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 | | The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought (The Ayn Rand Library, Vol V) by Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff (Editor), Leonard Peikoff (Introduction) ISBN-10: 9780452010468 ISBN-10: 0-452-01046-2 ISBN-13: 9780452010468 ISBN-13: 978-0-452-01046-8 Paperback 1990-06-30 Plume Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Here is the final collection of articles and speeches by the bestselling and world-renowned novelist, essayist, and philosopher. | ||
Reviews | ||
A fantastic collection of essays to anyone interested in Ayn Rand and her Objectivist philosophy. I am sure some of you have noticed a renewed interest in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged lately because our present economy has many of the same irrational policies that she mentioned in that great book. This collection of essays has not only the late Ayn Rand's work but also has additonal essays by Leonard Peikoff. Sadly, it seems collectivism (socialism)has gained some recent popularity. However, there is still a majority of people who believe individualism, freedom and capitalism is always better than socialism. This series of essays covers a wide variety of topics. This book is broken down into three parts. Part one explains the philosophic base of Ayn Rand's Objectivism. The second series of essays explores the cultural factors in a society and the final part deals with the politics involved in collectivism. The epilogue has an intellectual memoir by Leonard Peikoff. Even though I do not consider myself an objectivist, many of the philosophical conclusions Ayn Rand writes about in this series relates directly to the present day problems. If you are interested in the role philosphy plays in not only the individual, but society as a whole, you will love this series of essays. Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: Season of the Warrior: a poetic tribute to warriors, Martial Art Myths, Never Trust a Politician, Use of the Monadnock Straight Baton, PR-24 Police Baton Advanced Techniques, Police Yawara Stick Techniques). | ||
Must read for ANYONE Another wonderful publishing from the brilliant Ayn Rand. Highly recommend buying this one, maybe buying 4 or 5 and giving them so intelligent folks for x-mas. | ||
Ayn Rand on a Range of Topics Ayn Rand gained great fame in the mid-20th century with her novels, but if you are more of a non-fiction reader than a fiction reader, "The Voice of Reason" is a superb collection of essays that provides a good grounding in Objectivism, Rand's philosophy that held that reason is the highest value and the ultimate guide to ethics and life. The book is divided into sections concerning philosophy, culture, and politics. The essays cover a wide range of topics--some of the ones I found most compelling were the essay contrasting Plato and Aristotle, the essay describing who and what is the final authority in ethics, the essay skewering "psychologizers", and the essays on health care that show why government-run health care is a monumentally bad idea. Some libertarians like to claim Rand as one of their own, but there is an air-clearing essay describing the difference between Objectivism and libertarianism. Unless you are a hard-core Objectivist, you will find areas in which you disagree with Ayn Rand, but the book would be appreciated by any intellectually curious person who would like to explore Objectivism. | ||
"Publisher's Weekly" offers a bad description. Rand did not advocate "monopoly capitalism", she REPEATEDLY advocated "laissez-faire capitalism", i.e. "leave-alone" capitalism. 'No gov tinkering. Like economist Milton Friedman, she argued that monopolies cannot happen sans government tinkering and rigging the free market system to fail in its natural checks and balances behavior. | ||
A thought-provoking book. This book is a collection of Essays and articles that Ayn Rand wrote. Ayn Rand (1905 - 1982) immigrated from Russia to the United States and supported the philosophies of its founding fathers. Her main philosophy is the freedom of the individual. She is against any government control of the people. Only when the people are given freedom can a nation thrive. Ayn Rand was puzzled at how Americans took this freedom for granted, and some even opposed it. She believed that America has distanced herself from the beliefs of its founding fathers. "Who is the Final Authority in Ethics?" Ayn Rand argued that morality is part of life so to speak, and it is there for all of us to grasp, and therefore should not be dictated by religion, politics, government or any other controlling agency. Rand held that the only moral social system is laissez-faire capitalism. Contrary to what most believe (or want us to believe), Rand was against monopolies. Though many admired Ayn Rand for her philosophies and concern for the individual (harming an individual for the good of the many is not justified), many opposed her. Noam Chomsky declared Rand to be "one of the most evil figures of modern intellectual history." Conservative commentator William F. Buckley declared: "Ayn Rand is dead. So, incidentally, is the philosophy she sought to launch dead; it was in fact stillborn." Rand firmly believed in the philosophy of Aristotle (and was very influenced by it), and argued that many scholars throughout the ages have changed the meaning of Aristotle's philosophy to advance their own agendas. I found this quite intriguing. Though I read Aristotle back in school, I honestly cannot remember his philosophy. I can't wait to delve back into Aristotle's writings. Rand was an atheist, and she criticized religion (for it controls the individuals), but encouraged altruism. Religion therefore should be a means of doing good and being kind to one another, but without the control it places on individuals. Believing in God places control on the individual's life. She is known for her best-selling novels and for developing a philosophical system called Objectivism. The essence of Objectivism 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 has some really thought provoking ideas. In her book `Atlas Shrugged,' she wrote, "The entire history of science is a progression of exploded fallacies, not of achievements." She also asked, can we change the world, or is everything is as it should be? In other words, can we change ANYTHING around us, or do we merely think we can change (or have changed) it by taking already existing paths? Interestingly, in many religions, including all three major monotheistic religions--Christianity, Islam, and Judaism--on the creation of the world, God said to the universe be, and it was. If we follow this beginning, then everything is and always has been. In other words, we cannot change anything but merely go on the many paths available to us (and this makes us think that we have changed something). I find this idea very interesting. This book is an excellent introduction to Rand's philosophy. I did find some articles confusing and hard to read and understand. This book isn't an entertaining read, but rather an informative and though-provoking book to read like a textbook. | ||