The conflict of Plato versus Aristotle
is the conflict of Mysticism versus Reason
“My philosophy, in essence,
is 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.”
and reason as his only absolute.”
OBJECTIVISM
OBJECTIVISMThe Philosophy of Ayn Rand
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
EthicsDealing with others
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
EthicsDealing with others
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
EthicsDealing with others
PoliticsLiving in Society
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
EthicsDealing with others
PoliticsLiving in Society
Reality - the external world exists.
Law of Identity. (Aristotle)A is A.
Reality exists as an objective absolute
facts are facts,
independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.
Existence Exists.
Reality is Independent of Consciousness
Reality is unaffected by your wishes and desires
Cause and Effect - things act in accordance with their nature
No miracles.
Objectivism Rejects any belief in the supernatural
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
EthicsDealing with others
PoliticsLiving in Society
Reason is man’s means of acquiring knowledge.
Reason, is the faculty which identifies and integrates
the material provided by man’s Senses.
Reason is man’s only means of perceiving Reality,
his only source of Knowledge,
his only guide to Action,
and his basic means of Survival.
Consciousness
the task of man’s consciousness is to perceive reality, not to create
or invent it.
Metaphysically Passive
Epistemologically Active
Objectivism Rejects mysticism - (any acceptance of faith or feeling
as a tool of cognition).
Objectivism Rejects skepticism
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
EthicsDealing with others
PoliticsLiving in Society
Man, Every Man, is an end in himself,
not a means to the ends of others.
Man must Live for his own sake,
neither sacrificing himself to others
Nor sacrificing others to himself.
NO SACRIFICING!
The pursuit of his own Rational Self-Interest
and of his own Happiness
is the Highest Moral Purpose of His Life.
Not based on whim
What makes Ethics Necessary?
Man’s Life
Objectivism Rejects altruism
the claim that Morality consists in living for others or for society.
"There is one word—a single word—which can blast the morality of altruism out of existence and
which it cannot withstand—the word: 'Why?'
Why must man live for the sake of others?
Why is that the good?
There is no earthly reason for it—and, ladies and gentlemen, in the whole history of philosophy no earthly reason has ever been given." - Ayn Rand
The basic Social Principle of the Objectivist Ethics
No man or group has the right to initiate the use of physical force
Men have the Right to use Force Only in Self-Defense
Men must deal with each other as Traders
Value for Value, by Free, Mutual Consent to Mutual Benefit.
The Principle of Trade is the only Rational, Ethical Principle for all
Human Relationships.
It is the Principle of Justice.
A trader is a man who earns what he gets and does not take the
undeserved.
Objectivist Virtues
Rationality
Cardinal Virtue leading to all other Virtues
Rationality - using Reason to identify Reality
Honesty
the Refusal to fake reality
Integrity
Consistency in the application of Reason
Productivity
Working to Create one’s Values
Independence
don’t leave your thinking to others
Pride
Pursuit of Moral Perfection
related to Self-Esteem - the belief that one is capable of
Gaining Values
and that one Deserves them
Justice
Principle of applying Reason to the Actions of other men
giving people what they Deserve
MetaphysicsWhat kind of world is it?
EpistemologyHow do I know?
EthicsDealing with others
PoliticsLiving in Society
The only social system that bars physical force from human
relationships is
Laissez-Faire Capitalism.
Capitalism is a system based on the recognition of Individual Rights,
including Property Rights
The only function of the government is to protect
Individual Rights
How?
the police, to protect you from criminals;
the army, to protect you from foreign invaders;
and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud from others,
to settle disputes by rational rules,
according to objective laws.
Objectivism Rejects any form of collectivism, such as fascism, communism, or socialism.
Objectivism Rejects the current “mixed economy”
Objectivism Rejects any “redistribution of wealth”
Objectivism fights for the philosophical base which Capitalism did not have
and without the moral justification, it is doomed to
perish.
Metaphysics
Objective Reality
Metaphysics
Objective Reality
Epistemology
Reason
Metaphysics
Objective Reality
Ethics
Self-Interest
Epistemology
Reason
Metaphysics
Objective Reality
Ethics
Self-Interest
Politics
Laissez-faire Capitalism
Epistemology
Reason
Metaphysics Epistemology
Ethics
Politics Aesthetics
for the Philosophers
Consciousness
Metaphysically Passive
Epistemologically Active
primacy of existenceversus
primacy of consciousness
The Objective Advantage
Objectivism provides an advantage in the world because it is based on
an Objective Reality
is/ought
changing the culture - 25 years?
I regard compassion as proper only toward those who are innocent victims, but not toward those who are morally guilty. If one feels compassion
for the victims of a concentration camp, one cannot feel it for the torturers. If one does feel
compassion for the torturers, it is an act of moral treason toward the victims
DEFINITIONS ARE THE GUARDIANS OF REASON. WE HAVE TO USE PRECISE LANGUAGE SO WE CAN MEAN WHAT WE SAY.
MetaphysicsOBJECTIVE REALITY
EpistemologyREASON
EthicsSELF-INTEREST
PoliticsLAISSEZ-FAIRE CAPITALISM
Objective Reality Reason
Self-Interest
Laissez-faire Capitalism