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Ayn Rand and Objectivism

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Ayn Rand and Objectivism

select
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Posted 04/07/05 - 03:24 PM:	#101
I think its right that some people have intense resentment against Ayn Rand, and not just simple disagreement. Where does this come from? I guess it could just come from the fact that she promotes capitalism which goes against some of the socialism that the universities are fond of. Personally, I don't have any opinions about capitalism and socialism, but I've found at times I also have felt resentment--why? I think it has a lot to do with her very successful rhetoric against many of the philosophers that I respect and admire. Like Plato, how could one like philosophy but not like Plato? And worse of all, I've seen no evidence that Rand has ever even read a Platonic dialogue. Plato made a lot of philosophical errors, but has it occurred to anyone that this lingering respect for Plato stems from his philosophical style? And Kant: "The most evil philosopher in the history of mankind" according to Rand, and I'm not exagerating. And still, no evidence that Rand has ever read anything that Kant himself has wrote. And that seems to be the rule as far as Rand's critique of Western Philosophy goes. It appears as if Rand based her criticism of these philosophers by opening an "Introduction to Philosophy" book and wrote her criticisms from there. And her understanding of Nietzsche is so far off the mark, it would be funnier if she wasn't so damn popular. So yeah, I do have a certain amount of resentment when the subject of Ayn Rand comes up that I can't entirely explain. At the same time, I feel justified.
"To create man was a fine and original idea; but to add sheep was a tautology." Mark Twain

chaos_maximus
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Posted 04/16/05 - 02:59 PM:	#102
Yeah, so Ayn Rand didn't really introduce anything new into the realm of philosophy, but I really doubt that she intentionally copied ideas of other philosophers. And you have to admit, she made the concept of objectivism relate much better to the general public, to the times, and to the political situations. Is it really so wrong if that's popular? The majority of people on this Earth have avoided philosophical questions for as long as we can imagine; is it wrong to make them more applicable to more tangible and seemingly more pertinent systems, like economics? "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - Voltaire

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