Objectivism

Stephen Hawkin's "A brief history of time" pulled me through scientific philosophy, Scott Peck's "The road less travelled" through the physcology of love and spiritualism, and lately Ayn Rand's "The Fountainhead" through objectivism. While I found it is easier to relate to the first two ,the last one, though a flagarant thought process against ethos that have been entrenched as "right" in our minds for centuries, seems apalling and appealing at the same time. Its gonna take some solitary thinking about objectivism before I come to terms or not with certain aspects. Whatever, it certainly has been a good intellectual stimulation thus far.


Objectivism is a philosophy started by Ayn Rand. Her short reply to "what does it mean?";
1. Metaphysics: Objective Reality - "Wishing won't make it so."
2. Epistemology: Reason - "You can't eat your cake and have it, too."
3. Ethics: Self-interest - "Man is an end in himself."
4. Politics: Capitalism - "Give me liberty or give me death."

Essence of her philosophy – a concept of man as a heroic being with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life (thus challenging the altruism based theme of living preached for ages), with productive achievement (i.e his work) as the noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

It's more than clear that Ayn Rand's thoughts got shaped because of her birth and childhood days in tyrannical-socialist regime of the former USSR.

"Fountain Head" is a story of an architect, Howard Roark, and his battle against the tradition-worshipping society. Its theme is individualism versus collectivism in man's soul. Its also the author's projection of the ideal man

"Atlas Shrugged", next on my to-read list after "The Da Vinci code", is said to be the culmination of Ayn Rand's idea of objectivism and a master piece. Let me see what that book has to offer.