Thoughts on The Fountainhead: Part One - A Brief Introduction to The Philosophy of Objectivism

2006-03-06T20:39:59-07:00

I've been reading Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead the last couple of weeks for a scholarship competition on the book and how it portrays Ayn Rand's philosophy which she called "Objectivism".

Her philosophy can be summed up in a few, short paragraphs/sentences.

Reality exists independent of man's wishes, beliefs, feelings, and wants. No independent observer of reality can change reality. Reality exists of its own accord.
Man can fully know the facts of reality if he tries hard enough.
Your Soul or Spirit is your mind. Your free-will is your choice to think.
The highest purpose of a human being is to serve their own self-interest.

The first and foremost important part of Ayn Rand's philosophy denies that God, or any supernatural being that has the ability to control reality, exists. If reality is reality and cannot change from moment to moment, then no one can be able to control it. If that is the case, then God cannot exist. It does not fit with what she believed.

The second part of Rand's philosphy states that there is nothing that man cannot know. If facts are facts, and can be known, then if man just thinks hard enough, man can understand these facts. The choice to learn and understand, however, is yours.

The third point in Rand's philosophy states that you've no supernatural spirit or soul. Your mind is your soul and your so-called free-will is the choice between exercising that mind or not.

Rand's fourth point is that man has no higher moral than to preserve himself and his own self-interests with no concern for those around you. It does not matter what other people think. If you have reality and can understand its facts, then nothing else matters.

The most obvious flaw with these philosophical ideals is that it denies the existence of God and sets man up to be his own God. If man's knowledge is absolute, then there is no room for God. There's no need for one. While we may love thinking that way, it's as far as can be from the truth. Look at yourself in the mirror. Look at how often you find out just how much your reason is flawed. It'd be nice to think that we're perfect. It'd be nice to think that we haven't inherited Adam's sin. But we have. We're sinful. That's reality. But there's another piece of the puzzle when it comes to what reality is.

There's the reality that you have been Baptized into Christ. The nail marks in His hands and the wound in His side were for you. He died for you. He took away your sin and your imperfection so that when you stand before God, He doesnt't see you. He sees Christ. Does reality change? Yes. It changes from us being lost and condemned sinners to us being children of God through Christ Jesus.

Next time I'll be posting on how the character's of the Fountainhead reflect each part of Ayn Rand's philosophy.

Severus Snape

2005-11-15T17:26:35-07:00

The Brain recently had an article on Severus Snape.

Now...I must admit, I'm not one of the best Harry Potter fanatics out there. I love Harry Potter. I've read all the books, but I haven't seen the movies. Mainly because my parents are so anti-Potter. If they read the books, I think they'd like them. But they won't. So...yeah. I'm sure everyone knows someone that refuses to read it because it's evil and filled with vile witchcraft.

Read the article.

I didn't like Snape until I read it...but, I think I'm beginning to change my mind. I'm not TOTALLY converted yet, but I'm getting there. :-P

Security in the Midst of Change

Thoughts on The Fountainhead: Part One - A Brief Introduction to The Philosophy of Objectivism

Severus Snape