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Title: Philosophy: Who Needs It by Ayn Rand ISBN: 0-451-13893-7 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: April, 1985 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.55 (38 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Ayn Rand tells things as they are.
Comment: After reading books on philosophy, I have to put this one among the best top five ever written. It takes courage to write like Rand does, because she doesnt mince words and tells it like it is. She writes why we need philosophy, how to detect philosophical con games and how to practice philosophy. Her other essays are criticisms of Kant and some other philosophers showing how their writings are con games. Then in the next to final chapter in the book she shows the reader what to do in order to spread truth and reason. Rands approach to philosophy is called the law of identity. This law states that A is A. That is things are what they are. This law applies to all reality no matter what it is. She call this law an irreducible primary. This means that it is a principle that cannot be contradicted without falling into absurdity. Truth is another of these irreducible primaries. Starting from Truth and the law of identity a philosopher can then find other primary laws such as the law of non contradiction and the law of the excluded middle, among others. Rands criticisms of other philosophers makes sense because they contradict the law of identity. I have read Kant and Hume for instance, and I can say that they dont make sense. Hume denies causality, yet he uses it in asserting his arguments. Kant claims we cant know things as they are, but if this were so we can deny his philosophy, since things are never what they are. She says these philosophers play con games. I dont think they do so on purpose. Whether they do or not its still a con game. Whats behind all this is a denial of reality and the placing of delusion in its place. We see this all around society. There is only one place to go when reality is denied and that is confusion, chaos and eventual destruction.
Rating: 5
Summary:
A great introduction to Ayn Rand's nonfiction.
Comment:
Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is implicit in her novels, but she held that the plot of a story was never to be subordinated to didactic philosophical purposes. Thus, even in *Atlas Shrugged*, the novel in which her philosophy is most explicit, many details are left out. After *Atlas* was published, Ayn Rand spent much of the remainder of her life writing essays that elaborate upon her philosophy and apply it to current events. *Philosophy: Who Needs It* may be the best collection of these essays for a curious reader to start with.
The answer to the question implicit in the title is that
*everyone* needs philosophy, that philosophy is an inescapable
part of your life. The real questions are: Is your philosophy an
integrated system that you consciously accept? Or is it a random
assortment of rules of thumb, trite slogans, and things you learned in
church, none of which you ever think to question? In the title essay,
Ayn Rand does not try to sell you on her particular philosophy, but on
the importance of philosophy as such. I recommend this book to anyone
who thinks philosophy is merely of "academic" interest.
Rating: 4
Summary: One of the best apologies for philosophy in the literature
Comment: Many years ago, a colleage of mine observed me reading this book and remarked: "Yeah, I agree, we don't need it!". Clearly he was not aware of the content of the book, and his reaction could be viewed as expressing a typical attitude about philosophy. Philosophy is to a large extent viewed as somewhat inapplicable to the ordinary affairs of life, and it's proper place is in the university, to be done alone from the proverbial armchair.
The author of this book argues that this is not the case, that philosophy is essential in all phases of human experience, and that its exclusion will result in grave difficulties. Apologies for philosophy are rare in the philosophical literature, but this author gives a good one, done however, totally in the context of philosophy itself. The author stops at giving the practice of philosophy justification from any other fields of endeavor, such as science. The author though could have given an even better case for doing philosophy if she would have taken a scientific viewpoint, and gathered scientific evidence on just what constitutes true human needs.
The title of the book is based on an address that the author gave to the graduating class of Westpoint in March 1974. The rest of the book is a collection of articles by the author that were included by the executors of her estate after her death in 1982. There are many interesting discussions in these articles, as there are places where the author goes astray and engages in dialog that is too vituperative to be characterized as rational argument. Her vicious attacks on the philosopher Immanuel Kant, in particular, are very disconcerting, even to those who might disagree with his ideas.
Philosophy as a profession still exists of course, but its content is changing rapidly, and it continues to be viewed by some as primarily an academic activity. But due to the tremendous explosion of science and technology, professional philosophers have moved away from purely academic positions and have applied their high intelligence and unique abilities to matters of a more scientific nature. Industry in particular welcomes their participation, particularly in the areas of biology and medicine, due to the ethical dilemnas that are confronted daily in these professions. In addition, philosophers have decided to contribute their talents to assist in the building of intelligent machines, and have given much insight on just how this is to be done. Clearly both philosophy and these professions need each other.
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Title: Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism by Ayn Rand ISBN: 0451163931 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: July, 1989 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand ISBN: 0451147952 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: July, 1986 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: For the New Intellectual by Ayn Rand ISBN: 0451163087 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: March, 1984 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff ISBN: 0451191145 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: September, 1996 List Price(USD): $8.99 |
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Title: We the Living by Ayn Rand ISBN: 0451187849 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: January, 1996 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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