From: Max More (max@maxmore.com)
Date: Mon Jun 03 2002 - 09:05:49 MDT
At 02:55 PM 6/3/2002 +1000, you wrote:
>At 10:15 AM 6/2/02 -0400, Mark Walker wrote:
>
> >>From: "Damien Broderick"
> >>I'm not an extropian, just an interested bystander.
>
> >I am curious what stands in your way from affirming to the world
> >that you are an Extropian. Would you care to comment?
>
>Well... here's a hint:
>
>At 08:44 PM 6/2/02 -0700, Olga wrote:
>
> >I just poked my head into the new Extropians List Guidelines,
> >and saw Ayn's name there again, keeping company with all the
> >other erudite recommended books. Oh dear oh dear oh dear
>
>Yep. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.
Damien -- which *part* of Ayn Rand's basic philosophy (not personality,
philosophy) do you despise? Is it her rationalism? Her anti-religious
views? Her realism? Her optimism ("benevolent universe")? Her defense of
freedom?
I find quite a few Objectivists hard to take due to a too-frequent personal
style that involves obnoxious argumentation and rigidity and narrowness of
views. I think some of that stems from Rand's personal style, and some from
the kinds of personalities that are attracted to the form in which she
sometimes presented her ideas (a form that I think belied the rationalism
at its base).
Despising Rand's thought because of her personal behavior and that of many
(far from all) of her followers seems unfair. If I had read the early Karl
Marx, I would list his works (such as The Economic and Philosophic
Manuscripts, The German Ideology) for his early (pre-economic) thinking
about the liberation of the person.
Intelligent people should be able to separate a writer's personality and
hangers-on from the ideas in the works.
Onward!
Max
_______________________________________________________
Max More, Ph.D.
max@maxmore.com or more@extropy.org
http://www.maxmore.com
Strategic Philosopher
President, Extropy Institute. http://www.extropy.org <more@extropy.org>
_______________________________________________________
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