by Dogpatch 70 Replies latest forum announcements
If you want the same basic philosophy without the "taint" of Rand's personality read Mortimer J. Adler. They are both Aristotelian in their foundation.
All the rest are, more or less, shadows of Plato.
Loosely, all philsophy flows from two basic branches: Plato and Aristotle.
http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/22395.Mortimer_J_Adler
Being ornery on Christmas is fun!
0:41 to 0:51
"Her actual skill at writing and language is sub-par. --How funny is that? Her vocabulary is clunky and boorish; her metaphors are common..."
Is this the same 'Zen' who composed this jewel?
"Also, we wish that all articles on this site be authored by real people and not made-up aliases like Lee Elder."
(Which was pounced upon on Topix and shimmered in the air for attributing grammatical agency to a non-sentient object)
Without commenting on Ayn Rand's philosophy, I would say, "Physician heal thyself."
PLAYBOY: You are sharply critical of the world as you see it today, and your books offer radical proposals for changing not merely the shape of society, but the very way in which most men work, think and love. Are you optimistic about man's future?
RAND: Yes, I am optimistic. Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal, is dead. But freedom and individualism, and their political expression, capitalism, have not yet been discovered. I think men will have time to discover them. It is significant that the dying collectivist philosophy of today has produced nothing but a cult of depravity, impotence and despair. Look at modern art and literature with their image of man as a helpless, mindless creature doomed to failure, frustration and destruction. This may be the collectivists' psychological confession, but it is not an image of man. If it were, we would never have risen from the cave. But we did. Look around you and look at history. You will see the achievements of man's mind. You will see man's unlimited potentiality for greatness, and the faculty that makes it possible. You will see that man is not a helpless monster by nature, but he becomes one when he discards that faculty: his mind. And if you ask me, what is greatness? -- I will answer, it is the capacity to live by the three fundamental values of John Galt: reason, purpose, self esteem.
Ayn Rand missed the boat on Collectivism. It took familes and villages working together either as hunter gatherers or early agrarians to sustain themselves and advance. It takes team work to build successful companies and Nations.
In thinking about some of the brilliant scientists who passed away this year Max Palevski of Intel and Jacob Goldman of Xerox come to mind. They succeeded by building great teams.
At last night's Christmas Party dinner I sat next to an x-Law Enforcement officer who now teaches Team Leader skills to Corporations and the Military.
This may be the collectivists' psychological confession, but it is not an image of man. If it were, we would never have risen from the cave.
It's funny because it's so demonstrably, scientifically, wrong.
It's also funny to see people who passionately reject the governing body, not one single member of which rises to the level of evil on their worst day* that Rand carried on her best day, acting as cheerleaders for this foul broken ego driven human time bomb.
*Ok, maybe Freddie. On his worst day.
I find it interesting how many ex-JWs are attracted to Rand's writings. I have a good friend who left the org and became attracted to her philosophy. I think there is something elemental in her philosophy that is very empowering to some ex-JWs. I find that since the Witnesses are a religion that supresses the individual to an unhealthy degree, those escaping that stranglehold are naturally attracted to a philosophy that pushes unbridled individualism.
Yet most contemporary philosophers and academic departments don't take Rand very seriously, and for good reason. She was a mediocre writer, and an even more facile philosopher. Her philosophy is based off of a simplistic ethical egoism that doesn't take into account the complexities of living in a society. She confuses ambition and responsibility with ego-driven self-interest, and her main argument poses a false dichotomy between the individual and the collective. And despite her comments in the interview quoted by botchtowersociety, the results of such ethical egoism can be seen in the worst excesses of American capitalism (see the recent Wall Street crisis for an example).
If one wants an empowering individualism without the simplistic social-political overtones, then go with the original: Nietzsche. Then graduate to 20th century existentialists like Sartre and Camus, who had more profound things to say about responsiblity, the individual, and his/her role in society.
| "Ayn Rand missed the boat on Collectivism. It took familes and villages working together either as hunter gatherers or early agrarians to sustain themselves and advance. It takes team work to build successful companies and Nations." Designs, your above statement maskes it clear that you do not understand the term "Collectivism", with a captial 'C', as it used here. |
Mindseye - " Yet most contemporary philosophers and academic departments don't take Rand very seriously, and for good reason....blah blah"
I would point out that it is "contemporary philosophers and academic departments" who are the core cheerleaders for Collectivism. Even the word "departments" in this context gives away the group think that these mental midgets cling to.
Ayn Rand missed the boat on Collectivism. It took familes and villages working together either as hunter gatherers or early agrarians to sustain themselves and advance. It takes team work to build successful companies and Nations.
In thinking about some of the brilliant scientists who passed away this year Max Palevski of Intel and Jacob Goldman of Xerox come to mind. They succeeded by building great teams.
At last night's Christmas Party dinner I sat next to an x-Law Enforcement officer who now teaches Team Leader skills to Corporations and the Military.
AAaaaahh, the days when you were told what to wear, eat, your profession, and who to marry!
Good fight guys.
"She liked smoke filled rooms where ideas fought one another and where sometimes ideas died" from a favorite Short Story.
