Objectivism: Man is a being of volitional consciousness

[Guest guest]

Ayn Rand named her philosophy

" Objectivism " and described it as

  a philosophy for living on earth.

 

Objectivism is an integrated system

 of thought that defines the abstract

 principles by which a man must

think and act if he is to live

the life proper to man. Ayn Rand

  first portrayed her philosophy in

 the form of the heroes of her

best-selling novels, The Fountainhead

  (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957).

 

She later expressed her philosophy

 in nonfiction form. Ayn Rand was

once asked if she could present

the essence of Objectivism while

standing on one foot. Her answer was:

 

Metaphysics: Objective Reality

 

Epistemology: Reason

 

Ethics: Self-interest

 

Politics: Capitalism

 

~~~

 

Metaphysics:

 

" Reality, the external world,

exists independent of man's

consciousness, independent of

any observer's knowledge, beliefs,

  feelings, desires or fears.

 

This means that A is A, that facts

  are facts, that things are what

 they are — and that the task of

man's consciousness is to perceive

 reality, not to create or invent

 it. " Thus Objectivism rejects any

 belief in the supernatural —

and any claim that individuals or

groups create their own reality.

 

" Man's reason is fully competent

to know the facts of reality. "

" Man is a being of volitional

consciousness. " " That which you

call your soul or spirit is your consciousness, and that which you

call 'free will' is your mind's

freedom to think or not, the only

will you have, your only freedom.

 

Ethics:

 

Rationality is man's basic virtue,

 and his three fundamental values

are: reason, purpose, self-esteem.

 

Politics

 

" The basic social principle..: no

man has the right to seek values

from others by means of physical

force — Men have the right to use

  force only in self-defense and

only against those who initiate

its use. Men must deal with one

another as traders, giving value

for value, by free, mutual consent

  to mutual benefit.

 

The only social system that bars

physical force from human

relationships is laissez-faire

capitalism.

 

Epistemology

 

" Man's reason is fully competent to

 know the facts of reality. Reason,

 the conceptual faculty, is the

faculty that identifies and

integrates the material provided

  by man's senses. Reason is man's

 only means of acquiring knowledge. "

Thus Objectivism rejects mysticism

 (any acceptance of faith or feeling

 as a means of knowledge), and it

rejects skepticism (the claim that

 certainty or knowledge is impossible)

 

Esthetics

 

" Art is a selective re-creation of

 reality according to an artist's

 metaphysical value-judgments. "

The purpose of art is to concretize

 the artist's fundamental view of

existence. Ayn Rand described her

 own approach to art as

 

" Romantic Realism " :

" I am a Romantic in the sense that

 I present men as they ought to be.

 I am Realistic in the sense that

 I place them here and now and on

 this earth. "

 

my favorite saying by her; when she

asked about eternal life:

" I'll not die but te World will end "

 

love,

Karta