Sign Up for Session Four of The Peak Notions Book Club!

Science fiction is inherently philosophical, so lets jump into the deep end together...

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“He defined philosophy as the finding of bad reasons for what one believes by instinct. As if one believed anything by instinct! One believes things because one has been conditioned to believe them. Finding bad reasons for what one believes for other bad reasons–that's philosophy.”

- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

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I used to think that I didn’t care for science fiction until a friend proved that what I actually don’t care for is the aesthetic of futurism. “Not all fiction can be corsets, coving and postcolonialism”, they declared accurately, if in a witheringly patronising tone. “Sometimes, there are spaceships and concrete and eugenics and shiny fabrics but sci-fi isn’t limited to that and it’s really more or less always a philosophical thought experiment — a way of imagining theoretical worlds with values that are different from ours. Are you really going to let warp speed or brutalist architecture prevent you from enjoying something so rich and interesting when it’s based on philosophy?”

My friend was entirely right (again, if patronising - if you’re reading this thanks for setting me right and making my life better but also maybe work on your tone). That was about ten years ago, and I’ve since benefitted enormously from what is indeed, I now believe (though don’t tell my friend), the most philosophical genre of fiction there is.

I’ve long wanted Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World to be our next book club title but held off till now. It seemed a barbarous cruelty to expect anyone to read this book in the long dark corridor between Christmas and early February. It might have pitched some of us over the edge. As a read, it’s absolutely no craic* at all, exploring as it does themes of technological control, dystopia, determinism, freedom, consumerism and the friction between individuals and collective identity (sound familiar?).

It was first published in 1932 in the context of rising totalitarianism, rapid technological and scientific advancement and the social and political schism which occurred during the interwar period. The book is very much a product of its time in some respects, despite receiving a mixed critical reception on publication. This isn’t surprising — critics often tend to favour the edgy side of what is ultimately safe — works that can be juxtaposed against contemporary trends and sensibilities and found to nudge ideas in the direction of whatever represents educated values at the time of publication. This book is not that — it’s sexually explicit, morally opaque and represents a future divested of religion, nation, freedom, gender, biological limitation and even self. It is both trapped in and a rending of its own time. It was weird and frightening in the 1930s, and it remains that way.

At the Peak Notions Book Club, I never ask if people liked the book. It’s a question without any real content, for one thing, but we read titles that prompt us to consider the world we live and explore the strange, dark crevices in human consciousness. I aim for something much more valuable than straightforward fun — I want us to be interested, immersed and challenged. I want us to have plenty to talk about. I want us to encounter ideas and feelings that we can’t ignore. I’m confident that, having read Brave New World, we will!

Whether you read the book in written or audio form is completely up to you. There are no eyeball supremacists here — read as your particular brain best absorbs the material. Generally, I recommend a specific edition of the written book so that we are all on the same page. However, this is a book that many people already have in the house, or might easily find in a charity shop or their local library, so go with whichever edition you’ve got to hand, if you have one. I’d suggest that it’s best to avoid the graphic novel version or the dramatised full cast audio versions, as these are quite different from the experience of reading or listening to the text itself. However, they’re another way to access the ideas within the book if you prefer those formats. If you have an audible membership, there’s an audiobook version that comes free with membership. It’s read by veteran actor Michael York. It’s pretty good (though it does feature some slightly strange accent choices), and faithful to the written text.

You don’t need any background in philosophy to come along to this session, to find value in the book, or to feel absolutely (constructively!) unsettled by the thoughts and feelings it might prompt within you.

The book club is my way of thanking paid subscribers who keep Peak Notions afloat, and of building community here. It takes research, work, and admin (which is not my forte oh my goodness!), so for that reason it is open to paid subscribers only. There are 15 spots available for the fourth Peak Notions Book Club session, which takes place on Zoom at 8:30pm GMT on Thursday April 4th (time zone info below). The Book Club is a perk for the paid subscribers who keep Peak Notions going and fund the work that I do. You can get all the details and put your name on the list via the sign-up sheet linked below: