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Book Details
Abstract
Few 20th century intellectuals have been as influential – and controversial – as the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand. Her thinking still has a profound impact, particularly on those who come to it through her novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead – with their core messages of individualism, self-worth, and the right to live without the impositions of others. Even though ignored or scorned by some academics, traditionalists, progressives, and public intellectuals, she remains a major influence on many of the world’s leading legislators, policy advisers, economists, entrepreneurs and investors. Why does Rand’s work remain so influential? Ayn Rand: An Introduction illuminates Rand’s importance, detailing her understanding of reality and human nature, and explores the ongoing fascination with and debates about her conclusions on knowledge, morality, politics, economics, government, public issues, aesthetics and literature. The book also places these in the context of her life and times, showing how revolutionary they were, and how they have influenced and continue to impact public policy debates.
Table of Contents
| Section Title | Page | Action | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| The author | xii | ||
| Acknowledgements | xiii | ||
| 1\tIntroduction | 1 | ||
| What this book is about | 1 | ||
| What this book covers | 2 | ||
| Who this book is for | 3 | ||
| Rand, the author and this book | 4 | ||
| How this book is structured | 5 | ||
| 2\tWhy Ayn Rand is important | 6 | ||
| The importance of Rand’s fiction | 6 | ||
| The importance of Rand’s thought | 10 | ||
| Critics and adherents | 12 | ||
| 3\tRand’s life and writings | 14 | ||
| Turbulent childhood in Russia | 14 | ||
| New career in America | 15 | ||
| Breakthrough novel | 17 | ||
| The Objectivist movement and its discontents | 19 | ||
| Final years | 20 | ||
| Continuing influence | 21 | ||
| A timeline of Rand’s life and work | 23 | ||
| 4\tOutline of Rand’s worldview | 30 | ||
| Rand on reality | 31 | ||
| Rand on human knowledge | 32 | ||
| Rand on morality | 33 | ||
| Rand on politics and economics | 33 | ||
| Rand on art and literature | 34 | ||
| Rand’s image of a heroic being | 35 | ||
| 5\tRand on the nature of reality | 37 | ||
| Basic axioms | 37 | ||
| Identity and causality | 38 | ||
| Existence and consciousness | 39 | ||
| Necessity and choice | 40 | ||
| The rejection of reality | 41 | ||
| 6\tHow we understand the world | 43 | ||
| The process of understanding | 43 | ||
| Knowledge and its critics | 49 | ||
| 7\tRand on morality | 53 | ||
| Facts and values | 53 | ||
| Life and objective value | 54 | ||
| Dealing with others | 57 | ||
| The importance of principle | 60 | ||
| Objectivist virtues | 62 | ||
| 8\tPolitics and economics | 67 | ||
| Rational political principles | 67 | ||
| Other political philosophies | 71 | ||
| A rational and moral economy | 73 | ||
| 9\tRand on public issues | 79 | ||
| The poverty of progressive schooling | 79 | ||
| College and student discontent | 80 | ||
| Old Left and New Left | 81 | ||
| Racism as collectivism | 82 | ||
| Environmentalism | 83 | ||
| Civil rights | 84 | ||
| Crime and terrorism | 84 | ||
| Economic policy | 85 | ||
| Foreign policy | 86 | ||
| 10\tThe nature and importance of art | 88 | ||
| The process of artistic creation | 88 | ||
| The critical role of art | 89 | ||
| Art and life | 90 | ||
| The structure of art | 91 | ||
| Valid forms of art | 91 | ||
| Invalid forms of art | 92 | ||
| The principles of literary art | 92 | ||
| Romanticism in art and literature | 94 | ||
| Deficiencies in contemporary art | 95 | ||
| 11\tRand’s novels | 96 | ||
| The goal of Rand’s fiction | 96 | ||
| 12\tRand’s critics | 109 | ||
| Rand’s philosophical approach | 109 | ||
| Rand on reality and knowledge | 110 | ||
| Rand on morality | 112 | ||
| Rand on politics | 114 | ||
| Rand on capitalism | 115 | ||
| Rand on art and literature | 117 | ||
| Rand’s fiction | 117 | ||
| Ayn Rand’s legacy | 119 | ||
| 13\tQuotations by and about Rand | 124 | ||
| On herself | 124 | ||
| On reality and knowledge | 124 | ||
| On ethics | 126 | ||
| On altruism | 126 | ||
| On politics and economics | 130 | ||
| On heroism | 138 | ||
| Quotations about Rand | 139 | ||
| 14\tFurther reading | 141 | ||
| How to read Ayn Rand | 141 | ||
| Short guides to Rand | 143 | ||
| Rand’s main fiction | 144 | ||
| Rand’s main non-fiction | 145 | ||
| Posthumous collections | 146 | ||
| Rand in her own words | 147 | ||
| Books on Rand | 148 | ||
| About the IEA | 158 | ||
| Blank Page | ii |