[quote]hlss09 wrote:
I got a copy of For the New Intellectual by Ayn Rand. It’s a great book so far, has anyone else read it? [/quote]
I’ve read the title essay. I found it to be fantastically full of shit. It presents a history of philosophy that is not grounded in reality whatsoever.
[quote]hlss09 wrote:
I got a copy of For the New Intellectual by Ayn Rand. It’s a great book so far, has anyone else read it? [/quote]
That’s the book you can skip to if you want to get the essence of Rand’s philosophy without going through her fiction. It’s a great book indeed. Also recommend The Virtue of Selfishness.
Yeah, after her interesting and somewhat insane history of philosophy she gets into some cool stuff. I really enjoy her quote “ideas divorced from action is fraudulent and action divorced from ideas is suicidal.” she seems to want to bring together regular folks and thinking folks.
Ive read some Plato,Neitzche, JS Mill, Roesseau, Hobbes, Rothbard, Rand
I find most arguments by each to be appealing in some manner. I went through a phase where I read Atlas Shrugged and Objectvism: by leanord Peikoff.
The whole objectivism theory broken down had some merit, but I feel some of it is divorced from reality based upon Rands own personal life.
I mainly tend towards political philosophy such as Murray Rothbard.
Read what you want, but do draw your OWN conclusions.
http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=54&chapid=490
Interesting essay on Early Christians and philosophy.
Ayn Rand is garbage. why? because she doesn’t actually understand the history of philosophy. i mean that in the most superficial sense. it’s like, if you read “the old man and the sea” and write a book report about how the old man succeeded in bringing back his record breaking marlin and lived a happy life as a rich man because of his subsequent youtube fame, you wouldn’t have understood the book.
why else though?
because her philosophy only exists for the justification of the most radical form of free-market capitalism. this is not a good thing to try and justify. you libertarian morons are probably going to argue that this is a good thing. i’ve got news for you: you aren’t in the top 1% and you never will be. i’ll see you on the chain gang… also, no government = no money. think about it.
instead of developing her philosophy and responding to criticism, she takes the american route and villifies “academia” as being too stuffy to accept her radical ideas. this is the biggest cop-out of all time. that’s like saying, “my teacher though my essay was crappy, but i thought it was good. clearly my teacher is wrong and i’ll just quit school and publish it on my blog. this will make me super-credible.” i’m not saying that people can’t push the envelope, but Rand did not do that. she proved herself fully incapable of dealing with any criticism from her “peers” (i put that in quotes because her actual peers are people like charles manson and glenn beck) and instead remained a reactionary.
the reason i believe she is so popular is because of the foolish romantic individualism that so pervades american culture. people love to believe that they can be the lone ranger bad-ass survivalist with no help from the rest of the world (when the end times come, i’m ready. i’ve got my water, my gun, my food, my bomb shelter, my anti-radiation meds, my snake bite kit, my x-box…), but that’s fucking stupid. if you want to live in your tree-house all by yourself with no one else, go ahead. you’re probably a Rand-loving jerk anyway.
ps. she’s also a terrible writer. i’d rather read a “twilight” book that read that shit.
[quote]LaPointe wrote:
Ayn Rand is garbage. why? because she doesn’t actually understand the history of philosophy. i mean that in the most superficial sense. it’s like, if you read “the old man and the sea” and write a book report about how the old man succeeded in bringing back his record breaking marlin and lived a happy life as a rich man because of his subsequent youtube fame, you wouldn’t have understood the book.
why else though?
because her philosophy only exists for the justification of the most radical form of free-market capitalism. this is not a good thing to try and justify. you libertarian morons are probably going to argue that this is a good thing. i’ve got news for you: you aren’t in the top 1% and you never will be. i’ll see you on the chain gang… also, no government = no money. think about it.
instead of developing her philosophy and responding to criticism, she takes the american route and villifies “academia” as being too stuffy to accept her radical ideas. this is the biggest cop-out of all time. that’s like saying, “my teacher though my essay was crappy, but i thought it was good. clearly my teacher is wrong and i’ll just quit school and publish it on my blog. this will make me super-credible.” i’m not saying that people can’t push the envelope, but Rand did not do that. she proved herself fully incapable of dealing with any criticism from her “peers” (i put that in quotes because her actual peers are people like charles manson and glenn beck) and instead remained a reactionary.
the reason i believe she is so popular is because of the foolish romantic individualism that so pervades american culture. people love to believe that they can be the lone ranger bad-ass survivalist with no help from the rest of the world (when the end times come, i’m ready. i’ve got my water, my gun, my food, my bomb shelter, my anti-radiation meds, my snake bite kit, my x-box…), but that’s fucking stupid. if you want to live in your tree-house all by yourself with no one else, go ahead. you’re probably a Rand-loving jerk anyway.
ps. she’s also a terrible writer. i’d rather read a “twilight” book that read that shit.[/quote]
+1
Oh, and this thread sucks.
[quote]LaPointe wrote:
Ayn Rand is garbage. why? because she doesn’t actually understand the history of philosophy. i mean that in the most superficial sense. it’s like, if you read “the old man and the sea” and write a book report about how the old man succeeded in bringing back his record breaking marlin and lived a happy life as a rich man because of his subsequent youtube fame, you wouldn’t have understood the book.
why else though?
because her philosophy only exists for the justification of the most radical form of free-market capitalism. this is not a good thing to try and justify. you libertarian morons are probably going to argue that this is a good thing. i’ve got news for you: you aren’t in the top 1% and you never will be. i’ll see you on the chain gang… also, no government = no money. think about it.
instead of developing her philosophy and responding to criticism, she takes the american route and villifies “academia” as being too stuffy to accept her radical ideas. this is the biggest cop-out of all time. that’s like saying, “my teacher though my essay was crappy, but i thought it was good. clearly my teacher is wrong and i’ll just quit school and publish it on my blog. this will make me super-credible.” i’m not saying that people can’t push the envelope, but Rand did not do that. she proved herself fully incapable of dealing with any criticism from her “peers” (i put that in quotes because her actual peers are people like charles manson and glenn beck) and instead remained a reactionary.
the reason i believe she is so popular is because of the foolish romantic individualism that so pervades american culture. people love to believe that they can be the lone ranger bad-ass survivalist with no help from the rest of the world (when the end times come, i’m ready. i’ve got my water, my gun, my food, my bomb shelter, my anti-radiation meds, my snake bite kit, my x-box…), but that’s fucking stupid. if you want to live in your tree-house all by yourself with no one else, go ahead. you’re probably a Rand-loving jerk anyway.
ps. she’s also a terrible writer. i’d rather read a “twilight” book that read that shit.[/quote]
Good post. If you want to read Rand’s fiction, fine…but don’t start trying to characterize her intellectually-bankrupt philosophy as something important or even worthy of mention.
[quote]LaPointe wrote:
Ayn Rand is garbage. why? because she doesn’t actually understand the history of philosophy. i mean that in the most superficial sense. it’s like, if you read “the old man and the sea” and write a book report about how the old man succeeded in bringing back his record breaking marlin and lived a happy life as a rich man because of his subsequent youtube fame, you wouldn’t have understood the book.
why else though?
because her philosophy only exists for the justification of the most radical form of free-market capitalism. this is not a good thing to try and justify. you libertarian morons are probably going to argue that this is a good thing. i’ve got news for you: you aren’t in the top 1% and you never will be. i’ll see you on the chain gang… also, no government = no money. think about it.
instead of developing her philosophy and responding to criticism, she takes the american route and villifies “academia” as being too stuffy to accept her radical ideas. this is the biggest cop-out of all time. that’s like saying, “my teacher though my essay was crappy, but i thought it was good. clearly my teacher is wrong and i’ll just quit school and publish it on my blog. this will make me super-credible.” i’m not saying that people can’t push the envelope, but Rand did not do that. she proved herself fully incapable of dealing with any criticism from her “peers” (i put that in quotes because her actual peers are people like charles manson and glenn beck) and instead remained a reactionary.
the reason i believe she is so popular is because of the foolish romantic individualism that so pervades american culture. people love to believe that they can be the lone ranger bad-ass survivalist with no help from the rest of the world (when the end times come, i’m ready. i’ve got my water, my gun, my food, my bomb shelter, my anti-radiation meds, my snake bite kit, my x-box…), but that’s fucking stupid. if you want to live in your tree-house all by yourself with no one else, go ahead. you’re probably a Rand-loving jerk anyway.
ps. she’s also a terrible writer. i’d rather read a “twilight” book that read that shit.[/quote]
Are you playing some kind of game with yourself to see how many straw men, circular arguments and non-sequiturs you can pack into a single post?
no, bro; i was just trying to show off my book ripping skilz!
[quote]belligerent wrote:
Kant’s ethics are vile.[/quote]
I’ve never heard someone who understood kant attack him with such fervour. I now consider you to be a moron.
I like ethics and metaethics:
Aristotle, Kant, Bentham, Neitsche, MacIntyre, Lewis
I also really like the mathematical edge philosophy of knowledge
Kripke, Godel
And
Keirkegaard, who doesn’t really fit into any of the above
LaPointe, which philosophers do YOU like?
Im more into “intelligent discussions” and don’t really get caught up with the ideologies of different philosophers other than my own.
Philosophy is definitely one of my favorite courses though, and it’s always interesting to hear what other people in the class has to say.
But just to answer the original post, I’d say I like Kierkegaard and Descartes.
No particular “topic of discussion”, but the Ethics is very intriguing. Aesthetics, not so much.
Stefan Molyneux
http://www.freedomainradio.com
Powerful ideas for all lovers of personal and political freedom â?? Freedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web, with over 4 million downloads a year. Topics range from philosophy to self-knowledge to economics to art to how to achieve real freedom in the modern world. Passionate, articulate, funny and irreverent, Freedomain Radio shines a bold light on old topicsâ??and invents a few new ones to boot! No commercials, all free, all the time.
(end shameless advertisement)
I’ve learned SO much from this guy and the forum he has!
I’ve devoured more the 200 of his podcasts ( He has about 1500 podcasts, all for free) and all of his stuff makes perfect sense.
At first I was skeptical but I really can’t find anything wrong with his theories. It helped me better my relationship with my gf and mainly my parents. I really cannot recommend this resource more highly!
[quote]Erasmus wrote:
Stefan Molyneux
http://www.freedomainradio.com
Powerful ideas for all lovers of personal and political freedom â?? Freedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web, with over 4 million downloads a year. Topics range from philosophy to self-knowledge to economics to art to how to achieve real freedom in the modern world. Passionate, articulate, funny and irreverent, Freedomain Radio shines a bold light on old topicsâ??and invents a few new ones to boot! No commercials, all free, all the time.
(end shameless advertisement)
I’ve learned SO much from this guy and the forum he has!
I’ve devoured more the 200 of his podcasts ( He has about 1500 podcasts, all for free) and all of his stuff makes perfect sense.
At first I was skeptical but I really can’t find anything wrong with his theories. It helped me better my relationship with my gf and mainly my parents. I really cannot recommend this resource more highly![/quote]
Care to write some cliff notes on his views etc?
I’ll check it out later though after I get back but it does look promising.
[quote]B.L.U. Ninja wrote:
[quote]Erasmus wrote:
Stefan Molyneux
http://www.freedomainradio.com
Powerful ideas for all lovers of personal and political freedom �??�?�¢?? Freedomain Radio is the largest and most popular philosophy show on the web, with over 4 million downloads a year. Topics range from philosophy to self-knowledge to economics to art to how to achieve real freedom in the modern world. Passionate, articulate, funny and irreverent, Freedomain Radio shines a bold light on old topics�??�?�¢??and invents a few new ones to boot! No commercials, all free, all the time.
(end shameless advertisement)
I’ve learned SO much from this guy and the forum he has!
I’ve devoured more the 200 of his podcasts ( He has about 1500 podcasts, all for free) and all of his stuff makes perfect sense.
At first I was skeptical but I really can’t find anything wrong with his theories. It helped me better my relationship with my gf and mainly my parents. I really cannot recommend this resource more highly![/quote]
Care to write some cliff notes on his views etc?
I’ll check it out later though after I get back but it does look promising.[/quote]
He is a great advocate of reason and evidence and empirical thinking.
He applies it to all spheres of human interaction.
I’m really bad at cliffnoting, but would describe it as truly truth-pursuing.
He essentially takes concepts from libertarianism and applies them consequently everything.
I was really inspired to seek self-knowledge by him, and Socrates because the unexamined life is nog worth living.
But to sum it up: Truth, honesty, integrity, virtue, non-agression principle, freedom and peace.
Hopefully it makes sense what I wrote, his site and YouTube account ( stefbot ) are thankfully way better at communicating ideas.
(my communication skillzz are not optimal yet! 
)
my favorite philosophers? hmm…
as far as classics go, i like David Hume. he’s frustrating, but his arguments are so compelling and meticulously made. his ethics are amazing considering psychology doesn’t even exist at the time of his writing.
as far as newer stuff, i’m a big fan of the american pragmatists (specifically John Dewey and William James.) and i’m also a big fan of Wittgenstein. Nietzsche seems cool too, but i haven’t gotten around to reading any of his stuff yet. “twilight of the idols” is sitting here on my bookshelf, just waiting for me to graduate.
i’m a philosophy major and most of the stuff that we read for school is pretty dated. i’m in an undergraduate program and it’s tough to get into anything after Kant. i am thinking about graduate school, but there is a mountain of newer stuff that i feel i’ve got to read first. the program at my school is also pretty focused on the analytic tradition, so we don’t do too much continental stuff.
Yeah most schools focus on analytical philosophy which kinda sucks IMO. I like Hume too, but don’t really dig his thoughts on cause and effect. If I see something in front of me right now, I’m pretty darn sure it’s not gonna disappear in a second lol. But, he does make some convincing arguments. What do you like about Wittgenstein, and please don’t say his logic lol!
I reread Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics today. Great read. I really like the idea of being centered. He advocates not being deficient or excessive in anything. I think this definitely applies to my everyday life. On some days, I’m cocky (excessive pride), and on other days, I’m shy/introverted/self-conscious (deficient pride). Aristotle would recommend finding a happy medium.
Onto the tangent - does anyone else ever get this way? I can be full of myself in one moment, then full of fear/self conscious the next…I don’t know if it’s my young age, my personality, or whatever…
Anyway, I was also wondering what you guys think about Phillippa Foot? She wrote about something of interest to me: there are two people. One person acts courageously without finding the courageous act difficult. The next person does the courageous act but finds said act extremely difficult. Practical application: two people enter a general store. Person 1 sees a bag of chips and decides not to steal it. He doesn’t think twice, theft is not part of this man’s constitution. Person 2 sees the bag of chips, wants to steal it, but refrains.
Which person is more ethical/‘better’ in your guys’ opinions? The person who avoids temptation etc… easily, or the person who has to actively fight the urge?
I LOVE philosophy!!!
