What---if anything---can we learn from AYN RAND'S philosophy?

by Terry 93 Replies latest jw friends

Terry

Is it possible to discuss IDEAS on this Discussion Board without getting off-topic in ad-hominem? Sure it is!
I think Ayn Rand is a good source of CONCEPTUAL thinking.
Let us use her defintions for certain concepts as a starting point for OUR OWN discussion of important ideas.
Stay on topic!
Let's avoid ad-hominem.
Let's avoid extraneous sidebars. Stick with IDEAS.
Choose a topic from the list below. Click on the CONCEPT and read Rand's definition. Then, GIVE US YOUR OWN THOUGHTS.
We shall discover What--if anything--we can learn from AYN RAND'S philosophy.
Conceptual Index
THIS INDEX groups the topics under the headings: Philosophy, Psychology, Economics, and General. Philosophy is broken down into its branches: metaphysics (the study of the fundamental nature of reality and of man), epistemology (the theory of knowledge), ethics (the science of moral values), politics (including both political theory and more concrete public policy issues), and esthetics (the philosophy of art).
PHILOSOPHY: Metaphysics

Absolutes
Abstractions and Concretes
Atheism
Benevolent Universe Premise
Byronic View of Existence
Causality
Chance
Change
Consciousness
Contradictions
Creation
Determinism
Entity
Existence
Existent
Final Causation
Free Will
Goal-Directed Action
God
Identity
Infinity
Life
Malevolent Universe Premise
Man

Matter
Metaphysical
Metaphysical vs. Man-Made
Metaphysics
Miracles
Motion
Nature
Necessity
Non-Existence
Objectivity
Primacy of Existence vs. Primacy of Consciousness
Prior Certainty of Consciousness
Religion
Self
Soul-Body Dichotomy
Space
Subjectivism
Supernaturalism
Time
Universe
Volitional
Zero, Reification of

PHILOSOPHY: Epistemology

Absolutes
Abstraction (process of)
Abstractions and Concretes
Agnosticism
Analytic-Synthetic Dichotomy
“Anti-Concepts”
“A Priori”
Arbitrary
Argument from Intimidation
Axiomatic Concepts
Axioms
Certainty
Chance
Common Sense
Communication
Concept-Formation
Concepts
Conceptual Common Denominator
Consciousness
Context
Context-Dropping
Contradictions
Corollaries
Definitions
Dogma
Emotions
Epistemology
Esthetic Abstractions
Faith
Falsehood
“Frozen Abstraction,” Fallacy of
Fundamentality, Rule of
Genus and Species
Grammar
Hierarchy of Knowledge
Implicit Knowledge
Induction and Deduction
“Instinct”
Integration (Mental)
Introspection
Invalid Concepts
Irrationalism
Irreducible Primaries
Knowledge
Language
Learning
Linguistic Analysis
Logic
Logical Positivism

Materials, Concepts of
Mathematics
Meaning (of Concepts)
Measurement
Method, Concepts of
Mysticism
Mystics of Spirit and of Muscle
Nominalism
Normative Abstractions
Numbers
Objectivity
“Open Mind” and “Closed Mind”
Ostensive Definition
“Package–Dealing,” Fallacy of
Perception
Platonic Realism
Polylogism
Possible
Pragmatism
Primacy of Existence vs. Primacy of Consciousness
Principles
Prior Certainty of Consciousness
Proof
Propositions
“Rand’s Razor”
Rationalism vs. Empiricism
Reason
Religion
“Rewriting Reality”
Science
Self-Evident
Sensations
Similarity
Skepticism
“Stolen Concept,” Fallacy of
Subjectivism
Tabula Rasa
Teleological Measurement
Theory-Practice Dichotomy
Thought/Thinking
Truth
Understanding
Unit
Unit–Economy
Validation
Words
Zero, Reification of

PHILOSOPHY: Ethics

Abortion
Altruism
Ambition
Amoralism
Appeasement
Birth Control
Career
Character
Charity
Collectivism
Compassion
Competition
Compromise
Cooperation
Courage and Confidence
Creators
Cynicism
“Duty”
Emergencies
Emotions
End in Itself
Envy/Hatred of the Good for Being the Good
Errors of Knowledge vs. Breaches of Morality
Evasion
Evil
Faith
Final Causation
Focus
Free Will
Good, the
Happiness
Hedonism
Honesty
Honor
Humility
Independence
Individualism
Integrity
Intrinsic Theory of Values
Irrationality
“Is”-“Ought” Dichotomy
Justice
Life
Love

Man-Worship
Marriage
Mediocrity
Mercy
Metaphysical Value-Judgments
Money
Moral Cowardice
Moral Judgment
Moral-Practical Dichotomy
Morality
Mystical Ethics
Normative Abstractions
Objective Theory of Values
“Open Mind” and “Closed Mind”
Original Sin
Physical Force
Pity
Prestige
Pride
Productiveness
Purpose
Racism
Rationality
Religion
Responsibility/Obligation
Sacred
Sacrifice
Sanction
Sanction of the Victim
Self-Interest
Selfishness
Selflessness
Sex
Social Theory of Ethics
Standard of Value
Subjectivism
Suffering
Tactfulness
Trader Principle
Ultimate Value
Utilitarianism
Values
Virtue
Whims/Whim-Worship

PHILOSOPHY: Politics

Abortion
Ambition
America
Anarchism
“Antitrust Laws”
Birth Control
Businessmen
Businessmen vs. Bureaucrats
Capitalism
Censorship
Civil Disobedience
“Collective Rights”
Collectivism
“Common Good”
Communism
“Conservatives”
“Conservatives” vs. “Liberals”
Constitution
“Consumerism”
Contracts
Corporations
Creators
Crime
Democracy
Dictator
Dictatorship
Draft
Ecology/Environmental Movement
Economic Power vs. Political Power
Egalitarianism
“Ethnicity”
Fascism/Nazism
Fascism and Communism/Socialism
Founding Fathers
Foreign Policy
Fraud
Free Market
Free Speech
Freedom
Genocide
Government
Government Grants and Scholarships
Guild Socialism
Human Rights and Property Rights
Ideology
Inalienability
Individual Rights
Individualism
“Isolationism”
Justice
Law, Objective and Non-Objective
“Liberals”
“Libertarians”
Life, Right to
Lobbying

“McCarthyism”
“Meritocracy”
Middle Class
Minority Rights
Mixed Economy
Monopoly
National Rights
New Left
Pacifism
Patents and Copyrights
Peace Movements
Permission (vs. Rights)
Physical Force
Politics
Pollution
Poverty
Production
Property Rights
“Public Interest,” the
“Public Property”
Pursuit of Happiness, Right to
Pyramid of Ability
Quotas
Racism
“Redistribution” of Wealth
Representative Government
Republic
Retaliatory Force
Retroactive Law
Revolution vs. Putsch
Rightists vs. Leftists
Rights of the Accused
Sanction of the Victim
Secession
Self-Defense
Self-Determination of Nations
Service
Socialism
Social System
Society
Soviet Russia
States’ Rights
Statism
Taxation
Technology
Trader Principle
Tradition
Tribalism
Tyranny
Unions
United Nations
Utilitarianism
Voting
War
Welfare State
Terry

Here is just one example: FAITH
Do not say that you’re afraid to trust your mind because you know so little. Are you safer in surrendering to mystics and discarding the little that you
know? Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life. Redeem your mind from the hockshops of
authority. Accept the fact that you are not omniscient, but playing a zombie will not give you omniscience—that your mind is fallible, but becoming
mindless will not make you infallible—that an error made on your own is safer than ten truths accepted on faith, because the first leaves you the
means to correct it, but the second destroys your capacity to distinguish truth from error.
Rand equates Faith with giving up your own effort "to know" by surrendering to some Authority. Advocating responsibility for what we know replaces simply accepting something we don't on trust.
That sounds to me like a policy that will lead to empowerment rather than blind following of groupthink.
What do you think?
Terry

Another I like: GOD
What identity are they able to give to their superior realm? They keep telling you what it is not, but never tell you what it is. All their identifications
consist of negating: God is that which no human mind can know, they say—and proceed to demand that you consider it knowledge—God is non-man,
heaven is non-earth, soul is non-body, virtue is non-profit, A is non-A, perception is non-sensory, knowledge is non-reason. Their definitions are not
acts of defining, but of wiping out.
The implosion of mind that results from "knowing God" is accurately described here. How can "knowing God" be anything but acknowledging we can't KNOW anything at all, then, we turn around and surrender to what we can't/don't know!
By worshipping what can't be known we self-destroy the only thing that separates us from animals which is our rational mind!
sir82

What---if anything---can we learn from AYN RAND'S philosophy?
That if 100 words are good, then 100,000 must be excellent?
WTWizard

I would rather have a bad belief that I myself came up with, that I can alter at a later time, than have an equally bad belief that is imposed by someone else. Now, supposing I believe that the earth is flat and came up with that belief on my own (and that the 6 planets, moon, and sun revolved around it). At which point, I am presented with proof that the earth is a sphere. And that there are more than 6 planets (currently, there are 8 accepted as planets, a Kuiper belt, and the asteroid belt). And that the earth, like all the other planets except the moon, revolves around the sun. And that most of the other planets have moons of their own. I am now free to alter my beliefs in view of the proof I have been given. Also, if I am studying, and realize something is wrong, I can fix the problem.
However, if I have the same belief imposed on me by a religion, I am stuck with it. I can find all the proof I want. I can even fly to the moon and see that the earth is globe-shaped. I can fly to the outer planets. I can fly to their moons, and observe them. But, since the religion is stuck, I am stuck with the belief that there are only 6 planets, the earth is flat, and that everything revolves around the earth. Which suppresses intelligence, since even though I have proof that they are wrong (and I am wrong), I cannot do anything about it.
Definitely I recommend reading these books. If you can get your hands on anything by Eric Savage, Frank Wallace, and/or Mark Hamilton, I also recommend reading their books as well. No, I am not saying they are perfect. However, these books allow room for error--if they contain an error (which they, like all human works, do), you are not stuck believing the bad belief. You can modify it according to evidence you have, until you yourself find new evidence to further modify them. Try that with traditional religion, let alone Jehovah's Witlesses.
Open mind

That even atheists can start a cult?
That may sound snarky and ad-hominem-ish, but from what I've read about her inner circle, "atheist cult" sounds pretty accurate.
With that caveat out of the way, she was one of the first philosophical battering rams that went up against my JW indoctrination in my late teens.
The very simple concept that "my life" is actually mine was first reinforced for me by Ayn Rand. I'm not sure where it is in that list, but it's in there.
om
tec

God is love. God is just. God is merciful and forgiving. God is spirit. God is what Jesus showed Him to be. God is the creator of the universe. God is eternal.
There's a few positives for ya! Ayn must be talking to the wrong people :)
Tammy
PSacramento

Critical thinkingis great, IF you do it with an open mind and avoid extremissim.
Terry

What---if anything---can we learn from AYN RAND'S philosophy?
That if 100 words are good, then 100,000 must be excellent?
Gee, all those definitions on the CONCEPT list seemed pretty pithy to me.
Can you give an example?
Or am I treating your non-contributive animadversion with too much intellectual respect???
Terry

Open Mind says:
That even atheists can start a cult?

That may sound snarky and ad-hominem-ish, but from what I've read about her inner circle, "atheist cult" sounds pretty accurate.
Hmmm, Open Mind---seems an ironic was to represent yourself. Instead of actually reading what Ayn Rand says you go to adversarial critics and--
"read about her inner circle." Is that really open-minded?
I'm not interested in Ayn Rand as a person. Couldn't care less, actually. The few Objectivists I've spoken with seem like assholes. What I am interested in consists of HER IDEAS which she developed into a cogent philosophy.
Getting you to actually discuss ideas is like pulling wisdom teeth with broken fingers.
Aren't you interested in ideas??

What---if anything---can we learn from AYN RAND'S philosophy?

Conceptual Index

PHILOSOPHY: Metaphysics

PHILOSOPHY: Epistemology

PHILOSOPHY: Ethics

PHILOSOPHY: Politics

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