Does anyone ever read Ayn Rand

[revexrevex]

Specifically her Fountainhead, and her ideas of living as a collective/vs an individual? A really eye opener.

 

[Stryc-9]

I'm reading Atlas Shrugged...pretty good so far.

Haven't read Fountainhead - but which view does she endorse? Being an individual? Or a collective?

 

[BlkDragon]

I read Atlas Shrugged. It was a good read.

 

[revexrevex]

SHe is definetely saying that being an individual is something unique that very few people lack.

The main character in the Fountainhead is poor, disrespected, without friends or women, and is basically spit by society.

I don't know if its his ignorance, or his incredible persistence of being an individual, but he ignores all the bad things that happen to him and proceeds forward in life.

Ayn Rand, in my opinion, distinguishes a collectivism from individuality, because very often we are so blinded by society that even though we think we are unique, we are actually just another mindless robot.

 

[Stryc-9]

...very often we are so blinded by society that even though we think we are unique, we are actually just another mindless robot.

I will definitely have to read this next....because the notion of a blinded collectivism is a concept I struggled over when I was writing my thesis. Actually, I first came across a similar line of thought reading Heidegger - what with his obsession concerning man's "lostness" in what he calls the "they-self". Essentially, he claims that we're so bogged down by our association and interaction with others that we've lost our true (or what he calls our "authentic") selves. We become fallen and trapped by idle talk and gossip - and we take what "they" say as gospel truth even when it's utter bullshit.

 

[Lift Chief]

Ayn Rand has some extremely interesting ideas.

 

[MattTheSkywalker]

remember that she died alone, lonely, rejecting most of her ideas.

 

[rjl296]

sounds like a noble prof
book sounds pretty good too, although the only philosphy class ive taken is the one im currently in, "philosophy of sexuality"

 

[Stryc-9]

remember that she died alone, lonely, rejecting most of her ideas.

Interesting to note....

I recall being very disillusioned when Gilles Deleuze (a philosopher whose ideas I had always admired) committed suicide.

To play devil's advocate....ultimately, everyone dies alone...

 

[revexrevex]

Yes she did die lonely. That is why I think her books are so far from reality.

It was the end of my final philsophy class for my Psychology degree. I came up to the Professor, and he gave me Fountainhead and told me to read it. Out of couple of hundred people, I do not know why he chose me... I felt honored.

My professor was a rocket scientist for NASA. He was making enormous amounts of money, and then all of the sudden decided to quit his job and get a PH.d in Philosophy. Which offers basically 0 monetary value. Why did he do it? He would often said that he did not find passion in the technical aspects, and would rather emerge himself into the deep conceptuals of philosophical thinking.

All of us know that although it may be noble as an act, it will not buy you a nice house, and a car for your family to use. However people have different notions of happiness, and very often money and success are not a part of it.