Posts by Viviane

80

Ayn Rand - Opinions?

by cappytan in

jw
friends

for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

do you think she's a charlatan?

Viviane

It is simply an observation on the pot calling the kettle 'black.'

In what way? The topic requested opinions on Ayn Rand. That was what I offered. It didn't ask for opinions about another guy.

But, snipes and catcalls from the bleachers are merely interruptions and often lead to bad manners.

Which is exactly why I asked about you sniping at someone else who offered his opinion on Ayn Rand, which is the topic.

Now, in response what do we see? Is there discussion? Or, is there peremptory dismissal?

You got a specific reason why I found Adler to be lacking. What were you expecting?

You see, I think it is good to express yourself with alternatives and suggested options for others to consider. If you consider path A to be worthless, then suggested path B and tell why it is better.

You got that. What were you expecting?

80

Ayn Rand - Opinions?

by cappytan in

jw
friends

for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

do you think she's a charlatan?

Viviane

Of course a group need not be religious to be a cult.

Agreed.

But I was thinking how ironic it is in this case. The very idea of there being a leader with followers is antithetical to Rand's philosophy of individualism.

It absolutely drops with irony.

I guess it just proves that some people can't help their narcissistic bent and others can't help but adore them.

Interestingly, Ayn Rand became that which she preached against, much like in Animal Farm :)

80

Ayn Rand - Opinions?

by cappytan in

jw
friends

for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

do you think she's a charlatan?

Viviane

That quotation is by a fellow named John Rogers. One of his claims to fame involved writing the script to the movie CATWOMAN. He's obviously marvellously well-qualified to criticize :)

Surely, Terry, you aren't going down the road of criticizing who said it rather than the substance of the argument itself, are you?

80

Ayn Rand - Opinions?

by cappytan in

jw
friends

for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

do you think she's a charlatan?

Very few, Terry, when their ideas are taken to the logical conclusion. William James, Robert Pirsig, Socrates, of course, Bertrand Russell, are all philosophers whose work I've read and positively influenced me. In a way, you could say Ayn Rand also positively influenced me as well, but in the sense of "don't be a jerk like her".

80

Ayn Rand - Opinions?

by cappytan in

jw
friends

for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

do you think she's a charlatan?

Viviane

Viviane, how do you feel about Mortimer J. Adler's philosophy books such as 10 Philosophical Mistakes?

I've not read it, but I have read his book "How to Think about God". I found it quite overbearing in in trying to tell others what they mean and believe and then knocking that meaning and belief down.

88

First law of thermodynamics vs God vs Big Bang

by EndofMysteries in

first law of thermodynamics, that energy cannot be created or destroyed but changed from one form to another.

how does that fit in with god and the big bang to you?

does it make one make more sense then the other to you?

Viviane

Next question: how did the energy get there?

The total energy of the universe is zero. And, it appears that there is no such thing as nothing, an absence of everything and anything and that, were it possible to create such a thing, it's incredibly unstable.

80

Ayn Rand - Opinions?

by cappytan in

jw
friends

for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

do you think she's a charlatan?

Viviane

My opinion of Ayn Rand is that she was an extraordinary genius with extraordinary flaws. She was always the smartest person around which must have driven her quite mad with frustration. She had a tough time suffering fools.

Mine is that she thought she was the smartest person around with extraordinary flaws on top of that and that, far from suffering fools, she surrounded herself with them and in the end, proved to be one.

So, I say to you Viviane, Rand may be your encounter at the oasis. Why go thirsty?

I have read her books, her philosophy, many personal observations about her. I find nothing of value there. Why assume I am thirsty just because I don't find value in Rand?

88

First law of thermodynamics vs God vs Big Bang

by EndofMysteries in

first law of thermodynamics, that energy cannot be created or destroyed but changed from one form to another.

how does that fit in with god and the big bang to you?

does it make one make more sense then the other to you?

Viviane

Since the big bang is considered to be the "beginning" of the known universe, it would be logically incorrect to assume this law would have governed the the big bang itself. In other words, the big bang is largely responsible for the creation of such laws.
Other universes likely exist, and are not governed by the same laws that govern ours.

That is one of the greatest questions in physics. If there are other universes, could they have other rules? Are the rules we see in this universe a consequence of existence, could they be different or are these rules we see around us the only possible configuration? What drives the rules being what they are?

No one knows, but they are trying to find out!

88

First law of thermodynamics vs God vs Big Bang

by EndofMysteries in

first law of thermodynamics, that energy cannot be created or destroyed but changed from one form to another.

how does that fit in with god and the big bang to you?

does it make one make more sense then the other to you?

Viviane

starting from zero, you would have to push I unit and pull another unit the other way to get the 2 unit separation. just because the thing snaps pack to zero, when your exertion stops, does not take away from the fact that two units were required to bring about the interesting "There is something" state. 2what? fisherman;--- 2 halves of the immense energy embodied in the Universe.

Yeah. No. That's just stringing words together in a nonsensical way.The total energy of the universe is zero.

80

Ayn Rand - Opinions?

by cappytan in

jw
friends

for those of you familiar with ayn rand and her ideas on morality, rationality and reason, what is your opinion of those ideas?.

i'm talking about her actual ideas, not the ideals that libertarianism has adopted and, in some cases, perverted.

do you think she's a charlatan?

Viviane

Ayn Rand, the person, interests me very little. The person who designed the chair I sit in so comfortably may have been an asshole; should I sit on the floor instead?

Terry, the topic is asking what our opinion of Ayn Rand is. Also, no, don't sit on the floor. Buy a chair from someone that isn't an asshole :)