can. If kids today, in a cancel-culture, pronoun-sensitive environment can come up with their own unique terms like Skibidi, bussin, big yikes, bouje, lowkey etc., then you know the kids/youth of Orwell's proposed Oceania of 1984 would have had some wild slang of their own.
I think Orwell overestimated what control any power can have over communication and language, and he underestimated the profundity of humanity's spirit of rebellion.
I'm currently reading "The Devil and Karl Marx" by Paul Kengor but I would love any suggestions of what to read next! I was thinking Heart of Darkness, but not sure yet.
Orwell jetzt? Ja, natuerlich. Super! Machen Sie bitte irgandwann mal was mit Burmese Days oder Down and Out oder the Road to Wiggam Pier !.
Wahrscheinlich was bei Animal Farm schon gemacht, oder?
Das war’s für Orwell.
@@@LitProf
Na gut.Danke trotzdem.
@ @LitProf
Uebrigens ist eine der allertollsten Sprechstimmen auf Hoerbuchaufnahmen Orwells zu hoeren.
Down and Out in Paris and London koennte im Zusammenhang von Heart of Darkness erwaehnt werden als Beispiel einer Art Dark Humors mit, natuerlich hinzuzufuegen, und nicht ohne, heilende Mileid, nicht?
I am curious about your thoughts on free will , particularly Robert Sapolsky version of free will
He doesn’t think we have free will, so I think he’s in serious error
yeah sorry for my phrasing, I watched his lecture series when I was like 16 , pretty interesting even though I don’t fully agree with his argument a lot of what he says makes sense
@Totallyfine29_
To say that our decisions are materially conditioned is obvious to everyone. But to the point of denying rational thought? To rejecting freedom and virtue?
That is the battle between the humanities tradition and the human sciences.