What do you make of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand?
There's a good summary of her philosophy in this short video http://youtu.be/8VSBGu7-1rU
There's a good summary of her philosophy in this short video http://youtu.be/8VSBGu7-1rU
Opinions of Ayn Rand's Philosophy
- Thread starter Mungbean
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Trendy? Some people really do live in their own fantasy world. It is far more trendy nowadays to complain about a comment and have it deleted instead of proposing that people should be able to voice their own individual opposition to views they disagree with. We're constantly being told how to think and what we shouldn't say, as opposed to being informed that we'd rather protect the dignity of suicide murderers than the lives of individuals that propose the views of the Enlightenment and have to put up with reprehensible acts of violence on a daily basis and getting censored in the process for voicing their perspective on why it is happening. I have yet to meet a single person in my entire life that has even heard of this woman. You really do have to search and dig deep to find a person that endorses the philosophies of Ayn Rand. Almost every political opinion I hear on either social media or major news outlets (with certain specific exceptions such as Fox News) calls for a world that directly opposes the ideas that she came up with. There are a few valiant YouTubers that are endorsing and attempting to defend the views of Rand, but they are constantly under the threat of bans and complaints from Social Justice Warriors, Feminazis and Cultural Marxists. In-fact, censorship is not just apparent on YouTube, it appears to be in full effect on Wikipedia, as I can now demonstrate: A few weeks ago I searched the term 'cultural Marxism' and found a very lengthy page detailing it as a factual phenomenon. I now search for the page, and it is gone, and has been replaced by a tiny sub-section titled 'Cultural Marxism Conspiracy Theory'. This is blatant, reprehensible and irreversible censorship and rather ironically it is also Cultural Marxism in action trying to censor its own core practice so that people aren't even made aware of their own society's undoing. I think Ayn Rand would be turning in her fucking grave if she witnessed what was happening, and I hope I am not the only person to respond to this thread in-defense of her support for Classical Liberalism and individualism.
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Rand was a genius for putting her philosophy into words. I find little to fault with her way of looking at the world and thinking.
Do you ever post your own opinions, or just articles and satirical pieces? We all know John Oliver and the trend of satirical presenters of political discussions support Bernie Sanders, so there is no hope that any of these videos will provide any meaningful opinion on Rand, except to provide cheap jibes at the latest comment that Trump made which can be dubbed as 'racist'.
I post my own opinions all the time so don’t infer that I’m just a mouthpiece and I won’t infer bullshit about you.
You posted above that no one even knows who she is…well in US politics she is very much alive and doing well with her selfish drive to the top no matter who you step on to get there.
It’s all about YOUR happiness, fuck the guy that gets in the way.
Fuck altruism is what her teachings teach.
I think that’s a bunch of horseshit from a very self-centered egotistical woman.
I only asked a question from careful observation of a variety of threads. It is primarily because of the nature of this thread (and many others like it) which proposes we voice our opinions, and I often see you (and others, too) posting other people's opinions instead of your own. I just want people to tell me what they think, and I am very grateful you did in your reply.
Wow!! She’s such a great thinker! What a wonderful set of values to press forth to the masses!
You know she fought social medicare programs tooth and nail and then died from lung cancer while receiving medicare benefits.
Awesome.
Well, very often people refuse to see both sides of the coin.
(sometimes videos are helpful to explain that to people who wouldn’t bother reading an actual printed article)
I don’t think that EVERYTHING Ayn Rand said was terrible…just most of it.
She fought for self-interest above the good of all.
That is no way for a society to function and we are seeing that as the US falls to shit.
Though many find her views on the extreme side, Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, in my opinion, is simply geared toward the preservation of self. Whether that is the right or wrong thing to do in a political system is up for debate as we all have our own perspectives and rationales. We see the idea of self-preservation at work in our societies. Our concept of "community" is skewed. Communities work together to build something in the interest of all who live within. Well, that's the idea behind it. Yet, we all are separated by the little boxes we live in, by the intimacy of the disconnected yet distinct lives we lead, we all are propelled by self-interest to carve out a place in our world and then we try our best to keep it. Humans, by nature, have a very strong self-preservation attitude, even without Rand's philosophy having any influence. We protect what's ours fiercely- our ideas, our individual rights, our families, our property. We choose careers not because it is what's best for society but what's best for ourselves. Of course there are those who devote an entire lifetime to something greater than themselves but, at the end of the day, they still have their own bills to pay and mouths to feed. To lead a completely selfless life would mean to be completely alone; sacrifices of family and ambition must be made. Although an altruistic society is a lovely thought, I don't believe it can ever truly work unless we all, at the same exact time, give up our drive to preserve and protect our immediate material worlds as well as our own personal ideologies. The ideas of individualism, rational thought, and self-interest, I think, are just as necessary as striving to improve our societies for the greater good.
Some of her philosophy is interesting to me. However I don't think her categorical rejection of altruism is backed at all by her own philosophy - it's just arbitrary. In that regard I think she was just selfish and self absorbed. She presumes to tell other people that they shouldn't want to be altruistic, which really isn't her business. She believes an individual should achieve their own well being, but has a particular idea about what "well being" is and never really backs up that idea.
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Also on the idea that well being is to produce and acquire things that make you feel better and comfortable - ok, so what? You do well in life, and then you die. What is the great rational purpose in that? What makes that so compelling as to be an ethical obligation? Individuals are temporary and - if they focus on themselves - insignificant.
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Also on the idea that well being is to produce and acquire things that make you feel better and comfortable - ok, so what? You do well in life, and then you die. What is the great rational purpose in that? What makes that so compelling as to be an ethical obligation? Individuals are temporary and - if they focus on themselves - insignificant.
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I would say Rand's views are anything but trendy nowadays. They are extremist views, imo, but that doesn't make them bad. I can say the same thing about altruistic views being extreme. I believe that a fucked up idea of altruism is what's rampant right now. Not many even truly understand the meaning of altruism, case in point- sjw's who just jump on any bandwagon without really understanding what it is they're fighting for. I think a near- perfect society would benefit from both Rand's views as well as altruistic ideals. Taking the best from both extremes.
Agree with most of what you say except for that.
Yes, we have a very strong drive for self-preservation, but the rest of what you say is part of who we are has been conditioned into us by society.
People protected their lands because of necessity, so they didn’t get killed or enslaved.
Aren’t we smart enough to work past all that shit and begin to build a society that isn’t 99% self-centered…because we are there in the US right now…I’m just waiting for the 1% to tick over.