Soma is a fictional drug in Aldous Huxley's 1932 dystopian sci-fi novel Brave New World . In the novel, soma is an "opiate of the masses" that replaces religion and alcohol in a peaceful, but immoral, high-tech society far in the future. Soma, a narcotic tranquilizer in tablet and vapor form, is regularly taken by all members of society in order to produce feelings of euphoric happiness. Soma, however, is harmful or even deadly when taken in large amounts. In Brave New World, the mother of John the Savage died after consuming too much soma. Inspired by Huxley's trip to India in the mid-1920s, is based on the historical soma drink, used in Hindu rituals to induce a hallucinogenic state. Besides soma, Huxley also incorporated other ideas based on Indian culture into the book, such as the caste system used in the fictional society of the World-State.
The idea of soma has become well-known in popular culture, and it has been compared to later real-life drugs like Valium. The name has become representative of modern society's dependence on prescription drugs.
Huxley had visited India from 1925-26 while it was under the control of the British Raj and wracked by division. He described India as "depressing as no country I have ever known" and was glad to leave it, being critical of British rule over the country, but not believing they could rule themselves better, and ultimately describing it as a hopeless situation. However, he was nevertheless inspired by its cultural elements while writing the book. In Brave New World Revisited , Huxley states that he based soma not on the Greek word but on the Vedic "nectar of the gods", a liquid necessary for certain rituals and identified in 1969 to have been created from pressed juice from the fly agaric hallucinogenic mushroom. Numerous hymns and references to the real-life soma exist in the Rigveda , where it is worshiped as a deity second only to Indra in power. Similar to the actual soma, takers of the fictional soma are emotionally strengthened, but face considerable danger. [1]
In Brave New World, the fictional soma was the product of six years of research by thousands of pharmacologists and biochemists, who sought to create the ideal intoxicant. It functions similarly to alcohol, but without the defects. The Controllers of the World-State encourage the use of soma for the benefit of the state, reducing unrest and subversive ideas by ensuring people are happy, and thereby preventing war. Rather than religion, the people of the World-State worship soma. [2] The "savages" in the book, people who purposely live lives outside the World-State's control, generally refuse to rely on soma for happiness. [3]
In 1954, Huxley compared soma to mescaline in the book The Doors of Perception , citing its psychedelic effects. However, people are too susceptible to subtle influences while taking mescaline for it to truly be similar to soma. [4]
In The Tranquilizing of America (1979), Robert Hoffman compared Soma to Valium, citing America's increasing reliance on prescription medication. [3]
Soma was referenced in later works, such as the 1993 album Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins, which contains a track called "Soma" directly about the drug. Its lyrics refer to soma as "the opiate of blame". The Strokes also released a song called Soma in their 2001 album Is This It, containing less subtle references. [3]
Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and philosopher. His bibliography spans nearly 50 books, including non-fiction works, as well as essays, narratives, and poems.
Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an intoxicating effect. Recreational drugs are commonly divided into three categories: depressants, stimulants, and hallucinogens.
The Doors of Perception is an autobiographical book written by Aldous Huxley. Published in 1954, it elaborates on his psychedelic experience under the influence of mescaline in May 1953. Huxley recalls the insights he experienced, ranging from the "purely aesthetic" to "sacramental vision", and reflects on their philosophical and psychological implications. In 1956, he published Heaven and Hell, another essay which elaborates these reflections further. The two works have since often been published together as one book; the title of both comes from William Blake's 1793 book The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.
Brave New World is a dystopian novel by English author Aldous Huxley, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Largely set in a futuristic World State, whose citizens are environmentally engineered into an intelligence-based social hierarchy, the novel anticipates huge scientific advancements in reproductive technology, sleep-learning, psychological manipulation and classical conditioning that are combined to make a dystopian society which is challenged by the story's protagonist. Huxley followed this book with a reassessment in essay form, Brave New World Revisited (1958), and with his final novel, Island (1962), the utopian counterpart. This novel is often compared as an inversion counterpart to George Orwell's 1984 (1949).
Mescaline, also known as mescalin or mezcalin, as well as 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenethylamine, is a naturally occurring psychedelic protoalkaloid of the substituted phenethylamine class, known for its hallucinogenic effects comparable to those of LSD and psilocybin. It binds to and activates certain serotonin receptors in the brain, producing hallucinogenic effects.
Psychopharmacology is the scientific study of the effects drugs have on mood, sensation, thinking, behavior, judgment and evaluation, and memory. It is distinguished from neuropsychopharmacology, which emphasizes the correlation between drug-induced changes in the functioning of cells in the nervous system and changes in consciousness and behavior.
Entheogens are psychoactive substances, including psychedelic drugs used throughout history in sacred contexts.
Humphry Fortescue Osmond was an English psychiatrist who moved to Canada and later the United States. He is known for inventing the word psychedelic and for his research into interesting and useful applications for psychedelic drugs. Osmond also explored aspects of the psychology of social environments, in particular how they influenced welfare or recovery in mental institutions.
Island is a 1962 utopian manifesto and novel by English writer Aldous Huxley, the author's final work before his death in 1963. Although it has a plot, the plot largely serves to further conceptual explorations rather than setting up and resolving conventional narrative tension.
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Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business (1985) is a book by educator Neil Postman. It has been translated into eight languages and sold some 200,000 copies worldwide. In 2005, Postman's son Andrew reissued the book in a 20th anniversary edition.
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Soma may refer to:
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