The Ideas of Ayn Rand
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Load more
Recommended publications
-
Ayn Rand? Ayn Rand Ayn
Who Is Ayn Rand? Ayn Rand Few 20th century intellectuals have been as influential—and controversial— as the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. Her thinking still has a profound impact, particularly on those who come to it through her novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead—with their core messages of individualism, self-worth, and the right to live without the impositions of others. Although ignored or scorned by some academics, traditionalists, pro- gressives, and public intellectuals, her thought remains a major influence on Ayn Rand many of the world’s leading legislators, policy advisers, economists, entre- preneurs, and investors. INTRODUCTION AN Why does Rand’s work remain so influential? Ayn Rand: An Introduction illuminates Rand’s importance, detailing her understanding of reality and human nature, and explores the ongoing fascination with and debates about her conclusions on knowledge, morality, politics, economics, government, AN INTRODUCTION public issues, aesthetics and literature. The book also places these in the context of her life and times, showing how revolutionary they were, and how they have influenced and continue to impact public policy debates. EAMONN BUTLER is director of the Adam Smith Institute, a leading think tank in the UK. He holds degrees in economics and psychology, a PhD in philosophy, and an honorary DLitt. A former winner of the Freedom Medal of Freedom’s Foundation at Valley Forge and the UK National Free Enterprise Award, Eamonn is currently secretary of the Mont Pelerin Society. Butler is the author of many books, including introductions on the pioneering economists Eamonn Butler Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, F. -
Howard Roark As Hero Approved
HOWARD ROARK AS HERO APPROVED: Major Professor C »l& c Mimm Professor £l£. Director of the E&partment of English _ r, I crx^Aj~tc^<-—^ of tt« ISradttsts School HOWARD ROARK AS HERO THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By Sue Evelyn Coffman, B. A. Denton, Texas June, 1965 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter P»f« L INTRODUCTION 1 IL THE REPRESENTATIVE QUALITY OF HfiHflfeARD ROARK t III. AN ANALYSIS OF HOWARD ROARK 21 IV. HOWARD ROARK AS A TWENTIETH-CENTURY SOCIOLOGICAL HERO . 45 V. HOWARD ROARK A3 A TWENTIETH-CENTURY FICTIONAL HERO 76 VL HOWARD ROARK AS A MYTHOLOGICAL HERO . 100 VIL CONCLUSION . 126 BIBLIOGRAPHY 128 lit CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Ayn Rand has written two best-sellers, The Fountalnhead and Atlas Shruff^ed. whose readers, seemingly oblivious of the olten blisteringly negative reviews, have become ardent followers eagerly anticipating the next 'Sword" from her pen. Young people, particularly, identify with the Rand heroes because her characters are vital, forceful makers and doers. They are emblems of success, self-confidence, and proficiency. Nathaniel Branden claims that Ayn Rand's "ability to present , , . characters who are genuinely heroic . " is undoubtedly one of the chief reasons for her enormous popularity. * Ayn Rand's was a gradual rise to fame, however; she did not attract disciples from her first literary attempts. Early in 1931, while working in the wardrobe department of Radio-Keith-Orpheum, Ayn Rand began work on her first successful piece of writing, Red Pawn, a movie original bought by Universal Pictures in 1932, later traded to Paramount Pictures, but never used. -
Free Speech and Postmodernism -- Objectivist Center -- Reason, Individu
Free Speech and Postmodernism -- Objectivist Center -- Reason, Individu... http://www.objectivistcenter.org/navigator/articles/nav+shicks_free-spee... Category: Culture and Politics: General Culture Category: Culture and Politics: Education Source: Navigator, 10/2002 Free Speech and Postmodernism By Stephen Hicks (This article is adapted from the second of a two-lecture address given by Stephen Hicks at TOC's 2002 Summer Seminar.) In the last lecture, we looked at those arguments that won the debate for free speech. Historically, those arguments were nested in different Subscription philosophical contexts, and they were often tailored to audiences hostile Information in varying degrees to free speech. So let me summarize, in contemporary language, the elements of those arguments that are still Free sample with us: (1) Reason is essential for knowing reality. (2) Reason is a function of the individual. (3) What the reasoning individual needs to pursue his knowledge of reality is, above all, freedom—the freedom to think, to criticize, and to debate. (4) The individual's freedom to pursue War for knowledge is of fundamental value to the other members of his society. Civilization Commentaries A corollary of this argument is that when we set up specialized social and links on institutions to seek and advance our knowledge of the truth—scientific 9/11, the wars, societies, research institutes, colleges and universities—we should take the cultural roots special pains to protect, nurture, and encourage the freedom of of terror, and creative minds. It is therefore surprising that the greatest current Western values. threats to free speech come from within our colleges and universities. -
Ayn Rand Film to Premiere in Hollyrwood Prestigious Telluride Film Festival in Colorado
lmrract -f October'1996, Volume 2, Number'lO Tickets for the benefit are priced at two levels: $75 per person for the film and post-film reception, and $250 for those events plus a private reception with Michael Per-xtonand Leonard Peikoff prior to the screening, preferred seating at the screening, an autographed movie poster, and, if it can be arranged, a brief tour to special "Ap Rand sites" on the lot. Although this is his first feature film, Michael Pa"rton brought considerable experience to the project. He received hls M.F.R. in {ihn production from New York University's prestigious Graduate Institute of Fihn & Television and has worked as a r,vriterfor Disney's Feature Anirnation Dept. alld as an assistantdirector at Turner Entertainment on features such as The Pagemaster.He also directed the world premieres of ldeal (i9Sg) and Anthem (1991) for the stage,in Hollpvood. He began the documentary on A;m Rand in the summer of 1994, setting up the production company, writing the script, and filming archival rnaterial. He also shot interviews with people who knerv Ayn Rand, including Mike Wallace, Leor.rard Photo by Sorenson James Peikoff, and Harry Binswanger. Ayn Rand: A Senseof Lift was recently screened at the Ayn Rand Film to Premiere in Hollyrwood prestigious Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. Paxton'sfiln-r Earlier Screening at Telluride Draws Acclaim was one of only 27 films selected from more than 700 appli- cants worldwide for the 23rd annual event. Less than an hour "How does one reduce the achievements of a lifetirne of from Ouray, Colorado (the "setting" for Galt's Gulch), the filnr genius into 110 rninutes?" asks filmmaker Michael Paxton (pic- was shown on opening night, August 30. -
In Defense of Herbert Spencer
SUBSCRIBE NOW AND RECEIVE CRISIS AND LEVIATHAN* FREE! “The Independent Review does not accept “The Independent Review is pronouncements of government officials nor the excellent.” conventional wisdom at face value.” —GARY BECKER, Noble Laureate —JOHN R. MACARTHUR, Publisher, Harper’s in Economic Sciences Subscribe to The Independent Review and receive a free book of your choice* such as the 25th Anniversary Edition of Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government, by Founding Editor Robert Higgs. This quarterly journal, guided by co-editors Christopher J. Coyne, and Michael C. Munger, and Robert M. Whaples offers leading-edge insights on today’s most critical issues in economics, healthcare, education, law, history, political science, philosophy, and sociology. Thought-provoking and educational, The Independent Review is blazing the way toward informed debate! Student? Educator? Journalist? Business or civic leader? Engaged citizen? This journal is for YOU! *Order today for more FREE book options Perfect for students or anyone on the go! The Independent Review is available on mobile devices or tablets: iOS devices, Amazon Kindle Fire, or Android through Magzter. INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE, 100 SWAN WAY, OAKLAND, CA 94621 • 800-927-8733 • [email protected] PROMO CODE IRA1703 CONTROVERSY In Defense of Herbert Spencer ✦ MAX HOCUTT n 1978, Liberty Fund published nineteenth-century intellectual giant Herbert Spencer’s Principles of Ethics in two volumes, with an introduction by Tibor R. IMachan. Spencer’s magnificent tome is full of wisdom and will be read with profit for generations. Machan’s brief introduction is more questionable. Calling it “Herbert Spencer: A Century Later,” Machan begins with some biographical details. -
Tara Smith's Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics
Review Essay: Tara Smith’s Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist Carrie-Ann Biondi Marymount Manhattan College There has been in academic philosophy a resurgence of naturalistic virtue ethics that renders it a viable competitor with deontology and utilitarianism, making the timing opportune for the appearance of Tara Smith’s Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist.1 Indeed, Smith in part situates her book within this trend, but also contrasts her explication of how Rand’s rational ethical egoism intersects with virtue theories that have at best “danced around the edges of egoism” (p. 1). Thus far, Smith’s book has been generally well received in the few reviews it has gotten,2 especially by scholars and advocates of Rand’s Objectivism. However, some attention from mainstream philosophers, even by those who are sympathetic readers,3 reveals that contemporary moral philosophers struggle to understand the nuanced value theory underlying Objectivism and are slow to embrace full-fledged egoism. This is hardly surprising, given that many (if not most) ethics 1 Tara Smith, Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006). 2 See Stephen Hicks, “Review of Tara Smith’s Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist,” Philosophy in Review 27, no. 5 (October 2007), pp. 377-79; Helen Cullyer, “Review of Tara Smith’s Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist,” Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews (November 12, 2006), accessed online at: http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=8123; Robert Mayhew, “Review of Tara Smith’s Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist,” Philosophical Books 49, no. -
La Rebelión De Ayn Rand Y Steve Ditko. Poder Y Responsabilidad
Bibliografía ADC (s.f.) Silas Rhodes. ADC Annual Awards. Mini Biography. [http://adcglobal.org/ hall- of-fame/silas-rhodes/]. ADLER, Renata (1968) The Screen: ‘2001’ Is Up, Up and Away: Kubrick’s Odyssey in Space Begins Run en VV.AA. (2013) New York Times Film Reviews. The Films of Stanley Kubrick. TBook Collections. Nueva York. ISBN: 9781625393487. Págs. 65-68. AGUILAR, Miguel A. (s.f.) Rock y sociedad en la década de los 60’s y 70’s: La relación social y política entre el fenómeno de la música rock y su impacto en la sociedad. Universidad Iberoamericana. Ciudad de México. 16 Págs. ANDELMAN, Bob (2008) Will Eisner: El espíritu de una vida. Norma Editorial. Barcelona. ISBN: 9788498149739. 376 Págs. ANGULO, Jesús (2003) Viridiana - El Manantial. Barcelona. Libros Dirigido Colección: Pro- grama doble núm. 53. ISBN: 84872706903. 144 Págs. ANSALONI, Marco (2010) Filadelfia. La cuna de los Estados Unidos en Clío Revista de historia núm. 99. Zinio. Barcelona. ISSN: 1579-3532. Págs. 56-63. ANTISERI, Dario; REALE, Giovanni (2010) Historia del pensamiento filosófico y científico: Antigüedad y Edad Media. Herder. Barcelona. ISBN: 978842541 5876. 624 Págs. ARELLANO, Frank José (2015) Una expresión del «Destino Manifiesto» en los Estados Unidos: análisis semiótico de la pintura «American Progress» de John Gast (1872) en Razón y palabra núm. 90. ITESM Campus Estado de México: Proyecto Internet. ISSN-e: 1605-4806 2015. BAINBRIDGE, Jason (2012) Spider-Man, the question and the meta-zone: exception, objec- tivism and the comics of Steve Ditko en Law Text Culture Vol. 16 Justice Framed: Law in Comics and Graphic Novels. -
An Introduction to Objectivism by the Virginia Tech Objectivist Club
An Introduction to Objectivism By the Virginia Tech Objectivist Club 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 achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute. –Ayn Rand Who Was Ayn Rand? Born 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia Opposed communist ideals from childhood Kerensky and Bolshevik revolution Graduated from University of Petrograd with history and philosophy degree Studied at State Institute of Cinema Arts http://visbella.wordpress.com/author/visbella/page/3/ Who Was Ayn Rand? Rand idolized America Moved to NYC in 1926 Started cinema work 1929 in Hollywood Met future husband, Frank O’Connor Wrote 1st screenplay, “Red Pawn”, in 1932 “We the Living” published in 1936 “Anthem” ’37 “Fountainhead” ’43 “Atlas Shrugged” ’57 Died March 6, ‘82 http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/17 Who Was Ayn Rand? After Atlas Shrugged Rand focused on non-fiction, and lectures on objectivism Leonard Piekoff and the Collective The Collective started the Objectivist Movement Piekoff heads up ARI Had a tough time growing up and succeeding as a writer Never let her environment compromise what she wanted to do http://godscopybook.blogs.com/gpb/2005/02/ayn_rand_celebr.html A Brief Overview of Objectivism There are 5 branches of Objectivism Metaphysics Epistemology Ethics Politics Aesthetics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Objectivist1.jpg Metaphysics: Objective Reality Three Axioms: Existence Identity Corollary: -
Postmodernism and Censorship
Free Speech & Postmodernism By Stephen R.C. Hicks, Ph.D. Stephen Hicks is Professor of Philosophy at Rockford College, where he also is Executive Director of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship. He received his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the University of Guelph, Canada, and his Ph.D. from Indiana University. His publications include Explaining Postmodernism (Scholargy, 2004/2011), Nietzsche and the Nazis (Ockham’s Razor, 2010), and essays and reviews in academic and other publications. This essay is adapted from the second of a two-part lecture. In the early modern world, the case for free speech won the battle against traditional authoritarianism. Powerful arguments by Galileo,1 John Locke,2 John Stuart Mill,3 and others won the debate for free speech. Historically, those arguments were nested in different philosophical contexts, and they were often tailored to audiences hostile in varying degrees to free speech. In contemporary language, here are the elements of those arguments that are still with us: (1) Reason is essential for knowing reality (Galileo and Locke). (2) Reason is a function of the individual (Locke, especially). (3) What the reasoning individual needs to pursue knowledge of reality is, above all, freedom—the freedom to think, to criticize, and to debate (Galileo, Locke, and Mill). (4) The individual’s freedom to pursue knowledge is of fundamental value to the other members of his society (Mill, especially). A corollary of this argument is that when we set up specialized social institutions to seek and advance our knowledge of the truth—scientific societies, research institutes, colleges and universities—we should take special pains to protect, nurture, and encourage the freedom of creative minds. -
A Brief Biography of Ayn Rand, Author of Anthem Directions: Read The
A brief biography of Ayn Rand, author of Anthem Directions: Read the brief biography information for the author of Anthem. How might her life have influenced her writings? Ayn Rand in her 20s Ayn Rand was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, on February 2, 1905. At age six she taught herself to read and two years later discovered her first fictional hero in a French magazine for children, thus capturing the heroic vision which sustained her throughout her life. At the age of nine she decided to make fiction writing her career. Thoroughly opposed to the mysticism and collectivism of Russian culture, she thought of herself as a European writer, especially after encountering Victor Hugo, the writer she most admired. During her high school years, she was eyewitness to both the Kerensky Revolution, which she supported, and—in 1917—the Bolshevik Revolution, which she denounced from the outset. In order to escape the fighting, her family went to the Crimea, where she finished high school. The final Communist victory brought the confiscation of her father’s pharmacy and periods of near-starvation. When introduced to American history in her last year of high school, she immediately took America as her model of what a nation of free men could be. When her family returned from the Crimea, she entered the University of Petrograd to study philosophy and history. Graduating in 1924, she experienced the disintegration of free inquiry and the takeover of the university by communist thugs. Amidst the increasingly gray life, her one great pleasure was Western films and plays. -
Arra™ General Session Lectures Ayn (See Pages 4-5) Rand Institute Optional Courses (See Pages 6- 9) ~- ·
~ ~ OCON TT.I June 30 through July 8, 2006 Seaport Hotel Boston, Massachusetts ARra™ General Session Lectures Ayn (see pages 4-5) Rand Institute Optional Courses (see pages 6- 9) ~- ·-. -'r ► YOU ARE INVITED! · t f ,....., rence Hotel Dear Reader: I am pleased to introduce our conference catalog for Objectivist Summer Conference 2006-a nine-day gathering offe1ing leisure, fu n and intellectual vigor that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. We believe that Boston's Seaport Hotel is one of our best conference venues yet; we' re sure that you'll find the accommodations and meeting spaces comfortable and enjoyable. The surrounding downtown area offers a splendid selection of fine dining, shopping and historical landmarks, which 1vill add special significance to your Independence Day holiday. The Boston I Seaport Hotel is But the real attraction of the conference is, of course, our lineup of speakers and courses. Attendees are still an award-winning talking about last summer's offerings, and we are confident that this summer's courses will only add to the deluxe, full-service Objectivist summer conference legacy. Speakers include Objectivist luminaries such as Harry Binswanger, hotel, meeting and John Ridpath, Peter Schwartz and Mary Ann Sures, and topics range from ethics to education, art to opera, exhibition center. politics to perception, and from the ancient Greeks to the corruption of 20th-century philosophy. There are nine general session lectures and sixteen optional courses to choose from, as well as a variety of special Located near events and dinners. Attendees may register for the entire nine-day conference, or use our al a carte registra the Faneuil Hall tion options to choose those parts that best fit your schedule and budget. -
Townsell and Kritsonis DONE-Ces
DOCTORAL FORUM NATIONAL JOURNAL FOR PUBLISHING AND MENTORING DOCTORAL STUDENT RESEARCH VOLUME 4 NUMBER 1, 2007 Who in the World is Ayn Rand? Rhodena Townsell William Allan Kritsonis, PhD Ph.D. Student in Educational Leadership Professor and Faculty Mentor College of Education PhD Program in Educational Leadership Prairie View A & M University Prairie View A&M University Principal Member of the Texas A&M University System Madisonville Consolidated Independent Visiting Lecturer (2005) School District Oxford Round Table Madisonville, Texas University of Oxford, Oxford England Distinguished Alumnus (2004) Central Washington University College of Education and Professional Studies ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to underscore the importance of reading the works of author Ayn Rand. Special focus will be placed on her novella, The Anthem (1938). A main idea questioning strategy will be used to reveal Rand’s philosophy and determine the most salient points for ethical administrators. Focus will be placed on the following questions: 1. Who is Ayn Rand? 2. How is Rand’s philosophy reflected in The Anthem ? 3. Why should ethical leaders take the time to read her books? 4. When should leaders be selfish? 5. Where should ethical leaders look for guidance? It is our belief that the study of Rand and her works will lead ethical leaders to reflect on their own personal philosophy of life. It is also our belief that one must first know what he/she believes before he/she can ethically lead other individuals. A person must know where he/she is starting from before he/she can go where he/she needs to go (Kritsonis, 2007).