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Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology
Today man's mind is under attack by all the leading schools of philosophy. We are told that we cannot trust our senses, that logic is arbitrary, that concepts have no basis in reality. Ayn Rand opposes that torrent of nihilism, and she provides the alternative in this eloquent presentation of the essential nature--and power--of man's conceptual faculty. She offers a startl...more
Mass Market Paperbound, Expanded Second Edition, 320 pages
Published
April 26th 1990
by Plume Books
(first published 1979)
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This book by novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, (author of "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead") establishes the foundation of the philosophy of Objectivism, putting forth a clear statement of the branch of epistemology, and specifically, of concept formation. Rand connects every concept, no matter the complexity of the abstraction, to objective reality, proving that all concepts are in fact measurable and objective, including complex emotions such as love.
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An excellent book for any human being with a brain and would like to know how to use it.
Many philosophy books raise more questions than they answer and lead to more confusion than clarity. This is a very practical book because it establishes an essential foundation for all our thinking and how we relate to the world. Ayn Rand explains how we know the world is objective, why the senses are reliable, the importance of reason, and other issues related to epistemology (the science of knowl...more
Many philosophy books raise more questions than they answer and lead to more confusion than clarity. This is a very practical book because it establishes an essential foundation for all our thinking and how we relate to the world. Ayn Rand explains how we know the world is objective, why the senses are reliable, the importance of reason, and other issues related to epistemology (the science of knowl...more
Well, well, well where to start. Before I go into this review. I want to say that I wrestled in my head whether I should sit and critique the numerous errors this book contains. Objectivist philosophy is well known for being false, why beat a dead horse? I could just give the low rating a simple one or two sentence review like I have done with other books that hit upon one negative or positive extreme, but that wouldn't really suffice. This is honestly one of the worst books I have ever read and...more
This is the starting point for anyone interested in Ayn Rand's writings. It is philosophical, clear and concise, and presents the basis for all of her writings, including her fiction. For those who would like insight into Rand's claims, this book presents them in full. For those who would like insight into her fictional characters, this book gives the reader insight into their persona's. I really enjoyed the "Excerpts from the Epistemology Workshops" and Peikoff's "The Analyti...more
This book is very basic - but was very difficult, for me at least. I found myself not able to make every logical jump Rand thought proper. A little weird, since I agree with so much of what Rand says. I don't think I ever actually finished the book, since I could not agree with some pretty fundamental jumps she made.
I've read Atlas, Fountainhead, We the Living, Anthem, Night of Jan. 16, Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal (my favorite of hers), Virtue of Selfishness, and several other b...more
I've read Atlas, Fountainhead, We the Living, Anthem, Night of Jan. 16, Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal (my favorite of hers), Virtue of Selfishness, and several other b...more
A very important book, but not for those who are new both to Ayn Rand's ideas and to abstract philosophy.
ITOE focuses specifically on "the problem of the univerals," laying out the relationship of conceptual knowledge to concrete reality. This is an important part of philosophy, and Ayn Rand provides real solutions, but unlike most of her work, ITOE does little to provide context for the layman, and therefore I don't recommend it to the average reader.
ITOE focuses specifically on "the problem of the univerals," laying out the relationship of conceptual knowledge to concrete reality. This is an important part of philosophy, and Ayn Rand provides real solutions, but unlike most of her work, ITOE does little to provide context for the layman, and therefore I don't recommend it to the average reader.
The terms and arguments are completely unclear. If this is an attempt at rigorous philosophy, it falls embarrassingly short. As one who actually agrees with Ayn Rand in broad terms, I am consistently disappointed by the quality of the arguments she marshaled for her beliefs.
There is some very elegant epistemology in Rand's writing here. Whether it is non-sequiter to anti-mystical and anti-socialism ideals is up to the distinguished reader to adjudge.
It was deeper and more complicated than I thought it would be but I've never been a huge fan of philosophy. I think I got it, and I agree with her premise.
Alex
is currently reading it
So far it is very interesting and makes good use of examples to show what arguably could otherwise be abstract and unclear.
Craig J.
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Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology: Expanded Second Edition by Ayn Rand (1990)
Matt
added it
This explains how, specifically, to create, use, and validate concepts.
I read this in college when I was still a philosophy major. Pretty bad.
I learned all about Objectivism from this book. Great philosophy!
The definitive introduction to reason.
Review here: http://books.mydevnotes.com/archive/2010...
An excellent account of epistemology. Rand's view on concept formation is especially novel.
Jill
is currently reading it
A very detailed account of how and why we form concepts. At least as of page 33. Heavy, but thought provoking. Makes me think about how easy it is for me to understand things vs. Evie (my 7 month old) who is at a very basic level of concept formation.
Ayn Rand is such an incredibly lucid thinker and writer. And her style has got to be the most male of any writer I know.
I didn't like this. Mostly Rand weaves and unweaves tautologies.
Possibly the most important book in the world.
nonfiction,philosophy,objectivism,epistemology
Joey
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