Let the polemics begin!
Stand-Alone Dreamer | 6 July 2004, 10:40amI have a a lot to say, Guess it will get it all out of my head so that I do not burst from the accumulation of unexpressed thoughts, which can be quite messy if you've ever witnessed it.
Every day, I look around in complete horror. The difference between what is versus what could and should be is so large that the contrast is almost unbearable. Just once I'd like to turn on the television and hear that something noble and heroic happened in the world. Something inspirational, to serve as a sort of "spiritual fuel" to combat the weariness from the daily bombardment of irrationality.
Still, they say one must never give up hope. If ever there was a time that positive change could be enacted, it is now. The web permits the access to, and transmission of, ideas at speed never before experienced. It is ideas that change the world, as philosophy is the foundation of human existence. At this point I wish to give credit where credit is due. Ayn Rand has had the most impact of any thinker upon my life. She gave me the words to express what I have always felt, but could not properly define by the moral code which most of society adheres to, consciously or not. www.aynrand.org is the place to begin learning about her philosophy, which she calls objectivism. As for myself, I am not an official spokesperson for objectivism, nor is anything I say to be assumed to be in strict compliance with her teachings. First hand research would benefit those who are interested.
Let the polemics begin.
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Posted in Philosophy | Next | Previous | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0)
1. By martiandevil | 6 Jul 2004, 11:40am
Ayn Rand certainly made me think. Her book The Fountainhead was epochal in putting forward ideas like objectivism. It says a man should strive to be exemplary.But the idea also teaches a man to be self serving and to become completely selfish, thinking about just HIS betterment.That is extremely contemptible.
2. By aloque | 7 Jul 2004, 1:26am
What do I say about Ayn Rand without knowing in my heart that her influence on my life has been unquestionable.
It is really hard to disagree with anything she says. I have been very influenced by her writing but have been unable to set the same exemplary standards of conduct that are propagated. From what I am led to believe, so couldn't Ayn herself.
To JLU, you should read her fictional works rather than her essays. I promise that your thinking will be affected if only to make a valid debate out of it. But, be warned that it could be a mind job that you were not expecting.
3. By JLU | 7 Jul 2004, 10:33am
Well sure, aloque. Thanks for the suggestion. I'm not sure if i'm in a position to do something just 'to make a valid debate' - priorities, you know. Again, you warn me about the mind part, which is a cause for concern :)
Exemplary living, struggle for perfection.... stuff no one can really disagree with. But the general suspicion is that such noble thoughts get skewed and advantageously used to continue to deny and deprive. Selective application of ideals is what it's all been about. Preach ideals for others, after you have gotten to the top by hook or crook. If the Right wing conservatives ever wanted some intellectual respectability, they would have found it in the 'objectivism' of Ms.Rand. Again, i'm speaking from what I found in the ARI link, which I guess is a proof of the pudding.
4. By strivingtobeme | 7 Jul 2004, 9:25pm
I have read a couple of Ayn Rands and believe the attitude she patronizes is more of an escapist attitude. She glorifies man's self to the extent that it potrays his independence from the rest of the universe. If it were so, why does she want to create another society more suited to her ideas? Why cannot man be the universe itself, rather than being its center? What she glorifies in Atlas Shrugged is in essence the very same idea that she denounces in Anthem. Its just another kind of dependence on another kind of society. I would say that anybody who scorns another being's independence, just because it happens to be different from his, needs to go a long way in spiritual freedom.
But for those who are interested, Ayn Rand's "We the living" is a good read and more near to reality.