According to Wikipedia:
Rand's writing emphasizes the philosophic concepts of metaphysics (objective reality), epistemology (reason) and ethics (rational egoism). Politically, she was a proponent of laissez-faire capitalism and a staunch defender of individual rights. She believed in government's right to exist only insofar that it protected an individual's right to his life, liberty and property. Rand argued that individuals must choose their values and actions by reason; that "Man - every man - is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others." According to Rand, an individual "must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life."
Rand decried the initiation of force and fraud, and believed that government had a responsibility to protect its citizens both from criminal behavior and foreign hostility (economic and military). Some have described her politics as minarchism and libertarianism, though she never used the first term and disavowed any connection to the second.
Rand, a self-described hero-worshiper, stated in the Romantic Manifesto that the goal of her writing was "the projection of an ideal man." In reference to Objectivism, she said the following: "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." - Ayn Rand, Appendix to Atlas Shrugged
Also according to Wikipedia:
Objectivism holds that there is a mind-independent reality; that individuals are in contact with this reality through sensory perception; that humans gain objective knowledge from perception by measurement, and by forming concepts that correspond to natural categories by measurement omission; that the proper moral purpose of one's life is the pursuit of one's own happiness or "rational self-interest;" that the only social system consistent with this morality is full respect for individual human rights, embodied in pure, consensual laissez-faire capitalism; and that the role of art in human life is to transform abstract knowledge, by selective reproduction of reality, into a physical form - a work of art - that one can apprehend and respond to with the whole of one's consciousness.
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
She then translated those terms into familiar language:
"Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed."
"You can't eat your cake and have it, too."
"Man is an end in himself."
"Give me liberty or give me death."
While I don't entirely agree with Ayn Rand's philosophy, we do share some ideas in common, I will save my analysis for another time.
She was very taken with the New York City skyline upon her arrival in the US. There is one quote from The Fountainhead that I found particularly moving in the aftermath of 9-11:
"I would give the greatest sunset in the world for one sight of New York's skyline, the sky over New York and the will of man made visible. What other religion do we need? I feel that if a war came to threaten this, I would throw myself into space, over the city, and protect these buildings with my body."
Today also marks the anniversary of the death of Bertrand Russell (May 18, 1872 - February 2, 1970). Russell was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, and advocate for social reform. Russell is recognised as one of the founders of analytic philosophy. He also had a great influence on mathematical logic, the philosophy of language, ethics, the philosophy of science, and epistemology.
Russell's most systematic, metaphysical treatment of philosophical analysis and his empiricist-centric logicism is evident in what he called Logical atomism.
Russell's views on religion can be found in his popular book, Why I Am Not a Christian and Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects.
Once again, according to Wikipedia:
For most of his adult life, however, Russell thought it very unlikely that there was a God, and he maintained that religion is little more than superstition and, despite any positive effects that religion might have, it is largely harmful to people. He believed religion and the religious outlook (he considered communism and other systematic ideologies to be species of religion) serve to impede knowledge, foster fear and dependency, and are responsible for much of the war, oppression, and misery that have beset the world.
I couldn't agree more.
