3 ms·

“So you think that money is the root of all evil?”

2 points by erbdex 11y ago

nefitty 11y ago
Ayn Rand? Really? There's a reason her "objectivism" isn't discussed in philosophy courses. It's nonsense conservative rhetoric that has nothing to do with the academic discipline. John Oliver summed it up nicely: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8m8cQI4DgM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8m8cQI4DgM
- maxharris 11y ago
  There's a reason her "objectivism" isn't discussed in philosophy courses Actually, this isn't true. In the fall of 2010, I took a philosophy course (at the University of Wisconsin - Madison) for which we had to read Anthem and The Fountainhead. ... conservative rhetoric Also, I don't think you have a good grasp of Rand's ideas if you think she was a conservative. Rand was an atheist and pro-choice: http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/god.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/god.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/abortion.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/abortion.html
  - nefitty 11y ago
    I'm sorry you had to go through that. Those are "superficial" social issues compared to the deep underlying ideas she had: an obsession with limited government and unfettered capitalism, individual selfishness and a conscious denial of empathy for minority and underprivileged classes. Her overt claim to cut through "contradiction" was itself directly contradicted by the cult of personality that arose around her. She was defensive and lashed out many times when people questioned her results and was just in general a sloppy thinker. She built her "philosophical" edifice to support her personal political ideology which is simple, deluded and inexcusable libertarianism at heart.
    - maxharris 11y ago
      I don't agree with a single thing you've asserted.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
ubertaco 11y ago
This isn't an article, this is just copy-paste from Ayn Rand. And at that, it's copy-paste of a character in one of her objectivist-utopian fanfics beating up a strawman based on a misquote of 1 Timothy 6: > But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. > > (1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV) The subject in view there is one of Christian priorities and contentment; for a Christian, faithful service to God must be held of much greater value than wealth, and therefore contentment with what God provides is an essential characteristic of a devout Christian. It's not "EVERY EVIL ON EARTH COMES FROM MONEY"; indeed, the idea is far afield of Christianity. In the view of Christianity, every evil on earth comes from the sinful heart of man, whether or not money is even involved. Rather, the actual statement -- the one Rand misquoted to distort into an easier strawman to fight -- is that a wholesale devotion to procurement of wealth is itself a wrong that leads to many other wrongs. The really interesting thing, I think, is to see how the actual quote and its context does apply to Rand's strictly-utilitarian view of others.

2 points by erbdex 11y ago

Ayn Rand? Really? There's a reason her "objectivism" isn't discussed in philosophy courses. It's nonsense conservative rhetoric that has nothing to do with the academic discipline. John Oliver summed it up nicely: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8m8cQI4DgM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8m8cQI4DgM

maxharris 11y ago
There's a reason her "objectivism" isn't discussed in philosophy courses Actually, this isn't true. In the fall of 2010, I took a philosophy course (at the University of Wisconsin - Madison) for which we had to read Anthem and The Fountainhead. ... conservative rhetoric Also, I don't think you have a good grasp of Rand's ideas if you think she was a conservative. Rand was an atheist and pro-choice: http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/god.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/god.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/abortion.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/abortion.html
- nefitty 11y ago
  I'm sorry you had to go through that. Those are "superficial" social issues compared to the deep underlying ideas she had: an obsession with limited government and unfettered capitalism, individual selfishness and a conscious denial of empathy for minority and underprivileged classes. Her overt claim to cut through "contradiction" was itself directly contradicted by the cult of personality that arose around her. She was defensive and lashed out many times when people questioned her results and was just in general a sloppy thinker. She built her "philosophical" edifice to support her personal political ideology which is simple, deluded and inexcusable libertarianism at heart.
  - maxharris 11y ago
    I don't agree with a single thing you've asserted.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

ubertaco 11y ago

This isn't an article, this is just copy-paste from Ayn Rand. And at that, it's copy-paste of a character in one of her objectivist-utopian fanfics beating up a strawman based on a misquote of 1 Timothy 6: > But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. > > (1 Timothy 6:6-10 ESV) The subject in view there is one of Christian priorities and contentment; for a Christian, faithful service to God must be held of much greater value than wealth, and therefore contentment with what God provides is an essential characteristic of a devout Christian. It's not "EVERY EVIL ON EARTH COMES FROM MONEY"; indeed, the idea is far afield of Christianity. In the view of Christianity, every evil on earth comes from the sinful heart of man, whether or not money is even involved. Rather, the actual statement -- the one Rand misquoted to distort into an easier strawman to fight -- is that a wholesale devotion to procurement of wealth is itself a wrong that leads to many other wrongs. The really interesting thing, I think, is to see how the actual quote and its context does apply to Rand's strictly-utilitarian view of others.