A Tribute to Aldous Huxley

[beeksc1]

Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also published short stories, poetry, travel writing, and film stories and scripts.

Aldous Huxley was a humanist and pacifist, and he was latterly interested in spiritual subjects such as parapsychology and philosophical mysticism. He is also well known for advocating and taking psychedelics. Further, Huxley was a pioneer of self-directed psychedelic drug use "in a search for enlightenment", famously taking 100 micrograms of LSD as he lay dying.

By the end of his life Huxley was considered, in some academic circles, a leader of modern thought and an intellectual of the highest rank, and highly regarded as one of the most prominent explorers of Visual communication and sight-related theories as well.

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So, I have read about five and half texts (in the middle of The Art of Seeing) authored by Aldous Huxley and consider Huxley to be one of greatest authors of the English language.

Anyone else share this awesome admiration for Mr. Aldous Huxley?
How do you all feel about Huxley?

 

[beeksc1]

Oh, I cannot believe this! No one has yet commented on the Mr. Aldous Huxley. What is this? Aldous Huxley authored the Perennial Philosophy.

According to Huxley, the perennial philosophy is:

the metaphysic that recognizes a divine Reality substantial to the world of things and lives and minds; the psychology that finds in the soul something similar to, or even identical with, divine Reality; the ethic that places man's final end in the knowledge of the immanent and transcendent Ground of all being; the thing is immemorial and universal. Rudiments of the perennial philosophy may be found among the traditional lore of primitive peoples in every region of the world, and in its fully developed forms it has a place in every one of the higher religions.

(The Perennial Philosophy, p. vii)

As such, Huxley is to be considered one of the supreme masters of the English language.

 

[philkensebben]

Chrome Yellow is brilliantly funny and it seems oddly neglected.

 

[hgc]

Oh, I cannot believe this! No one has yet commented on the Mr. Aldous Huxley. What is this? Aldous Huxley authored the Perennial Philosophy.

According to Huxley, the perennial philosophy is: (The Perennial Philosophy, p. vii)

As such, Huxley is to be considered one of the supreme masters of the English language.

Oh, for the name of Ford, what do you want?!?

Brave New World is deservedly one of the most beloved English-language novels of its time. I'll say that about Huxley. That book is beautiful and compelling, and it stands up to this day.

 

[luchog]

Huxley was a master of the English language and a brilliant writer of fiction.

When it comes to philosophy, the guy clearly spent way too much time taking psychadelic drugs; as anyone who's actually read The Doors of Perception can well attest to.

 

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Chrome Yellow is brilliantly funny and it seems oddly neglected.

Indeed, so neglected that even its admirers can't remember what it's called.

Crome Yellow

 

[beeksc1]

Chrome Yellow is brilliantly funny and it seems oddly neglected.

I have not yet read Chrome Yellow; I will have to read it though. The next Huxley book I am going to read is titled Moksha.

Huxley was a master of the English language and a brilliant writer of fiction.

Yes.

When it comes to philosophy, the guy clearly spent way too much time taking psychedelic drugs; as anyone who's actually read The Doors of Perception can well attest to.

I do not know about that. Huxley was an avid user of psychedelics; but, to say he spent way too much time taking them is unfair. As long as the psychonaut has no serious underlying mental conditions and the psychedelic journeys are spaced out (with at least two weeks in between each trip), there is a negligible amount of harm associated with use of tryptamines, phenethylamines, and/or similar psychedelic psychoactives.

Criticizing someone because he/she is an avid user of psychedelics equates to the backward criticism that someone can mediate or practice yoga way too often. Used responsibly, all three practices lead to inductions of an non-ordinary (holistic) state of consciousness, which facilitates a person to (among other things) disintegrate one’s ego, experience transcendental realms of existence, and cleanse the mechanics that construct his/her everyday reality.

Huxley’s descriptions of both his experimentation with mescaline and the marvels of the natural world are absolutely elegant.

As the New York Times notes,

Huxley ascribed mystical significance to drugs.

As Huxley illustrates through his breath of work, especially in Island, the responsible use of psychedelics can be used to maximize a person’s fuller potential, more fully facilitate a society’s creative and economic prosperity, and help dismantle illegitimate authority.

So, no. Huxley did not spend too much time taking psychedelics.

People should realize that Aldous Huxley lived a life of aristocracy; yet, the biography of Aldous Huxley illustrates to humanity that elitists can use their sphere of influence to bring about acceptance toward open-minded practices, liberal principles, and liberty-preserving ideals. Lives led by those such as Mr. Aldous Huxley allows both the working people and the privileged middle class to envision a brighter future, where we can all rise up to a position of influence and inspire future generations to give back to the society that allowed us to thrive.

 

[Spindrift]

He died the same day that Kennedy was shot. No wonder why I missed it.

 

[Tiktaalik]

As Huxley illustrates through his breath of work, especially in Island, the responsible use of psychedelics can be used to maximize a person’s fuller potential, more fully facilitate a society’s creative and economic prosperity, and help dismantle illegitimate authority.

So, no. Huxley did not spend too much time taking psychedelics.

How do you know? maybe his "breath" of work would have been much greater had he not taken psychedelic drugs. There's no way to say this for sure withut creating an alternate Alduous Huxley...

 

[hgc]

How do you know? maybe his "breath" of work would have been much greater had he not taken psychedelic drugs. There's no way to say this for sure withut creating an alternate Alduous Huxley...

Whoa! Create an alternate Huxley... I'm gonna pop some shrooms and think it over for a while.

 

[Don_Anonimo]

Criticizing someone because he/she is an avid user of psychedelics equates to the backward criticism that someone can mediate or practice yoga way too often. Used responsibly, all three practices lead to inductions of an non-ordinary (holistic) state of consciousness, which facilitates a person to (among other things) disintegrate one’s ego, experience transcendental realms of existence, and cleanse the mechanics that construct his/her everyday reality.

Is there any proof of these "transcendental realms of existence", the "ego", or the supposed consciousness that spiritual people refer to?

 

[beeksc1]

He died the same day that Kennedy was shot. No wonder why I missed
it.

I think you are pointing out that Huxley’s death was overshadowed by the Kennedy assassination.

How do you know? maybe his "breath" of work would have been much greater
had he not taken psychedelic drugs. There's no way to say this for sure withut creating an alternate
Alduous Huxley...

Considering both the scientific, scholarly, and creative literature regarding the powers of psychedelics and
personal experience, I doubt that Mr. Aldous Huxley’s breadth of work was degraded by his use of
psychedelic drugs. But, you are right in this sense; there is no way of proving this.

Is there any proof of these "transcendental realms of existence", the
"ego", or the supposed consciousness that spiritual people refer to?

Proof? Remember agnostic one, a proof only exists in mathematics and formal logic. You are looking for the word evidence.

And yes, evidence exists that indicates that there are truly realms of existence that cannot be perceived by humankind's five traditional senses. You might find some light by investigating quantum mechanics.

Ego is one's sense of self.

Consciousness is one's ability to be aware.

Anyway, back to Mr. Huxley and people's perspectives concerning the literary genius.