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  • Philosophy

  • Who Needs It
  • By: Ayn Rand
  • Narrated by: Lloyd James
  • Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (22 ratings)
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Philosophy

By: Ayn Rand
Narrated by: Lloyd James
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Summary

Who needs philosophy? Ayn Rand's answer: Everyone.

This collection of essays was the last work planned by Ayn Rand before her death in 1982. In it, she summarizes her view of philosophy and deals with a broad spectrum of topics. According to Ayn Rand, the choice we make is not whether to have a philosophy, but which one to have: a rational, conscious, and therefore practical one, or a contradictory, unidentified, and ultimately lethal one.

Written with all the clarity and eloquence that have placed Ayn Rand's objectivist philosophy in the mainstream of American thought, these essays range over such basic issues as education, morality, censorship, and inflation to prove that philosophy is the fundamental force in all our lives.

©1982 Leonard Peikoff, Executor, Estate of Ayn Rand (P)2006 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"For those who want to understand the philosophic implications of our era, this collection by Ayn Rand is an excellent place to begin." ( News-Leader)
"Although this omnibus volume...is written for an audience of believers, readers unfamiliar with [Rand's] novels might find it a useful starting point." ( Publishers Weekly)

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A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....

The format of this book - a number of essays written by Rand and compiled in the 1980's - provides something of a short cut for those, like me, who prefer concise works of non-fiction.

The author makes frequent use of quotes from characters in her own novels by way of an explanation. This might seem a bit conceited, but we should remember that those novels were intended to form the clearest expression of her philosophy. Plato wrote dialogues, Rand wrote novels. She probably wouldn't have blanched at that comparison.

In addition to being an good introduction to objectivism these essays provide an insight into Rand's view of the history of philosophy, in particular the adversarial nature of two distinct schools of thought - personified on the one hand by John Locke, and by Emmanuel Kant on the other. I could criticise Rand's polarised view of these two schools, as others have, but I think it is a large part of what makes this book so enjoyable.

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