The Ideas of Ayn Rand provides, for the first time, a comprehensive survey of Rand's wide-ranging contributions: her literary techniques; her espousal and then rejection of a Nietzschean outlook; her contradictory attitude to feminism; her forays into ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics; the development of her political creed; her influence on -- and hostility to -- both conservatism and libertarianism.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointingly superficial.,
This review is from: The Ideas of Ayn Rand (Paperback)
Given the publisher of this book, I had hoped to find a systematic presentation and evaluation of Ayn Rand's ideas. Unfortunately, both the presentation and evaluation were superficial. The author failed to motivate Rand's ideas by a central theme, and his evalutions were ad hoc and disintegrated.The book's strongest potential virtue was to delineate Nietzsche's influence on Rand's philosophy. Yet while the author claims that Rand's writings were influenced by Nietzsche, he provides little documentation for any early influence and no evidence for any lasting influence. His claim that Rand derived her critique of Kant from Nietzsche, for example, was never documented. A substantial revision of this section of the book, particularly in light of recent publications, would be warranted--without such a revision, the book has little to recommend it. Finally, the author's narration of recent scholarly interest in Rand--both inside and outside academia--was also disappo! intingly superficial. His treatment was marred by his conflation of these intellectual developments with much non-scholarly (and uninformative) interest in her personal life and the lives of her self-proclaimed admirers. With the publication of "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand," "Letters of Ayn Rand," and "Journals of Ayn Rand," the current volume has been entirely superceded. Save your money.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent overview,
By
This review is from: The Ideas of Ayn Rand (Paperback)
While the discussions of the influence of Nietzsche on Rand and the analyses of her novels are interesting, the real strength of this book is the clarification and extension of Rand's ethics. The unification of oughts, operational ought and normative ought are the same, the replacement of Man's Life as ultimate end with Man's Life as ultimate means, and his clarification of the goals of ethics (as making yourself the kind of person you should be, rational, productive, and self-improving) are more than worth the price of the book.
He points out the weaknesses and problems with Rand's esthetic theories. Unfortunately, he does not do the same for Rand's epistemology, which has always been the weakest part of her work. The last part of the book deals with her attempts to make a practical difference through politics and the continuing disagreements Objectivists have with libertarianism. The book is also extremely readable and well organized.
5 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice book,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Ideas of Ayn Rand (Paperback)
This is a nice work in independent commentary and interpretation, something Peikovians cannot stand. And yes, the book has useful commentary.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
I was fifteen-a common age for converts to the ideas of Ayn Rand. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, John Galt, Nathaniel Branden, Howard Roark, Hank Rearden, Dagny Taggart, Francisco D'Anconia, Barbara Branden, Galt's Gulch, Peter Keating, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gail Wynand, Penthouse Legend, Red Pawn, Great Schism, Kay Gonda, Leonard Peikoff, New York, Think Twice, United States, Eddie Willers, Ellsworth Toohey, Johnnie Dawes New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
I was fifteen-a common age for converts to the ideas of Ayn Rand. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, John Galt, Nathaniel Branden, Howard Roark, Hank Rearden, Dagny Taggart, Francisco D'Anconia, Barbara Branden, Galt's Gulch, Peter Keating, Friedrich Nietzsche, Gail Wynand, Penthouse Legend, Red Pawn, Great Schism, Kay Gonda, Leonard Peikoff, New York, Think Twice, United States, Eddie Willers, Ellsworth Toohey, Johnnie Dawes New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 58
books:
See all 58 books this book cites
3
books
cite this book:
- Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand on 54 pages
- We the Living by Ayn Rand on 19 pages
- Ayn Rand by Tibor R. Machan on 9 pages
- The Passion of Ayn Rand by Barbara Branden on 7 pages
- Judgment Day by Nathaniel Branden on 5 pages
See all 58 books this book cites
- The New Ayn Rand Companion, Revised and Expanded Edition by Mimi Reisel Gladstein on page 105, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics by James S. Valliant in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Gone Shopping! An Odyssey of Discovery by Doc Carson in Back Matter
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