Posted on 03/11/2005 6:17:42 PM PST by Hank Kerchief
I used to be such a fan of Objectivism. Now I'm interested in (though not committed to) the opposite - total Subjectivism. Not as a product of relativism, but instead as an observation that it's the natural state of things, no matter what. Even objectivists must operate within their own reference frame.
The questions I can't ignore are - why ignore that which you know? Yes, they are biases, and so....? You should use all the information you have to make good choices. Why throw out certain facts?
What's the difference between loyalty and favoritism, for example, if I'm going to embrace my wife, even when I KNOW she's wrong? No Objectivist can expect to fulfill the requirements of a marriage contract, where some blind loyalty need exist (and I wouldn't have it another way, nor would she).
I'm still a big fan of Ayn Rand for her take on social structure and the simple philosophy that "I own that which I own"... roughly equivalent to her 'a is a' assertion (though that's debatable in some respects. Two apples are two different apples, and so all things are different as the space and time they occupy helps define them, in my opinion; a is NOT a - they are two different "a"'s).
I'm about half way thru The Fountainhead,and the Branden's sound like some of her characters.I've ck'd out AR on the net,but this(the Branden's)is news to me.What luck,she befriended a couple of sociopaths.
All the Alan Colmes of the world are in a state of arrested development!
ping the Ayn Rand list?
Nathaniel Branden has some books on self esteem which don't seem too bad. It seems strange because I went to a lecture of his last year and after that I have read some of Rand's works not knowing all the history between the two.
Yea, over dramatized, myopic and dark. After studying Objectivism casually for 5 years, it was a downer to log onto HPO and see the best of them eating each other alive over minutia.
I suppose it’s inevitable that such a great and destabilizing power as Objectivist ideas would shake the personal lives of its pioneers, but I’d rather see people use the philosophy to our advantage and get our drama externally.
I agree. You may have seen the spoof of her writing style Atlas Dined posted here.
I loved the book, but I hated reading it....there were times when I found myself pulling my hair and thinking "Okay! We get it, move on!"
What about Alan Greenspan? he had been her pretoge money guy. He had several articles in her periodical denouncing the very activity that he does now.
In the 60's he fully supported the gold standard, and in fact, made strong arguments to redouble efforts to institute the gold standard.
Since, he has become the darling of the global money elite.
Yea, I never quite understood his evolution.
"There is something almost operatic in the telling: "Yea, over dramatized, myopic and dark.
From the review it sounds more Biblical to me. Every God needs a golden boy protege/assistant whose spiritual imperfections causes him to turn on God Him/Herself and become The Satan.
After studying Objectivism casually for 5 years, it was a downer to log onto HPO and see the best of them eating each other alive over minutia.
Yep.
Your post has nothing to do with philosophy. It does have something to do with weak minds and the vice of idolatry.
It's the only novel I've ever read that really needs an index.
Notice how this article doesn't mention any specifics. No counterarguments, nothing. It just smears the Brandens and fawns over Rand.
That's an awesome find! Bookmarked for later.
I always thought Atlas Shrugged was about 200 pages too short. There should have been more development on John Galt. Like, the years he worked as a laborer, and the other guys would make fun of him for working on his nerdy projects instead of joining them for a beer. When they would ask why he did it, he would answer "Who is John Galt?", and they would say "You're John Galt, you idiot!"
On several occasions, he would go to his flop-house apartment where he worked on his machine, only to find the door kicked open by some local ne'er do well, causing his machine to turn to dust and he'd have to start all over. Galt would always mumble "Damn, I gotta get a stronger door!"
[smile] I’ve never seen Objectivists fail to give enough attention to their differences.
Quit bitching. At least you got to bang Dagney.
Rearden metal bracelet, my ass!
No complaints, though - quality time, quality time.
That’s the kind of thing the book needs! Some white space to bring out the shapes.
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