Ralston College presents a lecture by Theodore Dalrymple (Anthony Daniels) on H. G. Wells’ extraordinary 'scientific romance', 'The Time Machine'. A brilliant seer and prophet with a very pessimistic view of humanity, Wells was, nevertheless, a naive and shallow political thinker. The two sides of his mind—the artistic and the ideological; the 'unofficial' and the 'official'—were in conflict. It is the pessimistic artist, rather than the socialist, eugenicist, and futurist, that we remember today.

Although Wells was an ardent believer in social progress, the future that he envisions in what is arguably his most famous novel is hardly a progressive fantasy. Instead, he conjures a dark, dystopian world, one which is in tension with his own political, evolutionary, and collectivist commitments. An artist whose creativity and insight were untrammeled by his personal politics, Wells offers an instructive example of a literary genius divided between his views and his muse, his own personal perspective and his enduring, inspired vision. Wells' prescient insights, and troubling self-contradictions, point to deep questions at the heart of human nature.

This lecture and discussion were recorded with a live online audience on March 17th, 2022.

Artists, Art, and Writings Mentioned in this Episode

H. G. Wells
'The Misery of Boots'
'Experiment in Autobiography'
'Star Begotten'
'The Time Machine'
'War of the Worlds'
'The Island of Doctor Moreau'
'Tono-Bungay'
'Mind at the End of Its Tether'

'Gulliver’s Travels,' Jonathan Swift
'Hamlet,' specifically Gertrude on Ophelia's death (Act 4, Scene 7)
'Heart of Darkness,' Joseph Conrad
'London Labour and the London Poor,' Henry Mayhew


Links of Possible Interest:

Theodore Dalrymple’s City Journal profile
https://www.city-journal.org/contribu...

Anthony Daniels' Visitor page at Ralston College
https://www.ralston.ac/people/anthony...

Ralston College
https://ralston.ac

Ralston College Short Courses
https://www.ralston.ac/humanities-sho...

Ralston College Humanities MA
https://www.ralston.ac/humanities-ma

Stephen Blackwood
https://www.stephenjblackwood.com


Timeline

0:00 - Beginning
0:30 - Introduction to Theodore Dalrymple
6:18 - Lecture begins: Wells' background
10:01 - Wells' view on society and social arrangement
15:22 - 'The Misery of Boots' and inequality
18:46 - Wells' cosmopolitan view and move to non-fiction
22:27 - 'Star Begotten' and Wells's pessimism
24:57 - Belief in technocracy to solve man's problems
27:56 - 'Time Machine': the division of humanity
40:39 - 'Island of Doctor Moreau' and pessimism of animal nature of man
42:12 - 'Tono Bungay' and absence of personal responsibility
45:44 - Conclusion: 'Mind at the End of its Tether'
*Discussion*
47:27 - Wells' inner tensions and contradictions; isolation of intellectuals; social theory vs social reality
55:23 - Reality that impinges upon us regardless of culture; technocratic thinking and its problems
1:06:41 - How can we be aware of self-delusion?
1:10:37 - Why are we disconnected from the past?
1:13:02 - What arises from looking at humanity as an abstraction?
1:19:08 - What does 'The Time Machine' say about progress?
1:20:13 - Why is the novel disturbing?
1:23:01 - Human particularity in 'The Time Machine'
1:29:57 - Wells' contribution to the 'Declaration of Human Rights'
1:31:12 - Absence of sexual difference and the family in 'The Time Machine'
1:38:14 - Time Traveler's background in science
1:40:02 - Necessity of difficulties in life

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