Ayn Rand Phil Donahue Interview Part 2 of 5

Rand's greatest influence was Aristotle, especially Organon ("Logic"); she considered Aristotle the greatest philosopher.In particular, her philosophy reflects an Aristotelian epistemology and metaphysics -- both Aristotle and Rand argued that "there exists an objective reality that is independent of mind and that is capable of being known."Although Rand was ultimately critical of Aristotle's ethics, others have noted her egoistic ethics "is of the eudemonistic type, close to Aristotle's own...a system of guidelines required by human beings to live their lives successfully, to flourish, to survive as 'man qua man.'" Younkins argued "that her philosophy diverges from Aristotle's by considering essences as epistemological and contextual instead of as metaphysical. She envisions Aristotle as a philosophical intuitivist who declared the existence of essences within concretes."

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