Ayn Rand 1905-1982

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Ayn Rand1905-1982

• Rand was born and educated in Soviet Russia.
• She lived under totalitarian rule.
• Left/escaped Russia in 1926 for America which she
  saw as exemplifying her individualistic
  philosophy.

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Ayn Rands Anthem

• Philosophy

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Ego, Id, Superego (Freud)

• Ego the self the individual as aware of
  himself.
• Id instinctive energy dominated by the pleasure
  principle and impulsive wishing
• Superego the conscience

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Value Systems

• Altruism Unselfish concern for the welfare of
  others opposed to egoism.
• Collectivism socialism.
• Individualism the leading of ones life in ones
  own way without regard for others laissez-faire
  economics the state exists for the individual
  not vice versa.

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Thinking Processes

• Reason To think coherently and logically to
  draw inferences or conclusions from facts known
  or assumed.
• Mysticism attaining knowledge of spiritual
  truths through intuition and mediation.

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Three Antipodes

• Individualism vs. Collectivism
• Egoism vs. Altruism
• Reason vs. Mysticism

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Heroes

• Heroic characters risking their lives for ideals
  triumph of individual spirit, triumph of those
  who reject the power of the collective.
• Anthem isnt specifically anti-Russian.
  Intellectuals in America in the 1930s were
  intoxicated by communism.

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Questions Raised by Anthem

• If we could design a society, what would we
  design?
• What is the moral and just society?
• Does my life belong to the group?
• Can a society without freedom be productive?
• Do I have the right to pursue my own happiness?

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Prometheus

• -name means forethought
• - Story of Promethus
• stood throughout centuries as a great rebel
  against injustice authority power, bringing
  light and reason.
• Thomas Edison was called the Prometheus of our
  time.
• Frankenstein The New Prometheus.

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Gaea/Gaia (guy-ah or jee-ah)

• Mother Earth. Married Uranaus (brother).
  (Overhanging heavens).

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Themes Utopia Dystopia

• anti-Utopia
• Creativity

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Themes Individualism vs. Collectivism

• Collectivism subjugation of individual to
  group. Worth determined by service to the group.
• Individualism each person is independent
• Individualism doesnt mean doing whatever you
  feel like. It means each person has the same
  rights.
• Look for Rands definition of self in Anthem

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Individualism continued

• Not every person can be as happy as the next.
  Forced brotherhood will only deplete the spirits
  of the successful.
• Individual happiness is the culmination of
  patience, work, and physical or material
  expenditure.
• Group think our society seems to look down on
  people who like to be alone, who dont want to
  follow a group or be with a group.

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Themes Egoism concern for ones own
interests

• ambition
• wanting things for oneself
• loving someone
• thinking for oneself
• egoism is not god in the religious sense. Ego is
  the highest value. The source of what is good.
• Rand said she wrote the book for people who
  consider EGO immoral.

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Themes Egoism continued

• those who allow self-interest to dominate are
  called greedy, selfish, evil. But without
  selfishness, we lose our advanced mind
• self-love as one of the primary aspects of
  freedom and self-governance.
• COMPASSION not the antithesis of SELFISHNESS.
• Work for rational self-interest---not sacrifice
  self to others or ask others to sacrifice self to
  us. Rejection of altruism.

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Themes Free Will

• We have CHOICE.
• Free will choice to think or not. We arent
  doomed to a life of despair and defeat.
• We are all responsible for our own behavior not
  society, heredity, or past.
• (Choice Theory We cannot necessarily change
  forces but can change our behavior, thinking,
  emotions, and reactions. Success identity we
  have strength, responsibility, and
  self-discipline.)

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Theme Reason

• This is what is preeminent in humans. The
  mind/conceptual faculty. This leads to emotions
  (the ability to make value judgments). Reason
  possesses volition ability to make choices).
• Reason is the property of the individual brain.
  No such thing as collective brain. We choose to
  use reason. We can choose not to reason (not to
  decide is to decide).
• That which you do not know is not a charge
  against you that which you refuse to know is
  immoral.

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Objectivism

• Wishing wont make it so.
• Only source of knowledge is reason. Only guide to
  action.
• Humanity each person is an end to him/herself.
  Cannot sacrifice self to others or others to
  self.
• Ideal political/economic system laissez faire
  capitalism.
• Anarchy irresponsible, irrational,
  anti-intellectual

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After reading Anthem

• What laws do we have today that Rand would agree
  and disagree with? What programs, parts of our
  lives are collectivist?
• How would Rand stand on issues such as abortion,
  death penalty, welfare, income taxes, draft, drug
  use, environmental protection, capitalism, bail
  outs, farm subsidies, Buy American programs,
  affirmative action, prayer in school, the space
  program?
• Compare the idea of equality in the Declaration
  of Independence vs. Anthem
• What message does Rand have for young people
  today?

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