Isaac Asimov is greater than Ayn Rand

[bellbottoms4life]

Nice sideburns

[DoctorLawyerWhatever]

If you're going to read aloud in a video, make sure that you read well enough first so that you don't make an awkward and clumsy video such as this one.

[TheSilverSurpher]

It is the one of the greatest ironies that Rand, who was a prominent Atheist, is now a figurehead in the Tea Party movement. Her work is likely far more influential to the "Teabaggers" than it ever was to any Atheist movement. That being said, I did find "Atheism: The Case Against God" by George H. Smith to be an excellent read and it is written from the Objectivist point-of-view.

[Iker666beast]

the leftist and the  rigthist vison o the same vision

[almanacofsleep]

I find it interesting how so many commenters here try to deny the historical link that islam had with philosophy, I guess that by doing that its makes it easy to sideline that culture while seeking to make your own the dominant culture. This is a form of racism, when you suppress a culture you also ridicule their beliefs and treat those who practice them as second class citizens; while the doment culture continues unquestioned.

[almanacofsleep]

There is Hypocrisy in the way people condem the leaders of Islam as religious extermists while The United States of America, the leading exporter of western culture, has been lead by religious extermists for the last decade (bush administration). While the current administration is much more moderate, religious extermists still hold considerable sway over the way the USA is governed.

[JordOKC]

@almanacofsleep actually, I recommend that you read Asimov's foundation. A main theme of the novel is how religion can be used as both a great civilizing tool, and also a great tool for control. Religious people do not really govern America, but there are certain pieces of legislation that the right passes in order to appease the religious, and keep them voting Republican. Also, we may be a religious country, but America does not compare to an Islamic theocracy full of stonings and beheadings.

[deejin25]

A polymath is a person who has complete mastery of several sciences, not a scientific problem most of the hundred or so islamic polymaths were also polyglots, masters of several languages.

Al Biruni

Ibn Sinna

Averroes

Ibn Kaldum

peri resi some arabic star names, algol, vega, deneb, lu denebola, altair

alrm clock, astrolabe,

the incoherence of the philosophers, the incoherence of the incoherent,

glazing, steam distillation, destructive distillation,first hair salon, algebra, eye surgery

[fredkhambatta]

here u go ..i have corrected my statement....

[gregg451]

all this is knowledge from before islam. Islam merely allowed it to continue to exist for a while. When westerners began to kick off their own superstitions it was recovered. Within a rather short time all the scientists in Islamic countries were all persecuted and suppressed.

[guitarslim56]

Don't forget Al Farabi!

[SnapeSoul]

And why are you so quick to dismiss the necessity of an explicit philosophy? It is your right--as a reader and scholar--to determine which aspects of this philosophy you plan to incorporate into your own. You speak of "dogma" as if it can be the only result of coherent philosophy, which I do not find to be the case. Extremism, more so than religion and philosophy alone, seems to be the culprit. If you take anything too far...it can be dangerous.

[SnapeSoul]

I like Asimov's point at 4:15. :)

But to be honest, I feel Ayn Rand may have the upper hand on the issue of atheism. Exactly how do you reason that "the sorry state the world is in right now" reflects upon Objectivist ideals?

And I agree with you, deejin25, much in the way of progress was attained from the Islamic culture.

[deejin25]

All the commentators seem to think we went from ancient greece to the reneissance. Forgetting the islamic culture contributed centuries of progress in science, philosophy, medicine and produced more polymaths than any other culture. And they focus on the huoris which are never described as sexual beings in the Quran, the word has no gender. I'm an athiest from a Turkish family and I know the reneissance was a result of contact with the islamic culture

[fredkhambatta]

islam was not the only culture to support the field of science, philosophy, medicine etc, but they were indeed a part of it....... if Islamic cultures would have not contributed in these fields, somewhere, someone else would have solved these problems..... It is the "human" need to take interest in the world surrounding us that helps us solve complex problems, like in the field of science, philosophy, medicine.....

Islam/Islamic culture has nothing got to do with it at all....

[gregg451]

Yeah, but islamic societies slowly ground all that culture from ancient civilizations to dust. For the last 800 years hasn't done much of anything. Its greatest intellectual achievement of the 20th century is the suicide bomber.

[deinse81]

It's not necessarily different. If an objectivist feels the need to check with Ayn Rand on specific issues, that's because they don't understand her philosophy. They are either trying to figure it out on the fly ( in which case their opinions should not reflect on objectivism, since they probably won't get it right), or are just obsessed with her personality, in which case they are not objectivists at all.

[deinse81]

If he was greater, you wouldn't feel the need to bring her up while praising Asimov.

I' love to hear about some of the original philosophycal ideas Asimov came up with.

I don't know his ideas, but if he was a humanist, I doubt there is even a single thing. That ship has sailed two centuries ago.

[4u57inc0v3110]

> If he was greater, you wouldn't feel the need to bring her up while praising Asimov.

Unless my real purpose was to criticize the fact that Ayn Rand is so prevalent in contemporary Atheism while offering the author who should be prevalent. Demonique666 once boasted that Ayn Rand's works were the world's most influential works next to the bible. I say, take a look at the sorry state the world is in right now. That should show you what Randism and Objectivism gets you.

[4u57inc0v3110]

> I' love to hear about some of the original philosophycal ideas Asimov came up with.

Asimov wasn't an explicit philosopher, and thank goodness for that. It seems like every atheist these days wants to find a philosophy to adopt as their dogma. I, OTOH, am anti-dogma. If you aren't going to think for yourself, then you might as well find religion. But if you want a resume of Asimov's accomplishments here are a few: (continued):

[4u57inc0v3110]

He was the most prolific author in America, writing over 500 books on almost every subject, fiction and non-fiction. He invented and pioneered robotics. He was a member of mensa. Infrequently referred to as the man who knew everything. Professor at Boston University. Founder of the Futurians, a group of science-fiction authors dedicated to anti-facism. That's just a small sample of what he did.

[deinse81]

I love Asimov's work. I just can't see how a sci-fi writer would ever compare to someone like Ayn Rand.

As far as the benefits of philosophy, the human race is 200 thousand years old, and philosophy, namely the ancient greek philosophy of great thinkers such as Aristotle is the cornerstone of Western Civilization.

That philosophy, based on reason (rather than emotions and pragmatism) lead the world to modern science, industrialization and into outer space.

[deinse81]

How could you expect a single person of average intelligence to understand the lessons of 200 thousand years of human history and thousands of years of writing by brilliant thinkers, by just "thinking for themselves"?

You need philosophy to understand the world: and your understanding of reality is based on some kind of philosophy. You just aren't aware of it and it's workings.

Wouldn't you be better off understanding the principles behind your actions and opinions? If yes, study philosophy.

[4u57inc0v3110]

Well, if we're talking about me, my IQ is above the 15 point standard deviation for the Stamford-Binet on "Average Intelligence." That makes me "Above Average Intelligence." So I'd say that gives me a bit more of a license to think for myself. But if I have to have a philosophy, mine is to take the best ideas from whomever you know and to forge your own philosophy with those ideas. Either that or the old fashioned Scientific Method, which can be a way of life in and of itself.

[deinse81]

For most of that 200 thousand years, people did in fact "think for themselves", not out of choice, but because they did not have the means (writing, communication, education) to create philosophy.

That is why progress was so slow back then, while the greek civilization (in less than 400 years) and then the West after the Renaissance made so much progress.(undeniably beneficial to the quality of our lives)

[4u57inc0v3110]

Actually, they didn't think for themselves. They allowed whoever had the biggest club to do their thinking for them, who wasn't necessarily the smartest guy. I personally think that philosophy started by people like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, etc. (well, maybe not Plato; he was kind of a kiss-ass) thinking for themselves and then challenging others with their thoughts and teaching them to others.

[deinse81]

Well, you know about the ideas of Socrates through the writings and teachings of Plato, and there is no way of knowing how much of that came fom which of the two, so how do you figure Plato was the "kiss-ass"?

Personally, I don't think either of them had the right ideas.

[4u57inc0v3110]

But Asimov wasn't just a sci-fi writer. He was a real science writer, a mystery writer, a history writer, a satirist, and a mathematician. I'm not going to dispute philosophy's role in the grand scheme of things, but I will dispute the dogmatic following of any one philosophy. I've seen objectivists who check with Ayn Rand before even wiping their noses, so to speak. How is that any different from asking "what God wants me to do?"

[gregg451]

Aristotle was exactly the opposite of science. Platonism and Aristotle is what retarded western civilization for over a thousand years. The other greek philosophers Aristotle's successors suppressed were followers of the scientific method.

[cubex11]

Aristotle was influenced by Platonism but also argued against it, and he was a strong empiricist in his approach to science, always gathering data. I don't think the father of logic can be blamed for the calcification of his views, including any errors, perpetrated by later thinkers. He was not a dogmatist.

[1COLI1]

Hey everyone

whoa!!!!!! good vid! QR

[aachelabelaaron]

He's saying, I think, that different "Heavens" in different religions reflected the cultures in which they were "conceived". Thus Norse warriors created a heaven of endless war and feasts, and an Arabic Islam Paradise would posit free access to sex and an endless supply of willing partners. His dwelling on this must mean he saw 7th century ("C.E.") Arab men as sexually repressed. All religions are attacked equally here, but Asimov shows partiality for Universalism. Death will tell us the truth.

[4u57inc0v3110]

Are you taking issue with the title? Very well, I'll change it to what it was originally going to be. In the future, please read the sidebar before commenting.

[Tessmage]

All religions are equally delusional, dangerous and worthless. Period.

[4u57inc0v3110]

Well said.

[keysersozeh]

4u57. You think Islam is a danger to humanity. I'm an muslim myself, and I don't consider myself as dangerous. Extremists, which commonly are related to danger, come fort of a group within this world that believe in something, ANYthing. Whether this is a god, gods or even believing there is/are no god(s). That said, I truly believe that when atheists come together and group themselves... extremists will come forth... and they might be even more dangerous then any extremist that has ever existed.

[4u57inc0v3110]

So let me get this straight: Muslims strangle their own children for wearing tight jeans and call for the head of a teacher because her students named a teddy bear Mohamed (note that I'm not even bringing 9/11 into this) and we're the more dangerous ones? OTOH, maybe you're right. After all, the extremists on our side know where your false idol actually came from, and all your extremists can do is send death threats to college girls. Knowledge and critical thinking trump fear every time.

[jackdeath]

Always read 5-10 words ahead of whatever you recite. This way if you stumble over a word in your mind, we don't have to hear your struggles. It may take some time, but most people can learn this technique within a half-hour of practice, and it will greatly improve all your public speaking skills.

[4u57inc0v3110]

Thanks for the advise. I'll try to do that.

[vasi0104199018]

i,m an atheist too. i agree with Asimov...i don.t belive there is life after death..

Now i know what to tell god if a god exits "Lord you should have given us more evidences"

[4u57inc0v3110]

OTOH, I prefer Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner: "I want more life, fucker!" XD

[pinsent2007]

I don't get this, very interesting points (not sure I agree or disagree...I'll have another listens before deciding)

...but, is this your philosophy or Asimov's? It doesn't seem quite up to his brilliance. Just curious...It just seems Asimov would not have used a POET such as Milton to debase a religious school of thought.

...so, are you using Asimov within YOUR own thesis, or basing your video ON his works?! please elaborate :-)

Otherwise, nice job!

[4u57inc0v3110]

Actually, this was me reading one of his essays from his third autobiography. Yes, he DID use a poet (among other tools) to debase a religious school of thought. But to answer your question, I'd guess I'd have to say that it's both our philosophy, since he wrote it and I agree with it wholeheartedly.

[r06u3AP]

Thank you. I agree, Asimov IS greater than "Islam".

[ShortbusMooner]

He was such an intelligent, inspiring man.

Thank you for sharing this!

[4u57inc0v3110]

Yes he was. Thank you for commenting.