Philosophy: WHO NEEDS IT
Ayn Rand’ book entitled Philosophy: Who Needs It is an excellent introduction to Ayn Rand’s objective philosophy. She gives many examples on how her objective philosophy allows individuals to live a more practical, rational, and conscious life. In the book she summarizes her philosophy and explains why other forms of thinking are contradictory and ultimately unpractical.
She boosts reason as the highest human value and goes after those with superficial knowledge:
“Reason is the only objective means of communication and of understaning among men; when men deal with one another by means of reason, reality is their objective standard and frame of reference. But when men claim to possess supernatural means of knowledge, no persuasion, communication or understanding are possible.”
As is Ayn Rand’s signature, she is always introducing her other projects in her current work. That is something to look forward to in her books. She always explains her ideas clearly and describes WHY she thinks that way. Here is my favorite excert from her other book Atlas Shrugged:
“You seek escape from pain. We seek the achievement of hapiness. You exist for the sake of avoiding punishement. We exist for the sake of earning rewards. Threats will not make us function; fear is not our incentive. It is not death that we wish to avoid, but life that we wish to live.”
In Philosophy: Who Needs It, she takes on many complex problems that have been plaguing humanity: false religion, goverment involvement in economics, government stiffling of individual freedoms, contradictory philosophies, wrong moral codes and plenty of other controversial subjects. Even though she takes on these hard subjects she never loses her focus on explaing why objective thinking can be the solutions to these problems.
I will state that in her book Ayn Rand predicted the current economic state and blames it on too much government interaction with the economy. Which logically I would have to agree.
Ayn Rand goes on to show that the current system rewards those who are lazy, unmotivated, and ultimately without integrity. She brilliantly states:
“Whome would these men fear most, psychologically -and least, existentially? The brilliant loner -the begineer, the young man of potential genius and innocently ruthless integrity, whos only weapons are talent and truth. They reject him “instinctively” saying that “he doesn’t belong” (to what?), sensing that he would put them on the spot by raising issues they prefer not to face. He might get past their protective barriers, once in a while, but he is handicapped by his virtues -in a system rigged against intelligence and integrity.”
The book is an excellent source for those who are interested in thinking clearly, objectively, and those interested in integrity and Ayn Rand’s philosophy.
Category: Books, Education, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Science, Thoughts | Tags: Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Books, death, Education, government, happiness, individual freedoms, knowledge, life, Objective Thinking, Philosophy, reason, Religion, thinking clearly 5 comments »
January 9th, 2009
Its always great to see someone give the human mind its due, and no one did a better job of that than Ayn Rand.
Favorite Quote (Would also be a great banner for the open source movement):
Show me your achievement – and the knowledge will give me courage for mine. ~Ayn Rand
January 10th, 2009
Ayn Rand is a fascinating character with lots of good ideas to teach. I am currently reading her book “The Art of Nonfiction,” I should have it finished today.
January 10th, 2009
Ayn Rand has alwasys been one of my favorite authors, and I look forward to reading this book.
May 7th, 2009
Johnny, you’ve got to read Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged. It’s fiction but gives great insight into her philosophy…an unforgettable book!
May 7th, 2009
Sue, I agree with you that Atlas Shrugged is an unforgettable book. I am 2/3 finished with Atlas Shrugged and so far it has captured my mind’s interest. I am at the climax of the book and can’t wait to finish it and write a review about it. I believe that all of Ayn Rand’s book have a purpose. Her work is a great gem for those interested in a better world. Even though her book is fiction, I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in knowing why things are the way they are (economy, government, global disaster fears, etc.)
Thank you for your comment. I am always interested in what intellectuals think in these harsh times. =)