Ayn Rand has this philosophy called objectivism. I think it makes a lot of sense. I'm getting ready to read one of her books. "The Fountainhead" Do you know anything about any of this?
2007-08-08 09:47:05 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I strongly dislike her positions on some things. I don't like her stance on feminism and she defended businesses who discriminated against race and gender. Yes, I'm familiar with her works (own some books of hers and about her) and I'm not fond of her/them.
Oh, and I hate it when people can't say her name correctly.
2007-08-08 09:52:00 · answer #1 · answered by psych_radish 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes. I've read "The Fountainhead", and have read several of her other books, as well. As for Rand's Objectivism, here is a link to the Ayn Rand Institute's "Essentials of Objectivism" page, which might help acquaint you with the basic principles of Objectivism:
http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_essentials
I am not an Objectivist myself.
2007-08-08 16:52:25 · answer #2 · answered by solarius 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm reading "Atlas Shrugged" at the moment, just getting into this objectivism thing. From what I can tell, it seems to be a type of thinking where logic and coolness, aloofness are acceptable and normal, a necessity in a world that would go wrong if everyone relied merely on feelings...? Based upon the idea that the whole world is capitalist though. Only a heartless person could be exactly this way all the time....
2007-08-08 16:51:48 · answer #3 · answered by granola*girl™ 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes-- smart lady. I started with "Anthem" which is pretty much a concise synopsis of her philosophy. Fountainhead's quite a read-- a little much to start with. My advice is to avoid getting to obsessed with her. Young reader tend to do that. Her work almost turns into a religion for some people.
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Oh-- if that's all "Lucky S" (above) got out of her-- she completely missed the point.
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I say again-- "Lucky S" doesn't get it. Saying her understanding of Rand is superficial is the understatement of the year. Common sense should tell her this. No one becomes as renown as Rand for espousing a simple "me first" philosophy. If that were true half the writers from the 70's would be remembered today. She's also missing the context of Rand. Her views counter the Soviet socialist philosophy she grew up under where words like "I" were frowned upon.
2007-08-08 16:53:45 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
She has a reputation for being "Nietzsche for Dummies," but that's mostly based on a misconception of what Nietzsche was all about. (Nietzsche did not favor callously doing whatever you want; he believed in pretty much the same morals as Aristotle, but he wanted to find a more realistic framework for expressing morals, and he absolutely hated any system that claimed to be 100% perfect revealed truth pointing to an unattainable ideal world. Nietzsche's disdain for this sort of intellectual arrogance made him the father of textual criticism.)
Rand was all about being selfish *because* she believed selfishness was best for everybody. She was a little too simplistic at times, and she was really wrong about many things, but she had a point there.
2007-08-08 16:56:23 · answer #5 · answered by Minh 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I thought Ayn Rand had a kind of pessimism to her philosophy...
2007-08-08 17:00:38 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's her best, I think. She went all crazy in the end. After her books became popular she found a very strange cult of personalty, name the Objectivist Society I think.
Read her with a skeptical mind. I think a lot of her observations are sound, but many of her conclusions are flawed. That said, she did change how I think, and I do recommend her early works.
2007-08-08 16:57:41 · answer #7 · answered by Herodotus 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Yes. I have read Atlas Shrugged and Anthem. I agree with her general philosophy, however I find her to be an extremist.
Sometimes with her, I think she wouldn't help out a family member in need if they were temporarily being worthless...
2007-08-08 16:57:03 · answer #8 · answered by . 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Yes! Orcs love Rand! We love the idea of figuring out who is going to stop us and crushing them before they can do it! Rand good!
2007-08-08 16:52:19 · answer #9 · answered by urukorcs 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I think her writing is brilliant and her ideas make some excellent points (although a bit long winded). Atlas Shrugged, being my favorite.
But- she was quite a hypocrite herself, not practicing what she preached.
2007-08-08 16:50:38 · answer #10 · answered by Morey000 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋