“Philosophy is not a bauble of the intellect, but a power from which no man can abstain. Anyone can say that he dispenses with a view of reality, knowledge, the good, but no one can implement this credo. The reason is that man, by his nature as a conceptual being, cannot function at all without some form of philosophy to serve as his guide.”
“Philosophy is a human need as real as the need for food. It is a need of the mind, without which man cannot obtain his food or anything else his life requires. To satisfy this need, one must recognize that philosophy is a system of ideas.¨
But what is Philosophy?
“Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence, of man, and of man’s relationship to existence.”
In Ayn Rand’s view: ¨ Philosophy is the fundamental force shaping every man and culture. It is the science that guides men’s conceptual faculty.¨
In the lecture “Philosophy: Who Needs It”, Ayn Rand explained the role of Philosophy and its importance (it was addressed to the senior Class of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1974.)
Philosophy is practical
During her lecture, after defining the branches of Philosophy, she said: ¨You might say that you never think in such abstract terms, that you want to deal with concrete, particular, real-life problems. What do you need Philosophy for?¨ Ms. Rand herself answered: “In order to be able to deal with concrete, particular, real-life problems.” She added: “The fact is that Abstract ideas are conceptual integrations which subsume an incalculable number of concretes and that without abstract ideas, you would not be able to deal with concrete particular real-life problems. ¨
Ayn Rand made a crucial point here; most men think that Philosophy is just about abstracts and it has nothing to do with concrete, particular, real-life problems, therefore it is useless. But this is not true, Philosophy is practical (a proper one), and in order to deal with life problems, humans need a philosophical foundation.
A human being needs to integrate their observations, experiences, and knowledge into principles. Philosophy integrates it; a Philosophic system is an integrated view of existence.
Evil Philosophies
¨Under the influence of Immanuel Kant, the dominant trend of philosophy has been directed to the destruction of man’s mind, of his confidence in the power of reason.¨
Ayn Rand detected philosopher Immanuel Kant as the turning point in Philosophy’s history, she points out that his Philosophy was there to destroy man’s mind, therefore it was a Philosophy of hatred for man, for man´s life and values, ¨Hatred of the good for being the good.¨
Why should you study Philosophy?
“In self-protection and in defense of truth, justice, freedom, and any other value.” She puts herself in the audience’s shoes by saying: “If you feel nothing but boredom when reading Philosophy from some philosophers, you have my deepest sympathy. But if you say, “Why should I study that stuff when I know it’s nonsense?” You are mistaken. It is nonsense, but you don’t know it.¨
¨That nonsense deals with the most crucial, the life or death issues of man’s existence. The battle of philosophers is a battle of man’s mind. If you don’t understand them, you are vulnerable to the worst among them.¨
At this point, clarity is provided by the fact that studying the opponent is good for self protection, in defense of justice and truth. But also, Philosophy deals with the most fundamental issues of man’s existence, which means that if one ignores it, evil philosophies will continue to reign in people’s lives, which means it will continue to destroy many of them.
How to study Philosophy?
“The best way to study philosophy is to approach it as one approaches a detective story, follow every trail, clue, and implication in order to discover who is a murderer and who is a hero.”
Ayn Rand made an analogy to explain how one should study Philosophy, in order to differentiate good ideas from bad ideas. She ended up warning that Kant´s system is the most misleading and dangerous Philosophy.
I highly recommend listening or reading her whole lecture to fully understand the role of Philosophy and its importance in human existence.
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Sources:
Peikoff L. Reality (p. 1). In: Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. ; 1993:512.
Peikoff L. Reality (p. 2). In: Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. Penguin Group; 1993:512.
Rand A. Philosophy: Who Needs It. New American Library; 1982.
Ayn Rand. (1982). Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who needs it. (p. 5). New York, USA: New American Library.
Ayn Rand. (1982). Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who needs it. (p. 9). New York, USA: New American Library.
Ayn Rand. (1982). Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who needs it. (pp. 9-10). New York, USA: New American Library.
Ayn Rand. (1982). Ayn Rand, Philosophy: Who needs it. (p. 10). New York, USA: New American Library.
