Emily Spaide Eleni Katelari

1. Ayn Rand Emily Spaide EleniKatelari Capitalsim bred from Communism

2. Biography • Born in St. Petersburg, Russia on February 2, 1905 • Taught herself to read at age six • Witnessed the Kerensky Revolution and Bolshevik Revolution during her teenage years • The communist victory of the Bolshevik Revolution resulted in her father’s pharmacy being closed, and her family starving • Fled to Crimea (Ukraine)

3. Biography • University of Petrograd to study history and philosophy • State Institute for Cinema Arts in 1924 to study screenwriting • Publishes a pamphlet on actress PolaNegri entitled “Hollywood: An American Movie City” • 1925, leaves Soviet Union • Tells Soviet Union officials her stay will be short, then renews her visa and travels to Hollywood to be a screenwriter

4. In Hollywood, she pursues a career as a screen writer • Marries, releases her first successful screenplay, then begins publishing novels • We the Living – Published 1936 • Anthem – Published 1937 • The Fountainhead – Published in 1943 • Atlas Shrugged – Published in 1957 • Most of her works were rejected several times prior to publishing

5. Her works pertain to the era she lived in • Communism vs. Capitalism → The well being of others vs. The well being of yourself

6. Influences on Ayn Rand: Russian Revolution  • Communism • Rand and her family were affected by the social riots and civil war • Dislike of socialism in Russia • University of Petrograd, she found that she was strongly opposed to communism and its suppressive ways  • Childhood: Russia’s political program leads family to move to Crimea to escape hardship of revolution in St. Petersburg • Adulthood: understood the negative effects of communism; admirer of American culture

7. Influences on Ayn Rand: Aristotle • metaphysical naturalism • empiricism in epistemology • self-realization • man has a purpose • rationality

8. Philosophies Rand Opposed • Disliked “mysticism of Plato” • Disagreed with Nietzsche’s philosophy of the purpose of mankind • While he believed man’s motive in life was to do better than his fellow man, she believed man’s “central purpose” related with industriousness

9. Objectivism • controversial philosophy • individualism • rational-self interest • seeking one’s own self-interest and happiness is man’s purpose and their highest virtue  • man must live for himself • “a man who places others first, above his own creative work, is an emotional parasite” • One’s self-interest should be placed before others • metaphysics: objective reality • epistemology: reason • ethics: self-interest • politics: capitalism

10. Capitalism and Humanity • Capitalism – An economic system based on private ownership of capital • There is no obligation to share capital • According to Ayn Rand, capitalism allows humans to be the individual creatures they are by nature • The goal of life is to be happy, and capitalism allows for the pursuit of happiness

11. Capitalism and Humanity • Individual freedom is directly equated to a capitalist society

12. Classical Liberalism • Classical Liberalism – a set of ideals that promote limited government and liberty of individuals • For example, freedom of speech, freedom of religion etc.

13. Ayn Rand and Human Nature • Do you think that humans should be selfish? • “The Virtue of Selfishness” • Believes that the self’s interest should be placed above that of others • Do you think a human can make decisions based off of their decisions? • Rand states that emotions may be correct or incorrect • Reason allows us to understand and acquire knowledge, helping us make the right decision

14. Ayn Rand Text Analysis “Man –every man – is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake […] the pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of life.” Rand’s Description of Objectivism • exemplifies individualism • connects reason with the self by stating that humanity must care for their own “rational self-interest” • stating that selfishness should be man’s path

15. Ayn Rand Text Analysis “Do you believe in God, Andrei?” “ No.” “Neither do I. But that's a favorite question of mine. An upside-down question, you know.” “What do you mean?” “Well, if I asked people whether they believed in life, they'd never understand what I meant. It's a bad question. It can mean so much that it really means nothing. So I ask them if they believe in God. And if they say they do—then, I know they don't believe in life. Why? Because, you see, God—whatever anyone chooses to call God—is one's highest conception of the highest possible. And whoever places his highest conception above his own possibility thinks very little of himself and his life. It's a rare gift, you know, to feel reverence for your own life and to want the best, the greatest, the highest possible, here, now, for your very own. To imagine a heaven and then not to dream of it, but to demand it.” Excerpt from We the Living, Chapter 9 • In Ayn Rand’s work, We the Living, the main character Kyrie, shares many of the same beliefs of Rand herself. Kyrie, much like Rand, is an atheist. Rand believes that blind belief in a religion prevents individuals from reason. Religion is a primitive form of philosophy, according to Rand. Religion is not necessary to human nature, while philosophy is

16. Ayn Rand Text Analysis “The man without a purpose is a man who drifts at the mercy of random feelings or unidentified urges and is capable of any evil, because he is totally out of control of his own life. In order to be in control of your life, you have to have a purpose – a productive purpose.” Excerpt from Playboy Interview • Virtues act as a moral compass.  Without this guidance, people are without a mission in life and are wandering in the world – unproductive to society

17. Ayn Rand Text Analysis “Thanksgiving is a typically American holiday... The lavish meal is a symbol of the fact that abundant consumption is the result and reward of production.” - The Ayn Rand Letter • Rand admires the American social and economic system. Her view of Thanksgiving as a reward for production is another example of her denunciation of communism. Human nature is to provide for oneself and reap the benefits, not provide for the masses without personal benefit.

18. Ayn Rand Text Analysis “Reason is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.” Rand’s Description of Objectivism • States that through reason we will allow ourselves to have an understanding of everything • Parallels with Aristotle’s philosophy that human beings have reason and this reason is our way of gaining knowledge

19. Ayn Rand Text Analysis “Before you can identify anything as gray, as middle of the road, you have to know what is black and what is white, because gray is merely a mixture of the two. And when you have established that one alternative is good and the other is evil, there is no justification for the choice of a mixture. There is no justification for choosing any part of what you know to be evil.” Excerpt from Playboy Interview • when one can differentiate right from wrong, there is no justification to do anything in the middle • if your ability to reason helps you understand that something is evil, you know not to do anything that associates back to evil

20. Questions for Class Discussion • Is a capitalistic philosophy natural for humankind? Communistic? VS.

21. Questions for Class Discussion • What would Ayn Rand do if she was present today?

22. Works Cited • Baker, James Thomas. Ayn Rand. Boston: Twayne, 1987. Print. • Hicks, Stephen R.C. "AynAlissa Rand." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 28 Jan. 2002. Web. 01 Dec. 2010. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/rand/>. • Rand, Ayn. "Introducing Objectivism." Ayn Rand Institute. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. • Rand, Ayn. We the Living. New York: Random House, 1959. 1-35. Print. • Rand, Ayn. “Why Philosophy?” AynRand Institute. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. • Reason, By. "Ayn Rand - Playboy, Interview, Exclusive, Author." Web. 05 Dec. 2010. <http://www.playboy.com/articles/ayn-rand-playboy-             interview/>.