Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A clear explanation of the ethics of objectivism, 6 Dec 1999
This book focuses on the ethics of the philosophy of objectivism. Rather than being a book with chapters, it is a selection of articles which cover various questions, such as what selfishness is, the ethics of charity and voluntary help, the false dichotomy of altruism and selfishness, and what the theory of Objectivism actually is.This is a good place to start to learn about the philosophy of objectivism as it concentrates on the philosophy itself rather than applying it to real-world examples. For those who wish to know more about objectivism applied, the books "Capitalism, the Unknown Ideal", "The Anti-Industrial Revolution", and "Why Businessmen Need Philosophy" would be more relevant. Whether one disagrees with the philosophy or not, the articles in this book are clearly written, simple to understand, and passionately argued. Some parts are flippant, particularly with reference to the dismissal of the ideas of other philosophers, and Rand does not truly manage to justify why objectivism is actually objective [see Nozick's book Socratic Puzzles). Nevertheless, this book is worth reading if you are interested in this area of politics and philosophy.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A meaningful and righteous philosophy, but weak minds beware, 18 Feb 2008
This book clearly shows that the irrational is that which contradicts the facts of reality and that irrational values are those which go against human survival.
From this premise Rand makes clear that some moral systems are self-destructive and destructive to society. Since man exists as an end in itself, not as a means to the ends of others, then he must construct a heirarchy of values for himself to follow in order to achieve happiness.
These values must be rational in that they promote man's survival and make him feel that he has control over reality. The achievement of his values will lead to happiness, but that depends on how rational his values are- hence RATIONAL self interest.
Now a note to critics, readers and admirers of objectivism like myself: Ayn Rand's philosophy should not be taken as a refutation of ever helping others or as a license to act in an anti-social or even abusive manner. Helping and being good to others is a good thing, but only if it is not a sacrifice. If you consider that the people in question are rational and productive and have something to give then you help them: you give value for value (trade), or if you love them and therefore they have a high position in your heirarchy of values, then you SHOULD be benevolent: it is in your interest to do so. Therefore helping others is bad if the help provided is a sacrifice of a higher value to a lesser value. Another human, because he is of the same species, has the capacity to hold the same values and the ultimate value is life. Therefore taking the life of another is NOT in your rational self interest because it is going against your own values and against RATIONAL values in general. Objectivism is not a license to act upon any of your IRRATIONAL WHIMS, but a philosophy for productive, independent, rational, voluntarily cooperative human beings who value LIFE and will be respectable (i.e no hatin'!) to any human being, but will obviously gravitate to those who hold the same values.
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22 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
About the only true philosopher since Aristotle, 1 Jul 2003
Ayn Rand at her brilliant best. If you have n't read her novels or essays this is a good place to start. And whatever you do, don't be put off by comical, cretinous pipsqueaks who have continually lambasted her for 60 years and more, usually with ad hominem attacks: because you will find that in her writings Ayn Rand is pure logic, pure rationality and pure honesty. The chapter on racism is the most powerful and beautifully written indictment of it that I have ever read. She also makes clear in her writings that happiness is the ultimate goal of life, and happiness is defined as a state of non-contradictory joy. How therefore can someone, for example, murder somebody "for their own selfish ends" and feel happy about it? Would n't their conscience bother them?
Miss Rand, unlike her many detractors obviously, had a booming, positive, pro-man sense of life. The one thing she was absolutely against in her writings was the initiation of any form of force against any person, business or organisation. Yes, she wrote often bitterly. When you see naked evil all around you being blithely accepted and even applauded, it tends to make you angry and bitter. The point is she had a brilliant mind, an unusual mind. She did n't like most of us have a thought and then dismiss it with the usual cliches, or "bromides", and go on to the next. Einstein-like, she would probe and examine, going into all the possible outcomes and avenues until she was satisfied either that it was exhausted or that it held promise for further exploration.
An old English teacher once said to a class I was in that when you opened a book you entered a mind. And Ayn Rand had a great mind, one of the best.
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