Objectivist philosophy

Objectivism is the philosophy developed by Russian-born American philosopher and author Ayn Rand. In short, Objectivism holds that there is an independent reality, of which human beings are conscious of through their senses, in which reason is the only way of gathering knowledge and only the individual rational mind can process these data, in which the proper moral purpose of one's life is to pursue one's own rational self-interest, and in which the only moral social system is full laissez-faire capitalism with a government strictly limited to courts, police, and a military, because it is the only system where humans are barred from initiating the use of physical force upon each other (either within or outside the structure of said government).

Related Topics:
Philosophy - Ayn Rand - Reason - Moral - Self-interest - Laissez-faire - Capitalism - Courts - Police - Military

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Rand characterizes Objectivism as a philosophy "for living on earth," grounded in reality and aimed at facilitating knowledge of the natural world and harmonious, mutually beneficial interactions between human beings. One major theme of Objectivist philosophy is a focus on the potential of the individual human being. Rand wrote:

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: My philosophy, in essence, 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.{{ref|Rand}}

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Objectivism derives its name from the conception of knowledge and values as "objective," rather than as "intrinsic" or "subjective." According to Rand, neither concepts nor values are "intrinsic" to external reality, but neither are they merely "subjective" (by which Rand means "arbitrary" or "created by feelings, desires, 'intuitions,' or whims"). Rather, properly formed concepts and values are objective in the sense that they meet the specific (cognitive and/or biocentric) needs of the individual human person. Valid concepts and values are, as she wrote, "determined by the nature of reality, but to be discovered by man's mind."

Related Topics:
Objective - Subjective - Cognitive

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"Objectivism" was actually a secondary choice for the name of her philosophy. Rand said that "Existentialism" is the more appropriate term for her philosophy, as the most basic axiom of the philosophy is the statement that "existence exists." However, Jean-Paul Sartre "corrupted" the meaning of the term "Existentialism."

Related Topics:
Existentialism - Jean-Paul Sartre

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She was once asked to summarize her philosophy. Many use this as the official 'simplified' description. http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_intro

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