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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 100
EAN num: 9780451138934
ISBN number: 0451138937
Label: Signet
Manufacturer: Signet
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: November 01, 1984
Publishing house: Signet
Sale Popularity Level: 35519
Studio: Signet
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Brief Book Summary:
Who needs philosophy? Ayn Rand’s answer: Everyone.
This collection of essays was the last work planned by Ayn Rand before her death in 1982. In it, she summarizes her view of philosophy and deals with a broad spectrum of topics. According to Ayn Rand, 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 ultimately lethal. Written with all the clarity and eloquence that have placed Ayn Rand’s objectivist philosophy in the mainstream of American thought, these essays range over such basic issues as education, morality, censorship, and inflation to prove that philosophy is the fundamental force in all our lives.
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Rated by buyers 
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Abstract principles are a part of our life whether we acknowledge it or not. That is the message of Ayn Rand's book, "Philosophy: Who Needs It." In a vigorous and thoughtful list of essays, Ayn Rand talks about how we must return to the original abstract principles that animate our thinking. This book is particularly significant yesterday since capitalism is being challenged on a moral basis, especially from the radical environmental movement. This movement is trying to use emotionalism as a method of furthering their socialistic/communist principles. As Ayn Rand mentions, the socialists/communists could not win on a majority vote by providing the public with a clear statement of what their goals are. However, the socialists/communists--which are dressed up in the Green movement--instead confuse the public through evasions, contradictory statements, censorship, brainwashing them through the government-run school system, in order to get the public to subscribe to these views.
What I liked most in particular is Ayn Rand's statement that one has a right to live for one's own sake--and no one else. Rand's view is that capitalism and individualism must be argued on a moral basis, not on an economic one. The economic argument is that capitalism promotes economic growth, and thus, for this reason alone, it must be tolerated. Instead, Ayn Rand's view is that, regardless of the economics, one has a right to live for their own sake, and for the sake of others. A person cannot be compelled to be a slave nor enslave others. (The current welfare system, for instance, requires that one take on unearned obligations to others, and thus, one is living one's life for that of another.) Further, Ayn Rand also discusses how our current mixed economy system (read: Social Security, government-run schools, Medicaid) will eventually result in a dictatorship because in order to keep this sytem going, it requires subjecting the individual to the state. When the individual fails to comply, as is most certainly likely to happen as time goes on, the only way the state will be able to enforce the rule of altruism is at the point of a gun.
IN PRACTICE, Ayn Rand's views have been endorsed by reality. The freest states in America--the ones that believe in individualism, and limited government--have had the highest degree of population growth, economic growth (thus, more productivity from the most productive), and, I dare say, happiness (since they are able to pursue their happiness to the maximum extent, without government-control).
Rated by buyers 
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Ayn Rand was no doubt influential. I still have friends ask me if I have read her "stuff" and we often debate the merits of her arguments. Like most philosophers, one does not want to throw the baby out with the bathwater - this is also true in Rand's case; however, she has left herself quite a legacy of disciples. Her novels have sparked movies as she weaves a super-egoism and capitalistic outlook showing that man's great end is man himself.
"Philosophy: Who Needs It", is really a compilation of her lectures/essays, etc., Ayn makes both insightful, valid comments often followed by simplistic misconceptions and logical errors. She really is a mixed bag. This will lead to both a fun, witty, and smart lecture as well as a banal, long winded one at the same time. For example in her lecture at West Point, with the same title as the book, makes witty comments quoting well known philosophical sayings and propositions that almost everyone takes for granted, to make a fine point that everyone in one way or another does philosophy and many a culture's belief(s) are due to the powerful ideas of those, both good and bad, philosophies that came before us.
Next, in the same breath, she can overly simplify the theories of Kant, calling his ideas a "booby trap" that once it is figured out, it is easily dismantled. Well, Ayn, maybe not. Why I have problems with much of Kant's work and his conclusions, there is a lot to be admired and that is still very sound even today. Like Ayn, Kant is a mixed bag. Ayn's Objectivism, combined with Aristotelian and super-egoism thought. One will discover positive thoughts such as realism, emphasis on reason and objectivity of truth.
But she also commits negative erros such as a materialism that really is the opposite of the same coin as the theories of Marx she so abhors. She prefers mind over matter, but in a naturalistic world that she professes, the mind is reduced to matter. Her arguments against altruism is often mis-guided and ultimately fails under her own weight of giving oneself for the greater good., because she likewise seems to assert an absolute moral duty. Instead of reviewing every Rand book I have read, I have jumbled my thoughts into this one book. She covers most of her ideas in these different lectures and if one finds an interest, they can get these same thoughts elsewhere with more depth in her other books. If one cannot take her, then this is a good book to end with as well.
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This is the title of Chapter 17. Chapter 1 is that one that got me hooked on this book as it offered a clear structure of philosophical concepts and practical applications of them that we all experience. My father complains that he doesn't have the vocabularly to debate the socialists we all have to endure. I suggested to him that he has the vocabulary, but not the structure and gave him this book. I hope he reads it. I would suggest everyone read it before they read The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged, now I have to read them again! Getting back to Chapter 17, part of the genius of Ayn Rand is her patience and how she stresses the absolute necessity of being able to communicate complex abstractions in common language. It's not all easy reading, but it's fascinating.
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It's amazing how much is packed into this one amazing book! In it, Ayn Rand gives answers to questions like:
1) Why philosophy is a crucial need of human life;
2) How to decipher what the other philosophers you're reading are really saying;
3) Why other so many students have no interest in philosophy or ideas;
4) What Immanuel Kant is really trying to accomplish;
5) What philosophy behind monetary inflation;
and many more. If you're taking or have taken a philosophy course and were completely mystified or turned off by it, this is a great book to help you see why philosophy is so important to your life, what modern philosophy has to say, and therefore why the world is in the state it's in.
Rated by buyers 
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When discussing philosophy, I know of few better ways to get people worked up than by bringing up the name of Ayn Rand. Rand's personal history and her philosophy of Objectivism rarely fail to stir people's passions, whether in praise or denigration, an impressive feat for a philosopher. (How many people do you know who get worked up over Russell Kirk, for example?) That doesn't mean her philosophy is necessarily any better than that of lesser-known intellectuals, but when one considers the difficulty intellectuals face in getting the public to even discuss philosophy, Rand's sucess with Atlas Shrugged merits admiration for her ability to get her ideas into the public sphere, regardless of what one may think of her ideas.
Philosophy: Who Needs It is a collection of essays, speeches, and letters written by Rand in the 1960s and 1970s. Rand died before it could be completed, and so it is an anthology rather than a focused work. If the reader is looking for a book that will actually answer the title question, he might be well-advised to look elsewhere, as after the initial essay, Rand moves on to other topics. That initial essay (actually the commencement speech Rand gave to the West Point class of 1974) provides a very good overview of what philosophy is and why it is important to not only have one, but to consciously understand what it is.
The real value of the book, however, is in the later essays in which Rand comments on the state of society and her prescriptions for what should be done about it. As the United States has changed in many ways since the writing of those essays, reading them allows us to examine how well Rand's Objectivism did in assessing the problems of that time. In some areas, she appears quite prescient, while in others it appears that her assessments were not particularly accurate predictors of the future. Reading her views on events that are now part of the recent past are also interesting and entertaining because they remind the reader of many of the problems we did face at that time, and how certain patterns seem to repeat themselves in human history.
The essays are all relatively short, and Rand's prose is cutting and brief, laying out her views crisply and concisely. There are no John Galt-style speeches to be had in the book, a significant virtue as it allows the reader to focus on what Rand is saying rather than getting lost in the details. It is unlikely the book will convince many readers of the truth of Rand's philosophy in itself, but for those seeking more information about Objectivism will find the work a trove of information, as it shows precisely how Rand applied Objectivism to various situations.
If you're looking for simple entertainment, this book is definitely not for you. But if you're looking for examples of practical application of philosophy or just want to learn more about where Rand was coming from, Philosophy: Who Needs It is an excellent reference.
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