second_rate shutter-bug i know i'm not like he is. and if i am going to be picked second then why do i want to be picked at all no_way you can have him and forget_about_me i would be your second best i wont stand for that. i know i can be number one if i can just find my one 031104 ... girl_jane I don't feel even this high...not third either... Why the hell am I putting myself in a career where I get rejected over and over and over again... 031105 ... cntstnd The Fountain Head. I really liked this book. It was empowering but maybe thats just because i'm a selfish guy. I read a philosophic rebuttle to Ayn Rand. I thought it was weak. It said doing everything for you is like racism against everyone...I guess there are a lot more racistst than I thought. 040917 ... stork daddy My main argument with Rand's assertion of selfishness, is that she is operating off of a conceptual version of self that hardly exists outside of her narrow philosophy. Our self consists of a multitude of interests and emotions. Our psychological self consists of many deferences to other people, as well as genes which have, through evolution, developed certain features that influence our behavior in ways in which Rand in her limited view of intelligence and its purpose would consider needlessly selfless. She is looking at life from a psychological perspective no less fictional than Freud's turned out to be. Like Freud's it has some merits, but only when viewed in its limitations as well. Our brain's interests and our genes interests are not always co-extensive, obviously, as what was built in service has in many ways taken on a life of its own. However, many of our core human traits can be traced persuasively to evolutionary biology. The field of evolutionary psychology looks to the willingness of people to, without the conscious decision to protect their family at a genetic level, die for their country or their society. Such altruism makes perfect sense when looked at in terms of the immediate family. But cultural pride and other such seemingly irrational emotions tend to rest on the human brains tendency to make certain associations in bonding him to those around him (those who in the critical evolutionary period may have made the difference between the life of death of him, his progeny, and all those with related genes). The Fountainhead, even with its ultimate caveat that love is one of the most worthwhile industries, still does not look to how worthwhile human connections are, how much of an illusion total self sufficiency is, and how unviable a mode of society it would be. Now I know it may be argued that Rand was not THAT immoderate, but the essence of her book was that the Great Individuals need society less than society needs them. This is an idea floated in other works of sociology as well, namely "The Axemaker's Gift." The Axemaker's Gift however, ultimately recognizes that their is a mutual dependency in this relationship (though of a different nature depending on your role). I don't believe The Fountainhead makes that concession and so I find it disturbingly mythical, an attempt to let ideals supercede reality no more disturbing than some of the myths employed by the Communists, the Nazis, or currently America (and its stand against the axis of evil). The truth is, any of the characters in that novel would've been pretty lonely had they not had their little commune of genius. And certainly their ability to make railroads wouldn't've been very useful. 040917 ... stork daddy I wanted to add that some of the benefits of Ayn Rand's books are to clarify some of the economic considerations of those providing and those being provided within any given industry. Also a note on the Axemaker's Gift...it ended with the plea to close the gap on the elitism of knowledge. 040917 ... cntstnd Thanks for the insight.:) 040917 ... stork daddy in fairness, i'd say that some proposals of rand's book...to live for what thoughts we feel most represent us, and to strive for what our mind holds dear, are good ideals to go by, as they keep us from being a slave to the wishes of others, or even our own base desires. but there's nothing that says that the only way to true authenticity or happiness is by using your mind to its full extent in any one given field or area of knowledge. you can be perfectly happy doing something despite the fact that you'd be better at something else. it would seem ayn rand adds nothing to the idea that happiness is the ultimate measure of things, except for the proposal that we should not be limited by the desires of others. my feeling is that who we are is by default linked up in the desires of others. but certainly as an argument against fascist communism it has its strengths. 040917 ... cntstnd stork daddy you seem to know a substantial bit about philosophy so I must ask what is your take on Plato's Republic. More specifically his idea about the 3 parts of the soul. 040917 ... stork daddy i guess the power that ayn rand proposes in the book is one that really can't be taken away from any of us though so it seems a non-issue. it's the right to imagine, and to do the best you can. i think that always contends with the real world set before us, and the individuals in it. as cunning as john galt was. if a bitter worker with a wrench met him behind a dark alley, all of his great individualism would fail him. 040917 ... stork daddy let me get back to you on that. this isn't for a homework assignment is it? 040917 ... cntstnd No not at all. I was just reading and it really got my mind going. I found it a little presumptuous that he thinks he can lump a persons soul into 3 parts. Maybe like rand it fits only in his little narrow depiction. 040917 ... Syrope so anticlimatic. and you can't even call someone out when you're the only one who's at risk for getting hurt. 040918 what's it to you? who go blather from