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Ayn rand objectivism eassay
Ayn rand objectivism eassay
Ayn rand objectivism eassay
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Ayn Rand is amazing because of her philosophy of objectivism and the fact that she is both a novelist and a philosopher. She has one of the most interesting life. Objectivism's central tenets are that reality exists independently of consciousness, that human beings have direct contact with reality through sense perception, that one can attain objective knowledge from perception through the process of concept formation. She described its essence as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." Ayn Rand wrote 32 novels. Some are fiction, some are stories that she has encountered over her lifetime. Some of those novels are We The Living and the famous one Atlas Shrugged. One of …show more content…
She received an honorary doctorate from Lewis & Clark College. She also began delivering annual lectures at the Ford Hall Forum, responding afterward to questions from the audience. During these speeches and question and answer sessions, she often took controversial stances on political and social issues of the day. These included supporting abortion rights, opposing the Vietnam War and the military draft (but condemning many draft dodgers as "bums"), supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War Of 1973 against a the alliance of Arab nations as "civilized men fighting savages",saying European colonists had the right to develop land taken from American Indians, and calling homosexuality "immoral" and "disgusting", while also advocating the repeal of all laws about it. She also pushed several Republican candidates for President of the United States, most strongly Barry Goldwater in 1964, whose candidacy she promoted in several articles for The Objectivist
Many people have trouble being apart of a society. These troubles come from trying to fit in, which is also known as conforming. Another trouble is trying to express one’s own style with one’s own opinion. This is a trouble due to the fact that many people have the fear of being frowned upon when being the black sheep of the group if one’s opinion does not correspond with other opinions. This is where one’s own sense of who they are, individuality, and trying to fit in, conformity, can get confused. A nickname for conformity is “herd behavior” which is the name of an article where the author relates animals that herd with people that conform. Many people have a different philosophy of this topic which will be expressed in this essay. An important
Ayn Rand, in Anthem, illustrates a futuristic, socialist society. In the novel, Rand destroys any sense of individuality and describes the social setbacks endured after living ‘only for the brotherhood’. The individual person fails to exist and is but a ‘we’ and recognized by a word and a series of numbers rather than a name. Additionally, she describes the horrors encountered within this different system of life: from reproduction methods to punishments. Through the life of Equality 7-2521, Rand demonstrates a person’s journey from obedience to exile in this socialist society. Throughout the entire novel, Rand criticizes Marxist theory as she demonstrates socialism’s failure to suppress revolution, thwart material dialectic, and its detriment to humanity.
In Ayn Rand’s famous, or in some circles, infamous, story Anthem, the differing ideologies of objectivism and collectivism are pit against each other. With objectivism being so tight knit and different from the society in the book, it seems that it would be almost impossible to truly follow in its entirety. However, Anthem, as a whole, doesn’t violate the ideals of Rand’s philosophy of objectivism.
Ayn Rand’s Anthem is about a man who overcomes the pressures of society to remain uniform, and breaks barriers in technology thanks to his individuality and hunger for more knowledge. The theme of the value of individuality in Anthem is developed through Equality 7-2521’s desperate need for knowledge, Equality 7-2521’s creation of the lightbulb, and Equality 7-2521 discovery of the word “I”.
In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, children are often seen living apart from their families. Unfortunately, it’s not their choice, but society is set up such that they are made to live apart. Children are forced to live like this because dictatorial leaders are committed to collectivism. Collectivism is an emphasis on collective rather than individual action or identity. Leaders enforce the separation between parents and children in order to maintain collectivism and ultimately have complete control over the children. You and I do not exist; government deems it so. We are one, a single body functioning for the collective good of society. Ayn Rand’s Anthem speaks to this collectivist doctrine while highlighting the implicit contradictions that impede its successful implementation.
Berliner, Michael S., ed. Letters of Ayn Rand. By Ayn Rand. New York: Dutton, 1995.
Ayn Rand, a Russian-American philosopher who had influenced Western society in 20th century with her ideas of rational egoism, laissez-faire capitalism, elevation of reason and comprehensive philosophical system called Objectivism.
Howard Roark’s speech in Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead displays the author's personal philosophy of objectivism. Objectivism is an idea that Ayn Rand had developed and promoted in her works of literature. Objectivism advocated for the rights of individual freedoms such as someone being able to do whatever that person desires with their own creations. In this case, Ayn Rand’s character Howard Roark; who had dynamited his own building . Through Rand’s persuading diction, immense detail, and powerful organization, Ayn Rand takes a stand through a fictional character to promote the idea that an individual should be able to live freely without society or the government scrutinizing him.
The word collectivism often makes people cringe. Overall, there is a general fear of not being able to make personal decisions in America. According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, collectivism can be defined as; emphasis on collective rather than individual action or identity (“Collectivism”). In Anthem, Ayn Rand describes an extreme collectivist society. Although Anthem’s society seems extremely surreal, aspects of its collectivist society closely mirror today’s society.
Regarding the autobiographical nature of Kira, the main character in We the Living, Ayn Rand said "The specific events of Kira's life were not mine; her ideas, her convictions, her values were and are." (xvii) So by examining Kira's views on different things one can conclude Rand most likely shares the same views. If one reads We the Living it is very evident what Rand's views of Communism are: she is out rightly opposed to it and its core values.
“I swear – by my life and my love of it – that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine” (Rand 979). The last lines of John Galt’s speech in Atlas Shrugged declare the fundamental principle of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. Her ideology plays an integral role in her literary pieces, functioning as the motor driving the actions, goals, and beliefs of the protagonists. From the first strains of Objectivism established during her childhood in Russia, Ayn Rand would develop and cultivate her ideas further in each novel, culminating in her magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged. We the Living, The Fountainhead, and Anthem share the theme of Atlas Shrugged, and The Fountainhead and Anthem would join the masterpiece as staples of the Objectivist and Libertarian ideologies (Smith 384). Nothing could pose a greater contrast when presented in juxtaposition with Rand’s doctrine than the Communism of her childhood. Ayn Rand’s experiences living in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic led her to create Objectivism; through her fictional works, she showcases her philosophy which is centered on the struggle of the individual versus the collective by emphasizing different aspects in each of her novels.
The infamous author Ayn Rand dedicated her life wholly to the study and furthering of her political dogma, Objectivism, the uniting theme throughout all of her published literary works. One of the most obtrusive examples is her novella Anthem, which is set in a futuristic yet inept dystopia that is entirely founded on principles of collectivism. Page by page Rand’s sentiments become glaringly obvious, subsequently causing the reader to question her motivation behind this story, their own agreement with her egocentric philosophy, how Christianity aligns with every aspect of it, and if, overall, it was adeptly written.
One being the fact that this book is a collection of her essay and speeches. But the main one is how this book discusses her own Philosophy. She first explains the importance of philosophy and how it used in the real world unknowingly today, but she then says the philosophy most people follow today, Altruism, as irrational. “Altruism is the rationalization for the mass slaughter in Soviet Russia – for the legalized looting in the welfare state – for the power-lust of politicians seeking to serve the common good” (Rand 27) Altruism is basically the thought of having selfless actions and to serve others. This completely contradicts Ayn Rand’s philosophy of living, Objectivism. This is where the book becomes different form other books and even the entire world. Many people and religions are taught to help others. This follows Altruism in the fact that we are serving others and being selfless. Objectivism has many different layers to it but one of the most important parts to it is the concept that man should be self-serving. That we should be selfish and live for ourselves only under the condition that it doesn’t harm others. This is extremely different from everything we are taught since we were
In a society, at what point does uniting to benefit the greater good suppress one’s right to possess individuality? The social and political construct of utmost unity is called collectivism, or the practice of emphasizing a whole picture rather than each individual component. The common theme of collectivism versus individualism is prevalent within the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, wherein the individual motivations of the members of society are suppressed without their knowledge. While contributing to the greater good may have its appeal, one must learn that for this to be possible, individual sacrifices are necessary. The ultimately collectivist society depicted in Anthem is justified by its rulers through ideas of
Her ideals were perfect for the times. In the mid-1960s the civil rights movement was in full swing. Across the nation, activists were working for equal civil rights for all Americans, regardless of race. In 1964 Chisholm was elected to the assembly. During the time that she served in the assembly Chisholm sponsored fifty bills, but only eight of them passed. One of the successful bills she supported provided assistance for poor students to go on to higher education. Another provided employment insurance coverage for personal and domestic employees. Still another bill reversed a law that caused female teachers in New York to lose their tenure (permanence of position) while they were out on maternity