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For a time, I considered this my bible. But it's too idealistic, and goes a long way on some fairly iffy assumptions. It's still compelling as hell, though.
by brownegg 17y ago
For a time, I considered this my bible. But it's too idealistic, and goes a long way on some fairly iffy assumptions.
It's still compelling as hell, though.
- quantumhobbit 17y agoAyn Rand was a philosopher. And like most philosophers, she started out with some good ideas and over applied them to everything in life, which leads to some scary conclusions. My favorite Rand book was Anthem. It was short and therefore didn't have space to extrapolate Rand's ideas to their scary conclusion. I just finished reading Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo. It is just as long and pompous as Atlas Shrugged, but of the exact opposite philosophy. Those two books make for some interesting comparisons.
- DanielBMarkham 17y agoI once listened to a 80-hour overview of the world's great philosophers, given by modern professors. What amazed me was how many of them came up with a good idea that was new and revolutionary -- and then spent the rest of their life taking the damn thing too far. I guess great people fall so much in love with their great ideas that it never occurs to them that the most important piece is finding the boundaries for where their work applies and where it does not.
- stevenj 17y ago>I guess great people fall so much in love with their great ideas that it never occurs to them that the most important piece is finding the boundaries for where their work applies and where it does not. Well said. I think many ("normal") people would benefit from listening to this, but more importantly, by practicing it.
- derwiki 17y agoLink for the interview?
- matt1 17y agoWhat's the series called?
- DanielBMarkham 17y agoLink for those who requested: http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/CourseDescLong2.aspx?cid=470 http://www.teach12.com/ttcx/CourseDescLong2.aspx?cid=470 Looks like it's on sale -- you download audio or pick up the CDs for around a hundred bucks (DVD also available)
- philwelch 17y agoThen there's Wittgenstein, who did the same thing, except twice and with entirely separate ideas. He's the philosophical equivalent of one of those bands that makes a major stylistic change halfway through their career, lose a bunch of their fans, and pick up an entirely different set of fans.
- nonrecursive 17y agoWhat's interesting is that Ayn Rand thought Victor Hugo was the best novelist ever. She also thought that the philosophy in Les Miserables was at odds with his "sense of life".
- philwelch 17y agoShe also thought that Frank Lloyd Wright's philosophical and political ideas were at odds with his architecture.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]