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The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought
by
Ayn Rand,
Leonard Peikoff (Goodreads Author)
Between 1961, when she gave her first talk at the Ford Hall Forum in Boston, and 1981, when she gave the last talk of her life in New Orleans, Ayn Rand spoke and wrote about topics as varied as education, medicine, Vietnam, and the death of Marilyn Monroe. In The Voice of Reason, these pieces, written in the last decades of Rand's life, are gathered in book form for the fi...more
Paperback, 368 pages
Published
June 30th 1990
by Plume
(first published 1989)
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This collection of essays by Ayn Rand, (author of “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead”) focuses much more on the application of her philosophy of Objectivism to American culture and politics, rather than the identification of the branches of Objectivism. As such, there are many lessons to be learned from seeing Rand apply the philosophy to concrete, particular instances of American culture that nearly everyone can remember and relate to, regardless of age.
Of particular interest are: her discu...more
Of particular interest are: her discu...more
Jul 26, 2011
John Harder
added it
Everyone and his dog has read Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead. The themes in her fiction works are well developed (particularly in Atlas Shrugged) and by the time you lay these tomes down you will have a reasonable understanding of Objectivism; that is there is an objective reality and therefore the epistemology of our knowledge and philosophy should derive from that reality. Through such a thought process one can derive certain conclusions. The Voice of Reason elaborates on this process, ap...more
Ayn Rand points out one method that Aristotle's enemies have used to invalidate him: the straw man. That is, Aristotle's enemies have misrepresented his ideas, have found flaws in their misrepresentation, and then blamed Aristotle for the errors that they themselves have introduced. Ayn Rand has a good understanding of this kind of attack, having been subjected to it so much herself!
Ayn Rand criticizes altruism. Her critics have said that she was attacking a straw man, a masochistic extreme of...more
Ayn Rand criticizes altruism. Her critics have said that she was attacking a straw man, a masochistic extreme of...more
This book is a collection of essay pertaining to Rand’s philosophy, her viewpoints of culture as her philosophy pertains to it and politics as they are objective or not. The book also contains a few essays from her cohort/admirer Leonard Peikoff as well as one by Peter Schwartz. It is Rand’s essays that stand out.
First, Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism is applied in numerous situations that Rand was experiencing or reading about. With her usual up-front audacity, she makes her arguments as to why...more
First, Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism is applied in numerous situations that Rand was experiencing or reading about. With her usual up-front audacity, she makes her arguments as to why...more
I think it's like a Cliff's Notes to Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead. The playbook for objectivism in three parts Philosophy, Culture, and Politics. The Politics part was the most relevant for me as it doubled up as an economics of Objectivism lesson. The Philosophy part seemed more like a college professor lending his opinions to the class. I felt as if I would fail if I voiced disagreement. Culture was interesting; the best part for me on the complacency of the American public school syste...more
As much as her big novels introduced objectivism, I expect essays such as these were the reason the philosophy continued to get support. In this collection, she applies her theories to the events of the 1960's. Much of it was convincing to me, even if I don't wholeheartedly agree with all of her premises. Many of her observations at that time are similarly relevant to events today.
This was my first exposure to Rand, and I found it to be a very accessible school of thought. I'm interested in exploring other books by Rand, mainly Atlas Shrugged, to better understand her Objectivist philosophy.
This was a very good collection of essays by Ayn Rand, with a few thrown in from Leonard Peikoff, and one by Peter Schwartz. I'm not positive, as I haven't checked, but I believe that a few of the writings compiled in this book are also in some of Rand's other non-fiction, e.g. "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal", "The Virtue of Selfishness", and "Philosophy: Who Needs It". But even though this is the case, the rest of the previously unknown, un-compiled essays are well worth the price of this book....more
Ayn Rand's construct on Objectivism is a bit ahead of her time. These essays are thought provoking and a brilliant read.
Sep 23, 2010
Craig J.
added it
"The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought (The Ayn Rand Library, Vol V) by Ayn Rand (1990)"
This is available in a Kindle Edition, which I want.
I love Ayn Rand and I thoroughly enjoyed the perspectives in this book (whether or not I happened to agree with them) but it can be a pretty exhausting read. For anyone who has read Rand's fiction, the book is helpful if you've ever gone, "So I wonder what she thought about (insert topic here)."
However,for those who enjoy Rand's fiction and are satisfied with the themes presented there, this book won't do much for you.
However,for those who enjoy Rand's fiction and are satisfied with the themes presented there, this book won't do much for you.
If you like "pure" capitalism then you'll like Ayn Rand. This book is essentially a description of Rand's capitalistic philosophy and moral framework over a collection of essays and is worth the read even if you don't agree with her views. This book is a little repetitious which leads me to believe that if you've read Rand's other non-fiction then this is probably more of the same.
I love a lot of Ayn's philosophy, but reading this kind of made me wonder how much of a paragon of human achievement the guy that wrote this thought she was. Her comments on why a woman shouldn't be president were particularly amusing. *cough* Hilary sucks! *cough*
"Persuasive�well-articulated�prime Rand!"�Kirkus Reviews
Listen to The Voice of Reason on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
Listen to The Voice of Reason on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
A great collection of articles tackling subjects including politics, education, environmentalism, socialism, collectivism, and others, all from the Objectivist perspective.
Nice collection of essays from a brilliant thinker/writer.
still reading this -
kind of painful
kind of painful
May 12, 2013
Tony
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May 07, 2013
Eckstra Vaganza
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May 05, 2013
Daniele Savasta
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May 02, 2013
Nishant
marked it as to-read
May 01, 2013
Bluecat
marked it as calibre
Apr 29, 2013
Alexander Temerev
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Apr 28, 2013
Man Solo
marked it as to-read
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objectivism and Altruism | 2 | 11 | Nov 24, 2008 09:04pm |
Alisa Rosenbaum was born in pre-revolutionary St. Petersburg to a prosperous Jewish family. When the Bolsheviks requisitioned the pharmacy owned by her father, Fronz, the Rosenbaums fled to the Crimea. Alisa returned to the city (renamed Leningrad) to attend the university, but in 1926 relatives who had already settled in America offered her the chance of joining them there. With money from the sa...more
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“But, in fact, a person's sexual choice is the result and sum of their fundamental convictions. Tell me what a person finds sexually attractive and I will tell you their entire philosophy of life.”
—
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