81 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent introduction to the non-fiction work of Ayn Rand, March 17, 2000
By A Customer
After writing my review for this book, I found that my opinion had already been expressed in a previous review from July, 1999:
"The title essay was originally a speech given at West Point, and one of Miss Rand's own favorite pieces. In it, she eloquently demonstrates the importance of philosophy in man's life... in EVERY man's life. "...the choice we make is not whether to have a philosophy, but which one to have: rational, conscious, and therefore practical; or contradictory, unidentified, and therefore lethal." This book is for those interested in philosophy, as well as for those who aren't.
"As Leonard Peikoff states in the Introduction, "Ayn Rand was not only a novelist and a philosopher; she was also a salesman of philosophy -- the greatest salesman philosophy has ever had." Philosophy's purpose is not to impress people at cocktail parties or to "trick" people in debates with ready-to-wear paradoxes. Philosophy is essential to life -- read this book to discover why. "
However, some assertions proposed in negative reviews should be addressed for prospective readers. The assertion that her "theory of human nature states that men are the product of whatever philosophical convictions they happen to "program" into their minds" is an absolutely inaccurate representation of Rand's theory and needs to be identified as such. Rand's theory, obvious for any reader with an honest desire to understand what she wrote, was that the state of a person's life, including his actions, productivity and overall happiness, result from the beliefs and values that a person holds. As was stated earlier, a person has no choice whether or not to hold a philosophy; the conceptual nature of consciousness allows one no option other than to have beliefs and values. The issue is whether to form your beliefs and values by the method of rational, conscious thought or simply to allow them to arise within your unconscious as the result of arbitrary life experience (meaning: by default). *This* is the reason that philosophy is a practical necessity for every human being and why the answer implicit within the question "who needs it?" is EVERYONE.
An important aspect of life is "relating to other people", but this is in no way fundamental. Social relations fall within the context of politics, the branch of philosophy dealing with interactions between people. Politics is derivative of ethics which is derivative of the fundamental branches of philosophy: epistemology and metaphysics. Underlying fulfilling and happy life of satisfying relationships is the ability to use one's mind properly. All actions an individual takes result from his beliefs and values just as in logic, conclusions follow from premises. Dismissing these fundamental facts as impractical philosophical speculation is both myopic and concrete-bound. An understanding of these issues is the beauty of this book and the rest of Rand's work. Take heed, however. If you have already made up your mind to reject a derivative part of her philosophy, such as laissez faire capitalism or the ethics of one's own life as the standard of value, and are unwilling to question your pre-established beliefs, then you will derive no benefit from this reading.
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42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great introduction to Ayn Rand's nonfiction., September 27, 1996
By A Customer
Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is implicit in her novels, but
she held that the plot of a story was never to be subordinated to
didactic philosophical purposes. Thus, even in *Atlas Shrugged*, the
novel in which her philosophy is most explicit, many details are left
out. After *Atlas* was published, Ayn Rand spent much of the remainder
of her life writing essays that elaborate upon her philosophy and apply
it to current events. *Philosophy: Who Needs It* may be the best
collection of these essays for a curious reader to start with.
The answer to the question implicit in the title is that
*everyone* needs philosophy, that philosophy is an inescapable
part of your life. The real questions are: Is your philosophy an
integrated system that you consciously accept? Or is it a random
assortment of rules of thumb, trite slogans, and things you learned in
church, none of which you ever think to question? In the title essay,
Ayn Rand does not try to sell you on her particular philosophy, but on
the importance of philosophy as such. I recommend this book to anyone
who thinks philosophy is merely of "academic" interest.
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39 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sir, can you spare a dime?, October 28, 2003
It would be a bit silly to run on about this book, since all territory seems to have been covered exhaustively. 5 stars if you like her, one star if you hate her. All I would say is that this is an excellent book of essays which, even if you don't take all of it as the gospel, articulate some incredible points that certain political quarters would like to see disappear. Say what you will, she was an extraordinary intellectual force (which is obviously why she elicits such strong reactions) and her ideas aren't going away.
I can't wait to read more of her work.
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