Ayn Rand stated: "My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievements as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." --Ayn Rand in the appendix to Atlas Shrugged.
Unfortunately, in her eagerness to stamp out all subjectivity, she erred in the other direction, and in declaring reason an absolute, in fact raised it to a level of trustworthiness that cannot be sustained. Reason became to her an absolute because it is the only valid means of comprehending reality. But reason itself is highly unreliable and can only be viewed as an absolute through an abstract process which is as separate from reality as any subjective concept. What Rand apparently failed to include as a part of her philosophy is the fact that reason, however indispensable, is itself flawed in its real-world uses. It can be as wily and slippery as an eel, and will only become a path to self-deception if thought of in any way as an absolute.
In her Introduction to "The Virtue of Selfishness," Rand makes the following statement:
"Yet the exact meaning and dictionary definition of the word 'selfishness' is: CONCERN WITH ONE'S OWN INTERESTS."
Beginning with this basic conceptual circumscription, she proceeds to construct the whole of her philosophy of selfishness. This "exact meaning," however, is just not exact at all; in fact, it is a complete distortion. The dictionary defines selfish as follows:
"1. concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself; seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others. 2. arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others."
To reduce the definition of this word to a benign "concern with one's own interests" is more than dishonest and deceptive. It is the first step in a whole philosophical system that misleads, that removes the distinction between rational self-interest and selfishness, and that ultimately condones and reinforces actions that are essentially anti-social. To say that this manipulation of the definition does not matter, because "Rand deals with concepts, not mundane definitions of words," is to admit that Objectivism has moved from being a reputed philosophy based on precise knowledge to being a form of propaganda. The definitions of words are significant because they are the means of communication. When words are used ad libitum, they cease to be a means of communication, and become a means of obfuscation and deception. They are then used to blur distinctions and to manipulate concepts in order to beguile.
"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life..." --Ayn Rand
happiness is a nonspecific standard, that what makes one person happy might make another miserable, that what might make a happy Hitler dance a jig can be the most evil, immoral act the world has seen, we then realize that happiness as a moral purpose is essentially meaningless. As a friend pointed out, all of Rand's characters in her novels are happy, regardless of their abominable characters; which all too well illustrates that "happiness" as a moral purpose says virtually nothing. To say that Hitler shouldn't have been happy doing evil only illustrates that this standard--happiness --is abstract and indefinite, and is not an objective standard at all. Happiness, in other words, may mean something different for each and every person. In fact, in a free society, it probably should. But to define moral purpose in terms of happiness says nothing unless we also define by what means the happiness was obtained. Objectivism is Nietzsche for BComm majors -"I am, I am superman"
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Or he was thinking of ways of utilizing these robots to throw pies at Stockwell Day & the BQ.
Too bad you did'nt get sucked into the television.
Ayn Rand stated:
"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievements as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." --Ayn Rand in the appendix to Atlas Shrugged.
Unfortunately, in her eagerness to stamp out all subjectivity, she erred in the other direction, and in declaring reason an absolute, in fact raised it to a level of trustworthiness that cannot be sustained. Reason became to her an absolute because it is the only valid means of comprehending reality. But reason itself is highly unreliable and can only be viewed as an absolute through an abstract process which is as separate from reality as any subjective concept. What Rand apparently failed to include as a part of her philosophy is the fact that reason, however indispensable, is itself flawed in its real-world uses. It can be as wily and slippery as an eel, and will only become a path to self-deception if thought of in any way as an absolute.
In her Introduction to "The Virtue of Selfishness," Rand makes the following statement:
"Yet the exact meaning and dictionary definition of the word 'selfishness' is: CONCERN WITH ONE'S OWN INTERESTS."
Beginning with this basic conceptual circumscription, she proceeds to construct the whole of her philosophy of selfishness. This "exact meaning," however, is just not exact at all; in fact, it is a complete distortion. The dictionary defines selfish as follows:
"1. concerned excessively or exclusively with oneself; seeking or concentrating on one's own advantage, pleasure, or well-being without regard for others. 2. arising from concern with one's own welfare or advantage in disregard of others."
To reduce the definition of this word to a benign "concern with one's own interests" is more than dishonest and deceptive. It is the first step in a whole philosophical system that misleads, that removes the distinction between rational self-interest and selfishness, and that ultimately condones and reinforces actions that are essentially anti-social. To say that this manipulation of the definition does not matter, because "Rand deals with concepts, not mundane definitions of words," is to admit that Objectivism has moved from being a reputed philosophy based on precise knowledge to being a form of propaganda. The definitions of words are significant because they are the means of communication. When words are used ad libitum, they cease to be a means of communication, and become a means of obfuscation and deception. They are then used to blur distinctions and to manipulate concepts in order to beguile.
"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life..." --Ayn Rand
happiness is a nonspecific standard, that what makes one person happy might make another miserable, that what might make a happy Hitler dance a jig can be the most evil, immoral act the world has seen, we then realize that happiness as a moral purpose is essentially meaningless. As a friend pointed out, all of Rand's characters in her novels are happy, regardless of their abominable characters; which all too well illustrates that "happiness" as a moral purpose says virtually nothing. To say that Hitler shouldn't have been happy doing evil only illustrates that this standard--happiness --is abstract and indefinite, and is not an objective standard at all. Happiness, in other words, may mean something different for each and every person. In fact, in a free society, it probably should. But to define moral purpose in terms of happiness says nothing unless we also define by what means the happiness was obtained. Objectivism is Nietzsche for BComm majors -"I am, I am superman"