''The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand'' is a 1984 collection of essays on
Ayn Rand's philosophy of
Objectivism
Objectivism is a philosophical system developed by Russian-American writer and philosopher Ayn Rand. She described it as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievemen ...
, edited by
Douglas Den Uyl and
Douglas B. Rasmussen. It includes essays by nine different authors covering Rand's views in various areas of philosophy. The work received positive reviews, crediting it with bringing serious attention by philosophers to Rand and her work. However, reviewers also noted that the work assumed considerable prior knowledge of philosophy on the part of the reader.
Contents
The book is divided into three sections that represent different areas of philosophy addressed in Rand's thought. Each section starts with an essay by Den Uyl and Rasmussen, followed by essays from other contributors. The first section covers
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...
and
epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Epis ...
. It includes essays by
Wallace Matson and
Robert Hollinger. The second section covers
ethics
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concer ...
and contains essays by Jack Wheeler, Charles King, and Erick Mack. The final section covers
political philosophy
Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, ...
and has essays by
Antony Flew
Antony Garrard Newton Flew (; 11 February 1923 – 8 April 2010) was a British philosopher. Belonging to the analytic and evidentialist schools of thought, Flew worked on the philosophy of religion. During the course of his career he taught a ...
and
Tibor R. Machan.
Publication history
Den Uyl and Rassmussen began work on the book while Rand was still alive. When she heard about the project, she actively discouraged it, as she had done previously with other projects. Rand died in 1982, and work on the book proceeded despite her disapproval.
''The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand'' was first published by as a hardcover book by the
University of Illinois Press
The University of Illinois Press (UIP) is an American university press and is part of the University of Illinois system. Founded in 1918, the press publishes some 120 new books each year, plus 33 scholarly journals, and several electronic proje ...
in 1984. They released it as a paperback in 1986.
Reception
Sidney Gendin gave ''The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand'' a positive review in ''
Library Journal'', writing that the work redressed the neglect of Rand's work by academic philosophers, avoided being uncritical of Rand, and revealed interesting parallels between Rand and writers such as
Gilbert Ryle
Gilbert Ryle (19 August 1900 – 6 October 1976) was a British philosopher, principally known for his critique of Cartesian dualism, for which he coined the phrase "ghost in the machine." He was a representative of the generation of British ord ...
and
J. L. Austin
John Langshaw Austin (26 March 1911 – 8 February 1960) was a British philosopher of language and leading proponent of ordinary language philosophy, perhaps best known for developing the theory of speech acts.
Austin pointed out that we u ...
. However, he noted that the book assumed that the reader had "considerable background in general philosophy". A review in ''
The Freeman
''The Freeman'' (formerly published as ''The Freeman: Ideas on Liberty'' or ''Ideas on Liberty'') was an American libertarian magazine, formerly published by the Foundation for Economic Education (FEE). It was founded in 1950 by John Chamberl ...
'' praised the book as "a valuable beginning by serious philosophers at the important task of evaluating, describing, and developing Rand's philosophy, in a dispassionate, objective manner."
In ''
Reason
Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...
'', the philosopher
Randall Dipert
Randall Roy Dipert (; 1951–2019) was an American philosopher and professor of philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia, the United States Military Academy, and the University at Buffalo where he retired as the C. S. Peirce
...
wrote that the book "marks a turning point" in getting professional philosophers engaged with Rand's ideas, but was not "uniformly successful". Rand scholar
Mimi Reisel Gladstein
Mimi Reisel Gladstein (born 1936) is a professor of English and Theatre Arts at the University of Texas at El Paso. Her specialties include authors such as Ayn Rand and John Steinbeck, as well as women's studies, theatre arts and 18th-century ...
described it as "a major contribution to Rand scholarship", although not always approachable for readers not versed in academic philosophy. In 2003,
Chris Matthew Sciabarra
Chris Matthew Sciabarra (born February 17, 1960) is an American political theorist based in Brooklyn, New York. He is the author of three scholarly books—''Marx, Hayek, and Utopia''; '' Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical''; and ''Total Freedom: T ...
identified ''The Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand'' as one of several books that reflected a growing interest in Rand after her death.
[ ]
References
External links
*
The Randian Argument Reconsidered: A Reply to Charles King, a paper by Paul St. F. Blair responding to King's essay in this volume
{{DEFAULTSORT:Philosophic Thought of Ayn Rand, The
1984 non-fiction books
American non-fiction books
English-language books
Philosophy books
University of Illinois Press books
Works about Objectivism (Ayn Rand)
Works by Douglas B. Rasmussen
Works by Douglas Den Uyl