tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post6141750359069022460..comments2023-05-28T07:46:13.657-04:00Comments on social issues: Ayn Rand - a public philosopher?Leonard Wakshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10948820385522641682noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-37907784794106089242015-06-03T18:16:57.421-04:002015-06-03T18:16:57.421-04:00It was not a commencement address. She was speaki...It was not a commencement address. She was speaking to the senior class. They wouldn't have graduated until June. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-22386496297513129582010-10-20T23:46:51.994-04:002010-10-20T23:46:51.994-04:00Coming from the John Dewey society page, I'm n...Coming from the John Dewey society page, I'm not surprised at this hatchet job. Ayn Rand made a much stronger case on the influence of John Dewey in regard to the sorry state of education in public schools. Plus I believe Ms. Rands uncompromising stance on the concept of 'reason' is too rigorous for weak minds to fully comprehend.Ernie Welckernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-66058869054024626522008-07-04T19:13:00.000-04:002008-07-04T19:13:00.000-04:00Thank you for your RESPECTFUL post disagreeing wit...Thank you for your RESPECTFUL post disagreeing with Ayn Rand. Too many of her critics deem it enough to name call her, despite her many salient ideas.<BR/><BR/>The point of Miss Rand's talk is that everyone needs a philosophy whether they know it or not.<BR/><BR/>For example your statement that there are no pat answers IS a pat answer. Your admonition to question more than conclude IS a conclusion. It rests on a certain epistemology and ethics.<BR/><BR/>And on what basis do you call Miss Rand's lauding the military "foolish?" And what conclusive ethics impels you to criticize the American effort in Vietnam?<BR/><BR/>These too are conclusions.<BR/><BR/>All of your points rest on philosophical conclusions. All of our points do too. This is the essence of the West Point talk.Joehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10164506681130033480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-90485607300632490562008-07-04T15:06:00.000-04:002008-07-04T15:06:00.000-04:00I respectfully disagree that man/human is somethin...I respectfully disagree that man/human is something like a "fundamental unit" for philosophical thinking. <BR/><BR/>To my mind, a public philosophical problem is an unanswered question regarding meaning, value, or purpose that is consciously shared by a group of people.<BR/><BR/>My commitment to questions is not to offer a theory of truth; it is to suggest that philosophical thinking resists the easy certainty of pat answers and unquestioned truths, irrespective of shifting contexts.Kathleen Knight-Abowitzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13675307829340902045noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-19668759684745549112008-07-04T11:33:00.000-04:002008-07-04T11:33:00.000-04:00" As Rand states, 'Philosophy studies the fundamen..." As Rand states, 'Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence, of man, and of man's relationship to existence.' "<BR/><BR/>"Yet I believe that philosophy that is engaged with public problems and contexts requires that we remain committed to the questions rather than one fixed set of answers. "<BR/><BR/>Kathleen, <BR/>The basic unit of the subject of philosophy is the human being. The public is a heterogeneous group of humans, and as such, does not qualify as a fundamental unit of man for the philosophical purposes of defining man's nature. Hence, there is no such thing as a public philosophical problem. <BR/><BR/>And what is the epistemological status of your required commitment to questions over answers? What kind of truth is this supposed to be. Truth is by definition a set of fixed answers. If your A can be A and B and C, etc. all at the same time in the same way and in the same context, you have rejected the axiomatic concept of identity, a cornerstone of Rand's entire philosophy. Consequently, there is no way you could ever agree with her on anything she ever wrote or said without contradicting yourself.Michael Clendenin Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16581122565726095706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-30701929435605911082008-07-03T19:12:00.000-04:002008-07-03T19:12:00.000-04:00This is a very thought provoking essay. Thanks Kat...This is a very thought provoking essay. Thanks Kathleen. <BR/><BR/>Brian's comment is very thoughtful. Like him, I was an avid reader and seeker in high school, and much that I read then (Alan Ginsberg, William Carlos Williams, John Steinbeck) shaped my overall philosophic sensibility as much as (about two years later) Kant and Mill. <BR/><BR/>Brian's reference to Russell is also relevant. I remember Peter Ungar at 22 saying that while he might aspire to being as good a professional philosopher as Russell, he could never aspire to being as good a person. He had read Russells popular books in high school. 44 years later Peter is making a valiant effort at following in Russell's popular philosophy shoes, with "Living High and Letting Die". And he appears to be influencing the ethical practices of some people (judging by an article last year in The New Yorker).Leonard Wakshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10948820385522641682noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8787999482934202364.post-69231136939223651982008-07-02T17:54:00.000-04:002008-07-02T17:54:00.000-04:00Ayn Rand's writings exerted a strong attraction to...Ayn Rand's writings exerted a strong attraction to a lot of the intelligent high-school student and undergraduates I hung around with. After surviving the perversity that high school presents to gifted students, seeming to stunt their talents and ambitions at every turn, libertarianism comes as a welcome and bracing tonic.<BR/><BR/>Now, being smart, they have also grwon beyond what they recognized as Rand's oversimplifications. But I think there's a lot to be learned from her style of communication. She wanted to communicate with *people*, not *academics*. Her writing is not loaded with jargon. And her writing is infused with the rhetorical passion of someone who felt the goal of writing was to save the world, not to secure tenure.<BR/><BR/>One of the big forces that shaped my own adolescent interest in philosophy was Bertrand Russell. In his more popular writings, his style shares some of these same virtues.<BR/><BR/>--<BR/><BR/>I suspect that, even among those interested in "public philosophy" or "public intellectuals," that most miss how much can be accomplished by writing and communicating to intelligent adolescents and young adults, those who are just realizing that there's a whole world of ideas beyond the often constrictive communities they have grown up in.Brian Burtthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17673715293983544883noreply@blogger.com