Thereafter, she published her own work and lectured on the Objectivist moral ethic to which she often referred to as "a philosophy for living on earth" based on rational self-interest and the balance between the needs of the individual and moral pr Continue Reading...
First, this viewpoint essentially discounts all abstract works from being called "art." This idea seems counterintuitive to many; numerous art critics, collectors, viewers, and even Rand (see below) consider abstract art to be art, based on the meta Continue Reading...
Ayn Rand, "Antitrust: The Rule Unreason" alleged purpose Antitrust laws protect competition; purpose-based socialistic fallacy a free, unregulated market inevitably lead establishment coercive monopolies. Remarks on Causation and Liability This re Continue Reading...
Rand merely suggests that lacking any purpose in life is a moral failing of the individual. According to this view, a person who contributes nothing to others but lives very "purposefully" to satisfy an arbitrary personal interest in gardening, or c Continue Reading...
Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand The Rationalization and Pursuit of Self-interest of Humanity in "The Virtue of Selfishness" by Ayn Rand Ayn Rand's collection of essays in the book "The Virtue of Selfishness" provides insightful thoughts about th Continue Reading...
Anthem, the author Ayn Rand once again examines the conflict between the individual and society. The story occurs in a fictional location and society where the individual possess no rights. It is the responsibility of the individual to serve the sta Continue Reading...
..and the profound contempt for man's nature is obvious." Therefore, man should not embrace values others than he has decided for himself. In terms of the relation with the community, this should be the result of the peaceful and moral coexistence be Continue Reading...
It is this attitude that places Roark upon the road of discover that leads to himself and his inner drive to create beauty. From Rand's book, it becomes clear that she is presenting her philosophy of objectivism. It is a philosophy that promotes th Continue Reading...
Atlas Shrugged What is the Moratorium on Brains? Is there a similar moratorium currently? In the novel Atlas Shrugged, author Ayn Rand discusses a dystopian condition which she calls the "moratorium on brains." By this, Rand refers to the death of Continue Reading...
Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand, depicts interplay of two forces: regulated economic freedom and free-market system. This paper describes the philosophy and the practical stances of both the schools of thought within the context of events that occur in t Continue Reading...
Rand's Rational Self Interest Rand’s philosophy regarding selfishness and altruism contains a crucial dichotomy, as virtually anyone’s philosophy regarding opposite concepts would. However, the opposition in Rand’s concept may Continue Reading...
Anthem: Individuality vs. Conformity The novella Anthem by Ayn Rand is the story of an individual's search for identity in a society based on conformity. Set in the future the story's protagonist, Equality 7-2521 is a street sweeper whose great sin Continue Reading...
He needs to believe this not only for himself but also for those that follow and place their trust in him. He declares that money is the root of all evil and that it "can't buy happiness, Love will conquer any barrier and social distance" (392). The Continue Reading...
" This could not even be termed a desire to do good, as then it would be fulfilling someone's desire to do a good deed, and would therefore have a selfish motive. Kant is one of the very few that attempted to divorce happiness from morality; even tho Continue Reading...
According to utilitarian ethical theory, a lie would be very moral indeed if it increased someone's happiness without creating detriment to anyone -- telling a child that their unintelligible crayon markings is a great picture of a house, for instan Continue Reading...
Success cannot be generalized; too often the word is used as a term referring to financial independence or owning one's own company. Yet the sanitation worker who goes to bed each night with a smile on her face also connotes success in the modern wo Continue Reading...
Moral Environment Ayn Rand's The Ethics of Emergencies speaks about the value of selfishness or self-interest. Although "selfishness" might seem negative at first, Rand's explanation makes quite a bit of sense. Rand speaks about selfishness as a rat Continue Reading...
'How else can men be when they live for their brothers?'" (Rand 151) Not only is there no separation between self and others but also living for others without thinking for one's self or tolerating disagreement, living in a kind of frozen state of a Continue Reading...
Success means achieving something unique through the efforts of an individual -- even in the face of adversity. Success isn't measured by heights attained, but by obstacles overcome. I understand this sort of success as the very essence of individual Continue Reading...
Galt's Gulch and a strike of the mind is possible? Do we choose not to believe it or the philosophy because we might not be one of them or do we truly not believe in top down economics? In theory a strike of the mind such as the one perpetrated by Continue Reading...
Likewise, Dagny's brother James doesn't so much believe that money is evil so much as he believes that money is not a natural extension of human reason. Jim's means of making money is through connections and manipulation, not through creativity and Continue Reading...
recurring dream in which I am standing at a podium in front of a large audience. I am the head of an organization, although my exact title and the nature of the organization are vague. In the dream, I deliver a speech, detailing some aspect of compa Continue Reading...
Polygamy Should the state of Missouri legalize polygamy? Comprising 114 counties, Missouri is a U.S. state located in mid-west of the country. The debate of whether or not legalize polygamy (i.e. one man marrying many women) is ethically evaluated Continue Reading...
Ethical egoism unsatisfactory moral theory; important corrective ethics -sacrifice. Briefly relate ethical egoism, defended Ayn Rand, ethics -sacrifice, presented Carol Gilligan's stage moral development. Philosophy commentary 1st thread Conventi Continue Reading...
Atlas Shrugged The events in Chapters nine and ten of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged have much in common with the real world events of recent history. In Chapter 9, characters Dagny and Reardon find a car company which has been deserted. The Twentieth C Continue Reading...
Atlas Shrugged John Galt, Ayn Rand's Ubermensch, relays his values in the poignant rhetorical question: "Which is the monument to the triumph of the human spirit over matter: the germ-eaten hovels on the shorelines of the Ganges or the Atlantic skyl Continue Reading...
Capitalists of the World Unite! You Have Everything to Gain -- profit, individual excellence, and personal appeal! In her fictional work of philosophy entitled Atlas Shrugged, one of Ayn Rand's central characters, Francisco d'Anconia, expresses out Continue Reading...
Philosophical and Literary Representation of Capitalism Progress & Technology in Capitalism John Steinbeck wrote the social The Grapes of Wrath during the interwar years, just after the Great Depression harrowingly illustrated the power of unch Continue Reading...
Paradox When Henry Adams described the "task of education" as being "this problem of running order through chaos, direction through space, discipline through freedom, unity through-multiplicity," it appears that he was referring to something that pe Continue Reading...
The actions of these collective groups lead only to frustration, a lack of responsibility, ineptitude, and inefficiency. What sort of world does this lead to? The people who are most capable seem to be disappearing, while the least capable are left Continue Reading...
Russian emigres draws upon a very distinct Russian tradition of intellectuals in exile. Both the Russian Empire and Soviet Union had many exiles, both inside the empire and outside it. Many of those that left voluntarily early in their lives, includ Continue Reading...
Objectivism Helping others is not explicitly prohibited in Objectivist philosophy: it is just not considered the highest moral good, in contrast to acting in one's own, personal self-interest. It should be noted that acting in self-interest can resu Continue Reading...
Fundamentally, the insurgents are fighting an enemy with superior weaponry, technology, and resources, so therefore, must seek avenues to mitigate these disadvantages. In other words, insurgent forces out vastly outdone in the traditional aspects of Continue Reading...
industry in America are a varied lot, ranging from self-righteous and mean-spirited individualists to community-minded altruists. The tensions among these capitalist types is as evident today as it was in the days when Ayn Rand first penned The Foun Continue Reading...
Anarchy The debate that summarizes mankind involves determining which particular means of existence is best. Social, political and economic constructs have been developed and implemented throughout the last thousand years. Throughout this time, diff Continue Reading...
Moral Skepticism and Knowledge Moral Skepticism and Moral Knowledge Morality is a much debated philosophical idea, wherein the arguments range from ethical egoism being the perfect sample of moral ethics to altruism being the perfect -- and otherwi Continue Reading...
Daniel Quinn's Vision Of History Beauty is often described as being in the eye of the beholder. In this sense beauty is viewed as a subjective consideration and so its appreciation is a matter of taste and perspective. Likewise, events that take pla Continue Reading...
Virtue Ethics Beats Egoism One of the reasons that philosophy is such a fascinating topic that has endured virtually throughout the course of human history is because it presents the crux of human existence in the basic forms of what is right and wr Continue Reading...
Ethical Egoism & Abortion Ethical egoism, as a philosophical position, holds that it is an ethical obligation for people to act in their own self-interest. How does this philosophical position deal with the debate over the morality of abortion? Continue Reading...
