Very interesting article, especially if you are interested in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged novel or her philosophy overall.
I admire the work of Ayn, and reading Atlas Shrugged made me look at the world in a completely new light, it changed the fundamentals of how I view and address issues. It was one of those books.
But, always you had to question some of her ideas. Her absolutism and radical ideas always seemed as though they needed to be tempered.
The article above shows an interesting fault with her moral and political philosophy in that their is an inherent incompatibility with her belief in the supremacy of the individual on one hand and a duty to live solely for ones self on the other. There cannot be both a duty to not interfere with another and hold that there are no rights or laws beyond one's own mind or self.
You cannot hold there are no inalienable rights and that " you should not live for anyone else's sake, nor demand that anyone else live for yours."
If there are no transcendental rights, if there is nothing beyond your own conscious and will, then you cannot also hold that you cannot coerce and use others. In fact, her idea of "self-interest" leads to using others for that interest.
So, do you believe that inalienable rights exist, is there a natural right to life and liberty everyone is born with and which cannot be taken away. Or is this just an imagination of our consciousness, made up and invented by ourselves and a representation of our times, our culture, and our values? It is an interesting philosophical question with very real impacts.
If there are no transcendental rights, if there is nothing beyond your own conscious and will, then you cannot also hold that you cannot coerce and use others. In fact, her idea of "self-interest" leads to using others for that interest.
So, do you believe that inalienable rights exist, is there a natural right to life and liberty everyone is born with and which cannot be taken away. Or is this just an imagination of our consciousness, made up and invented by ourselves and a representation of our times, our culture, and our values? It is an interesting philosophical question with very real impacts.
Recommend the book nonetheless and go see the movie in theaters.
No comments:
Post a Comment