The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand (Paperback)

~ Douglas J Uyl (Editor), Douglas B Rasmussen (Editor) "John Frederick Peifer has written: An error lurking in the roots of a system of thought does not become a truth simply by being evolved..." (more)
Key Phrases: survival qua man, objectivist ethics, rational selfishness, Ayn Rand, New York, Aristotle Ethics (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (September 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252014073
• ISBN-13: 978-0252014079
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,281,243 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A very mixed collection of essays, July 31, 2000

By	Jean-Francois Virey (59500 DOUAI France) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

*The Philosophical Thought of Ayn Rand* is a collection of ten essays on Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, more or less hierarchically organized into three parts: Metaphysics and Epistemology, Ethics and Politics.

The essays included fall into two very distinct categories: those written by independent Ayn Rand scholars, like Den Uyl, Rasmussen, Machan or Mack, who show a real familiarity with Rand's published works (or, to be more precise, those works published prior to the publication of the book in 1984); and essays written by generally unsympathetic philosophers who merely took the trouble of reading a few Objectivist essays before refuting what are mostly misunderstandings of Rand's statements or arguments.

One example is Anthony Flew, whose pompously titled essay "Selfishness and the Unintended Consequences of Intended Action" combines a very cogent defense of the free market with a completely inept treatment of Rand's rational egoism. Flew takes the following statement from *The Fountainhead*: "No man can live for another... It is impossible in concept"; interprets it as meaning that no action can be unselfish and self-sacrificing; easily refutes the latter; and then blames Rand for her "false conclusion", her "lapse" and the "mess" she got herself into. Unfortunately for him, Rand was not saying that it is impossible ever to *act* in a self-sacrificial way, but that it was impossible consistently to *live* for another, which is totally different, and which I do not think Flew would be able to refute. As for his comment that "Rand is... mistaking it that all human relationships are or should be trading transactions", I surmise it is based on too literal an interpretation of the "trader principle", which is the Objectivist alternative to predatory egoism and altruism. Finally, the refutation of the Objectivist principle that there is no conflict of interest among rational men is based on an unjustified reading of "interest" as synonymous with "desire".

But the nadir of this collection is probably Wallace Matson's "Rand on Concepts" which claims to reformulate the Objectivist theory of concept-formation in a way that "preserves what is of value in Rand's treatment" and then proceeds to get rid of concepts altogether, claiming they are a dispensable "mysterious and subjective... third entity between word and thing"!

Of the ten essays included here, I would say that the five written by the better-informed Ayn Rand scholars are worth reading and often contain interesting observations and criticisms (though none that are so earth-shattering as to really threaten the structure of Objectivism), while the other five, when they are not off-topic, are generally lame.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 31, 2000

By	Dave O'Hearn (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand (Hardcover)

In this book, I was hoping to find critical discussion of Rand that was also accessible. Sadly, I didn't get it. The authors in this collection are mainly professional philosophers, and they do a lot of nit-picking. That is all well and good, but it leaves a reader like myself wondering, "Ok, so what's the point... after 20 pages there, what did you just make a point of?" The book has a lot of professors citing a paragraph here, another paragraph there, and maybe comparing it to another philosopher, or criticising it, etc., but it does not seem to go anywhere or serve any purpose.

I have read other professional philosophy too, and I expected something a bit clearer.... I espected maybe some quotations describing a position Rand has, and then outlining what her argument is with steps, or otherwise distilling it into a schematic, and criticising some step of it, or comparing it to something else. That is how philosophers normally criticize each other. The style in this book was more like "endless bantering".

I give it three stars, for two decent essays. Erik Mack's, on Rand's main ethical argument, is good. It is also one of the longer ones in the book, and describes many oddities of Rand's argument, and what they might mean when stated more clearly, and what different implications they might have. This is interesting stuff, as Rand's ethical arguments, especially her main one, are not at all clear!

The other decent essay is Anthony Flew's, but it is only barely decent. He is much more dismissive to Rand's ethical positions, and perhaps a bit too uncharitable, but he does compare Rand's ethics on the topic of "selfishness" with other philosophers, like Adam Smith, and schools of philosophy, like utilitarianism.

That is about all that was interesting. The editors of the work merely fill space comparing Rand to Aristotle, and the rest just did not seem to provide insights. They might agree with Rand, and say "yeah I agree", or disagree and say "gee, that is so stupid!" but I didn't see much in the way of critical insight.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful commentary on Rand's philosophy, November 30, 1998

By A Customer

This is the first book that examined Rand's philosophy from an academic perspective, and it has proven to be one of the most useful secondary sources on the philosophy. The essays by the editor, and all of the essays in the ethics section especially, or well worth reading. In some cases an academic gloss to Rand's work is provided, in others an academic critique. Should be of help to those who are looking for strong, well-developed arguments for and against Rand's theories.