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Up to the minute notes on the current state of free thinking and free living: Kentucky moonshine - original analysis and reporting from MoreThings, and all round pop culture museum of sight and sound - photo galleries, mp3 and video downloads.
Al Barger and MoreThings - getting people's goats since 1998.
Live free or die!
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August 28, 2002
Ayn Rand's greatest lesson
C-Span has been running a series of shows on "American Writers." Certainly no one was a more American writer than Ayn Rand. As the all-time greatest apologist for capitalism and individualism, she wrote perhaps the most important book of the 20th century, Atlas Shrugged. You may want to check the C-Span schedule for more Ayn.
One theme of hers jumped out in this review of her work as particularly crucial: emotions are not tools of cognition. These words may look like a flat, uninteresting statement, but they relay a profoundly important truth. Humans properly understand the world through rational analysis of the empirical input of our senses. Simply feeling that something is right does not make it so. Your hatred of rich folks does not make them immoral. Your desire for someone to watch out for you doesn't constitute proof of god's existence. Your visceral anger does not constitute a legitimate justification for a US war against Iraq, nor a rational argument for an attack- nor does your squishy desire to make nice constitute a legitimate argument against military action. Emotions are important, but if you let them run your life, then the tail is wagging the dog.
She made one particular statement from that basic idea that went absolutely against the grain of common wisdom, and which may be the greatest one practical rule of life in my experience. The common wisdom of the popular culture is that you should follow your heart [ie emotions], even if it goes against your logical judgement. NO! That is precisely wrong. As Ayn said, if there is a conflict between your head and your heart, go with your head every time.
Friends, those are words to live by.
posted by Al at 8/28/2002 12:22:00 AM
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