To: tbird5
Ayn Rand, the militant atheist, taught that selfishness was a virture. Her sophomoric philosophy - objectivism - does not ring true with human nature, and no society could even be built upon it.
To: Pittsburg Phil
But the opposite of her philosophy doesn't work either. Check Atlas Shrugged. As with anything moderation is the key.
3 posted on
02/03/2005 8:07:52 PM PST by
Mr. Blonde
(You know, Happy Time Harry, just being around you kinda makes me want to die.)
To: Pittsburg Phil
I found her philosophy without soul or joy. A life lived for itself alone is wasted. I am surprised she did not end her life like Hemingway.
4 posted on
02/03/2005 8:08:40 PM PST by
BipolarBob
(Yes I backed over the vampire, but I swear I didn't see it in my rearview mirror.)
To: Pittsburg Phil
>>Ayn Rand, ... taught that selfishness was a virture.>>
Well, not exactly. My opinion of her view of "selfishness" was to concentrate on yourself in order to be the best you can be and thereby be of benefit to others and society. I think she saw the waste in making sacrifices of self, which diminish self, and makes one less than their potential and less capable of contributing. From the article: "...Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Rand's philosophyher rejection of altruism and her embrace of ethical egoismis also one of the most misunderstood. Despite her sometimes misleading rhetoric about "the virtue of selfishness," the point of her egoism was not to advocate the pursuit of one's own interests at the expense of others', but rather to reject the entire conflictual model of interests according to which "the happiness of one man necessitates the injury of another," in favor of an older, more Aristotelean conception of self-interest as excellent human functioning...."
8 posted on
02/03/2005 8:37:52 PM PST by
VOX9
(Stolen History & Stolen Heritage - Closed Records for Adult Adoptees!)
To: Pittsburg Phil
Ever read Mark Twain's 'Essays on Man'? It's a hilarious panning of Rand's Virtue of Selfishness before she was even born.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson