Ayn Rand on Happiness, Self-Esteem and Love

No description available.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• ayn
• rand
• happiness
• self-esteem
• love

[SwordOfApollo]

I find that most who dismiss Ayn Rand’s morality don’t really understand it. Her “selfishness” is long-term, principled self-interest. People are a combination of the physical and mental, and your self-interest includes psychological values. Self-interest is not to be reduced to only the physical, such as money. Other people can be of tremendous psychological value (i.e. friends, lovers, children.) Rand recognized that benevolence toward strangers is in one’s own interest, in a free country.

[Dally3232]

@Jacob2Israel

Don't forget to read up on people and positions contrary to hers. Abiding by Ayn Rand alone has shown dangerous results...

[Jacob2Israel]

This woman is a genius. I can't believe that i'm just discovering her.

[nkelly1432]

I agree that "love" is a business deal. Love is inherently selfish. People only love because it feels good to love. Love can be explained by evolution.

[nkelly1432]

@LionOfJudea669 Quantum Mechanics does not apply to neuroscience. Neurons are too large for that kind of phenomena.

[nkelly1432]

@noedodson She believed in free will? How can atheists possibly believe in free will?

[noedodson]

@LionOfJudea669 Well that goes without saying. What I meant is, our brains can only process a certain amount of probabilities only the way it's learned to: through our natural instincts. Which means that we cannot "change" or "do" anything 'free of any influence' but only work with what's laid for us. If men were free the world would have been a much crazier place, that's for sure.

[noedodson]

@LionOfJudea669 There is always a choice, but I don't believe our brains have the capacity of producing an infinity of probabilities (considering our instincts and cultural influences, etc etc). As Schopenhauer puts it "man can do what he wants but not want what he wants". I don't think that any human being if "more free" than anybody else, they just process more things thus creating more possibilities, which are still confined in the cell we call mind.

[noedodson]

@LionOfJudea669 True. But that doesn't mean our brains can act the same way. If you take a look of human history you'll find that we're extremely predictable. If we have 'free will' it means that animals have some sort of 'free will' as well, or at least a 'not as free' will. I believe we have more possibilities than animals but it's still EXTREMELY far from being infinite. I believe the Quantum Mechanics argument works when explaining evolution, not free will.

[noedodson]

I still don't understand how Ayn Rand can believe in free will if she's such a dedicated atheist. How can you rationally and scientifically explain pure free will?