 Cover of the first edition | |
| Editor | Leonard Peikoff |
|---|---|
| Author | Ayn Rand |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Ayn Rand Library |
| Subject | Philosophy |
| Publisher | Bobbs-Merrill |
Publication date | 1982 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages |
|
| ISBN | 0-672-52725-1 (hardcover) 0-451-13893-7 (Centennial edition) |
| OCLC | 8346296 |
Philosophy: Who Needs It is a collection of essays by the philosopher Ayn Rand, published posthumously in 1982. It was the last book on which Rand worked during her lifetime.
The title essay is an address given to the graduating class of the United States Military Academy on March 6, 1974, in which Rand argues that philosophy plays a central role in all human activities, that every action or thought has certain assumptions, and that humans need to examine those assumptions to live a full, meaningful life. Another speech included is "Faith and Force: The Destroyers of the Modern World", which was delivered at college appearances in 1960. [1]
The remaining chapters are reprints of articles Rand published in the 1970s, primarily in her periodical The Ayn Rand Letter . These reprints include "Kant Versus Sullivan", which is about how William Gibson's play The Miracle Worker illustrates the importance of language and conceptual learning, [1] "An Open Letter to Boris Spassky", addressed to Soviet chess grandmaster Boris Spassky, and "The Stimulus and the Response", a critique of the book Beyond Freedom and Dignity by psychologist B. F. Skinner. [2]
Rand had begun work on the collection prior to her death, but the final editing was handled by her heir, Leonard Peikoff. Most of the essays originally appeared in The Ayn Rand Letter . [2] Bobbs-Merrill published the hardcover edition in September 1982, followed by a trade paperback edition in September 1984. [3] New American Library published it as a mass market paperback in November 1984. The New American Library edition was promoted as volume one of the "Ayn Rand Library" series edited by Peikoff. [4]
At the time of its release, the book received mostly negative reviews. [5] Writing in the libertarian magazine Reason , the philosopher Douglas Den Uyl gives the book a "mixed assessment", saying that several of the essays are worth reading, but the book as a whole "is not particularly original or substantive" in comparison to her previous works. [6] Den Uyl reaches a similar conclusion in collaboration with Douglas B. Rasmussen, writing in The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand that the book "does not contain the kind of significant philosophizing found in her earlier works". [7]
Later scholars have also criticized the book, as well as some of its essays. The historian James Baker writes that the volume "lacks the strength to launch any significant project". [8] The philosopher Fred Seddon says that Rand's explanation of the ethical views of Immanuel Kant in the essay "Causality versus Duty" is a straw man. [9] George H. Smith describes "Causality versus Duty" as "an important essay" describing Rand's views on morality, but criticizes her for another essay in which she criticized the views expressed by philosopher John Rawls in his book A Theory of Justice without having read the book. [10]
Ayn Rand was a Russian-American writer and philosopher. She is known for her two best-selling novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and for developing a philosophical system she named Objectivism. Born and educated in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. She had a play produced on Broadway in 1935 and 1936. After two early novels that were initially unsuccessful, she achieved fame with her 1943 novel, The Fountainhead. In 1957, Rand published her best-known work, the novel Atlas Shrugged. Afterward, she turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays until her death in 1982.
Objectivism is a philosophical system developed by Russian-American writer Ayn Rand. Rand first expressed Objectivism in her fiction, most notably The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957), and later in non-fiction essays and books. Leonard Peikoff, a professional philosopher and Rand's designated intellectual heir, later gave it a more formal structure. Rand described Objectivism as "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". Peikoff characterizes Objectivism as a "closed system" insofar as its "fundamental principles" were set out by Rand and are not subject to change. However, he stated that "new implications, applications and integrations can always be discovered".
The Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an individualistic young architect who designs modernist buildings and refuses to compromise with an architectural establishment unwilling to accept innovation. Roark embodies what Rand believed to be the ideal man, and his struggle reflects Rand's belief that individualism is superior to collectivism.
Leonard Sylvan Peikoff is a Canadian-American philosopher. He is an Objectivist and was a close associate of Ayn Rand, who designated him heir to her estate after her death. He is a former professor of philosophy and host of a nationally syndicated radio talk show. He co-founded the Ayn Rand Institute (ARI) in 1985 and is the author of several books on philosophy.
This is a bibliography for Ayn Rand and Objectivism. Objectivism is a philosophical system initially developed in the 20th century by Rand.
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology is a book about epistemology by the philosopher Ayn Rand. Rand considered it her most important philosophical writing. First published in installments in Rand's journal, The Objectivist, July 1966 through February 1967, the work presents Rand's proposed solution to the historic problem of universals, describes how the theory can be extended to complex cases, and outlines how it applies to other issues in the theory of knowledge.
The Early Ayn Rand: A Selection from Her Unpublished Fiction is an anthology of unpublished early fiction written by the philosopher Ayn Rand, first published in 1984, two years after her death. The selections include short stories, plays, and excerpts of material cut from her novels We the Living and The Fountainhead.
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand is a 1991 book by the philosopher Leonard Peikoff, in which the author discusses the ideas of his mentor, Ayn Rand. Peikoff describes it as "the first comprehensive statement" of Rand's philosophy, Objectivism. The book is based on a series of lecture courses that Peikoff first gave in 1976 and that Rand publicly endorsed. Peikoff states that only Rand was qualified to write the definitive statement of her philosophic system, and that the book should be seen as an interpretation "by her best student and chosen heir." The book is volume six of the "Ayn Rand Library" series edited by Peikoff.
The Romantic Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature is a collection of essays regarding the nature of art by the philosopher Ayn Rand. It was first published in 1969, with a second, revised edition published in 1975.
The Objectivist movement is a movement of individuals who seek to study and advance Objectivism, the philosophy expounded by novelist-philosopher Ayn Rand. The movement began informally in the 1950s and consisted of students who were brought together by their mutual interest in Rand's novel, The Fountainhead. The group, ironically named "the Collective" due to their actual advocacy of individualism, in part consisted of Leonard Peikoff, Nathaniel Branden, Barbara Branden, Alan Greenspan, and Murray Rothbard. Nathaniel Branden, a young Canadian student who had been greatly inspired by Rand's work, became a close confidant and encouraged Rand to expand her philosophy into a formal movement. From this informal beginning in Rand's living room, the movement expanded into a collection of think tanks, academic organizations, and periodicals.
The Randian hero is a ubiquitous figure in the fiction of 20th-century novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, most famously in the figures of The Fountainhead's Howard Roark and Atlas Shrugged's John Galt. Rand's self-declared purpose in writing fiction was to project an "ideal man"—a man who perseveres to achieve his values, and only his values.
The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism is a 1964 collection of essays by the philosopher Ayn Rand and the writer Nathaniel Branden. Most of the essays originally appeared in The Objectivist Newsletter. The book covers ethical issues from the perspective of Rand's Objectivist philosophy. Some of its themes include the identification and validation of egoism as a rational code of ethics, the destructiveness of altruism, and the nature of a proper government.
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal is a collection of essays, mostly by the philosopher Ayn Rand, with additional essays by her associates Nathaniel Branden, Alan Greenspan, and Robert Hessen. The authors focus on the moral nature of laissez-faire capitalism and private property. They have a very specific definition of capitalism, a system they regard as broader than simply property rights or free enterprise. It was originally published in 1966.
For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand is a 1961 work by the philosopher Ayn Rand. It is her first long non-fiction book. Much of the material consists of excerpts from Rand's novels, supplemented by a long title essay that focuses on the history of philosophy.
The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution is a 1971 collection of essays by the philosopher Ayn Rand, in which the author argues that religion, the New Left, and similar forces are irrational and harmful. Most of the essays originally appeared in The Objectivist. A revised edition appeared in 1975, and an expanded edition edited by Peter Schwartz was published in 1999 under the title Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution.
Objectivist periodicals are a variety of academic journals, magazines and newsletters with an editorial perspective explicitly based on Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. Several early Objectivist periodicals were edited by Rand. She later endorsed two periodicals edited by associates, and a number of others have been founded since her death.
Journals of Ayn Rand is a book derived from the private journals of the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. Edited by David Harriman with the approval of Rand's estate, it was published in 1997, 15 years after her death. Some reviewers considered it an interesting source of information for readers with an interest in Rand, but several scholars criticized Harriman's editing as being too heavy-handed and insufficiently acknowledged in the published text.
The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand is a 1984 collection of essays on Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, edited by Douglas Den Uyl and Douglas B. Rasmussen. It includes essays by nine different authors covering Rand's views in various areas of philosophy. The work received positive reviews, crediting it with bringing serious attention by philosophers to Rand and her work. However, reviewers also noted that the work assumed considerable prior knowledge of philosophy on the part of the reader.
Douglas J. Den Uyl is vice president of educational programs at Liberty Fund.