"Bushido, the soul of Japan " by Inazo Nitobe, “Gorin No Sho(a book of five rings)” by Musashi Miyamoto, and “The Art of war” by Sun Tzu.
Rocket - Phenominal just begins to describe Helprin’s work. In light of 9-11 his whole body of work takes on a special glamour. Soldier of the Great War, Tales from an Antproof Case, Refiner’s Fire, Ellis Island and Other Stories, Dove of the East and Other Storie, all describe Man as he would wish he could be at his best, and highlights our attributes we may wish to hide. Thanks for the affirmation.
I suppose I should give this one more try. Shitdisturber wrote: “Again stateing Rands lack of acceptance by philosphy departments is not Hookers’ opinion, it’s someone elses’ opinion, as if it is proof of the correctness of his.” Let us assign to X the phrase “Ayn Rand is not accepted in mainstream academia.” In order for X to be an opinion, there must exist the possibility of NOT X. That is, it must be possible for somebody to be of the opinion that Ayn Rand IS ACCEPTED by mainstream academia. You say this is somebody else’s opinion. WHO? Who thinks this? This entire debate is predicated on the fact that Ayn Rand is virtually ignored by academics. It may be your opinion that Rand SHOULD BE accpeted by mainstream philosophers, but this is an entirely different issue. That Ayn Rand is virtually ignored by academia is a non-debatable fact. Whether or not this should be the case is open to discussion (ie, the exchange of opinions).
art of war ? just kinda curious as to why everyone thinks this books so great i mean ive read it and i just dont know it didnt seem that great to me just how to be tough i guess ? and spying ? i dunno im more curious than being an ass
Lance Armstrong “It’s not about the Bike”
Just my two cents about ole’ Ayn Rand. I love her work, and she is the main reason that I’ve taken a few philosophy courses, but I’m not touting myself an expert. The above post by Nate is perfectly logical (in my opinion;) Rand is not generally taught or highly regarded by most college profs. However, I would suggest that this fact doesn’t necessarily “prove” that Rand’s theories are weak. I don’t think anyone here would dispute the ridiculously left wing/socialistic slant of most universities, and that in its self would explain why they dislike her. Personal responsibility is shunned in favor of "social programming and the ever fashionable it’s-not-my-fault- dogma, blasting most anyone who disagrees.
During my college years I was often physically ill after a class. The worst thing I ever heard from a “teacher” is:
“The only reason men are attracted to women who look like supermodels is because these women are so small and fragile looking; they more resemble little boys than real women. And since all men are at least closeted homosexual pedophiles, it makes sense that they would like Cindy Crawford and be affraid of a voluptuous woman.”
Now, after I heard this I laughed because it was a funny joke…but of course it wasn’t a joke, and I was marked for the rest of the quarter, not pulling anything better than a 2.8 on any paper or assignment. I guess should have known better. Teacher was at least 350#.
Anyway, yes Ayn Rand is not taught at many colleges, but then neither is Conservatism. Just mention that you’re a Republican and you’ll be often scoffed at, convincing most people (including me) to just keep their mouths shut.
Obviously Rand’s philosophy is somewhat popular with “the public,” how many others have their own institutes? Her’s is the only one that I know of. Of course that doesn’t mean that there aren’t others.
My two cents.
I think the reason that you see many people on this site listing Ayn Rand is because her writings talk a lot about personal responsibility, and not accepting anything less than your absolute best. That’s a theme that a lot of us can relate to, otherwise, why are we pushing ourselves to the limit in the gym? My personal favorite is Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein. Don’t judge it by the movie, it was just plain awful.
It’s a book about how to win (or lose)a war. If you think of it in terms of combat only, then yeah it does not make much sense(if you are not involved in the fighting arts or military that is). However if you learn to apply Sun Tzu’s teachings to say, business or team sports etc., then you may find it a little more interesting.
Paul’s suggestion of Star Ship Troupers, is enthusiastically seconded. I read that thing countless times pre, and post puberty and recently in my dotage. (He is also correct that the movie did not do it justice). Great space opera fun, with a heavy dose of “this is what it takes to be a man” ladeled on.
Thank you for all of your great responses. Although I respect those of you that red the fountainhead and were either enlighted or motivated by it the only thing I felt after reading it was that I had wasted my time. Perhaps I missed some curcial plot point, but I thought the scenarios were unrealistic and the ending was a feel-good won’t everhappeneven. I do like Skip la Cour’s writing as far as motivational, you can check out his website for a sample of his writing.
Occasionally, I enjoy reading sections out of Ellis’ books to get me fired up for a workout. Reason being, his characters are so superficial, so loathesome, that I cannot help but feel a great wave of hostility towards them. Try “The Informers” or “The Rules of Attraction” (movie comes out Oct. 11, should be interesting). I have had my copy of Idres Shah’s “The Way of The Sufi” since high school. If anyone on the forum has delved into Sufic thought, this is a quintessential book. Of course, my all-time fav in terms of a great read is Chris Bachelder’s “Bear v. Shark”, which I have branded the “funny version” of Orwell’s 1984. I reccomended this book on the forum several months ago, anyone pick it up? I know Shugsy was supposed to have a go with it. Shugsy, if you happen to read this tell me what you thought. Lata.
MBE: “Diggety Free since 1993. Word, since 1822. JADABB founder, 2002.”
-Eric
Since you enjoyed Starship Troopers, you’d probably love Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield. Same sort of concept, how to mold an individual into a man who believes in a cause greater than himself. Set in Ancient Greece, the battle of Thermopylae.
Thanks for the reccomendation! I’ll get a hold of a copy right away.
Actually, I’m not putting forth an argument as such. I’m simply pointing out that in this particular case, an author is not highly respected or even acknowledged in her own field. I stand by my original statement and would still offer that she is a non-issue in the field. And this is a field of other philosophers, her peers, not comprable to a Nobel Prize winner in the field of English commenting on a scientific matter.
I’d also like to add that Russell is not only a highly respected mathmetician, but his work on Logical Positism, and his treatise on Positive Atomism is one of the best ever written. True, Ludwig Wittgenstein basicly refuted it, but keep in mind Wittgenstein was Russell’s student originally and later his peer. Attacking philosophical problems by examining the format in which they are presented rather than the content itself, and attempting to create a logical language to express this was huge undertaking. It is, to this day considered one of the great milestones in philosophy.
By the way, I’ve read: Objectivist Epistemology, Atlas Shrugged, The New Left, The Fountainhead, some of her essays on art (which were the only articles she wrote which I enjoyed or thought had any validity), as well as The Virtue of Selfishness.
Don’t bother reading all of Atlas Shrugged, just read the part commonly refered to as “This is John Galt Speaking” in compendiums of her work. Its a 3 page monologue which he gives that could have been titled “This is the point of the book.” Each of her books has a nifty little monologue which sums up the idea behind the book. Its all very drmatic, but pretty lame. She is not only a poor philosopher, but a poor writer.
Both Bill O’Reilly books(the truth with no spin), All Dennis Miller books(intelligent humor), Customers for Life Carl Sewell(imperitave for business), Body RX by Dr. Scott Connelly(bottom line without this man and his intelligence there may have never been a Met-rx let alone Eas, T-mag or Biotest and the book is a fantastic referrence for nutrition), Blood and Guts by Dorian Yates(A real T-man because a real man doesn’t need to brag and show off there is no BullS**t primping with this guy), Sean Hannity Let Freedom Ring(read this book and you will be a smarter person), Rudy Giuliani LEADERSHIP(again a book that makes you a smarter person brought to you by a LEADER not a follower. Leadership is another factor of being a real man), Our Mission and Our Moment: President George W. Bush’s Address to the Nation Before a Joint Session of Congress, September 20, 2001(just picked this up in paperback and again leadership, tenacity, resolve, common sense this man proves that great leaders Always have a great team behind them. That is what is so great about this President. By the way I am an independent so don’t go off on me if you are democrat), also pick up A Charge To Keep by Pres. Bush another great read, All the Best George Bush: My Life in Letters and Other Writings(Our current Presidents father one of the greatest americans ever. A man who almost died for his country and has been one of the best our country has ever seen. A quite but powerful man), My American Journey by Colin Powell(another great leader, citizen, patriot alot of people could learn how to be a respectful and honorable member of society by following this mans leadership). There are others but this is a great start.
“She is not only a poor philosopher, but a poor writer.” Couldn’t have said it better myself.
The Bible is a great book to help a christian live their life. It’s also good for anyone who wants to know the meaning of life.
Stranger in a Strange Land