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re: Hugh Freeze Quote Ayn Rand????
Posted on 2/5/13 at 12:46 pm to MonroeTiger80
Posted on 2/5/13 at 12:46 pm to MonroeTiger80
quote:
You whiffed again.
First post on the topic
quote:
Rand didn't think there was a thing wrong with compassion or empathy but that forced compassion and empathy(i.e. confiscation of wealth under threat of fine or imprisonment from those who earned it) is neither just or moral. It's no different than a garden variety armed robber holding up a liquor store demanding the money in the register. It's just theft on a grander scale and given to the moochers among us and called 'their fair share'.
From the Any Rand Institute, "Introducing Objectivism":
LINK
quote:
Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.
Where does compassion and empathy fit in objectivism? If the pursuit of your own happiness is the highest moral purpose in life, where does that leave the pursuit of happiness for others?
2
Posted on 2/5/13 at 12:55 pm to shakermaker
quote:
What was Ayn Rand’s view on charity?
My views on charity are very simple. I do not consider it a major virtue and, above all, I do not consider it a moral duty. There is nothing wrong in helping other people, if and when they are worthy of the help and you can afford to help them. I regard charity as a marginal issue. What I am fighting is the idea that charity is a moral duty and a primary virtue.
Essentially Rand had no problem with compassion or empathy, she just didn't think the government needed to be involved or that people should be forced to be compassionate or empathetic. If doing good for others made you happy or fulfilled that is great, she just didn't think you should HAVE to do good for others if you did not wish to.
Mainly she thought government was a terrible way to express compassion for people because in order to do so you would have to forcibly take from others via taxes or freedoms. You can agree or disagree with that but you could actually argue her philosophy was more compassionate and empathetic because it was not forced.
Posted on 2/5/13 at 2:54 pm to shakermaker
quote:
The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.
I can be an Objectivist pursuing my own self-interest and happiness and be running a home for abused women or orphaned children, can I not? Or do YOU think there is a finite way to define happiness or self-interest.
Happiness has endless manifestations in Rand's philosophy as long as they're self-defined.
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