Philosophy: Who Needs It

by Ayn Rand, Leonard Peikoff (Introduction)

Overview

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: rational, conscious, and therefore practical; or contradictory, unidentified, and ultimately lethal.

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451138934
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/01/1984
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	214,755
Product dimensions:	4.24(w) x 6.73(h) x 0.83(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Born February 2, 1905, Ayn Rand published her first novel, We the Living, in 1936. Anthem followed in 1938. It was with the publication of The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) that she achieved her spectacular success. Rand’s unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience. The fundamentals of her philosophy are put forth in three nonfiction books, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, The Virtues of Selfishness, and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. They are all available in Signet editions, as is the magnificent statement of her artistic credo, The Romantic Manifesto.

Date of Birth:

February 2, 1905

Date of Death:

March 6, 1982

Place of Birth:

St. Petersburg, Russia

Place of Death:

New York, New York

Education:

Graduated with highest honors in history from the University of Petrograd, 1924

Table of Contents

PhilosophyIntroduction
1. Philosophy: Who Needs It
2. Philosophical Detection
3. The Metaphysical Versus the Man-Made
4. The Missing Link
5. Selfishness Without a Self
6. An Open Letter to Boris Spassky
7. Faith and Force: The Destroyers of the Modern World
8. From the Horse's Mouth
9. Kant Versus Sullivan
10. Causality Versus Duty
11. An Untitled Letter
12. Egalitarianism and Inflation
13. The Stimulus and the Response
14. The Establishing of an Establishment
15. Censorship: Local and Express
16. Fairness Doctrine for Education
17. What Can One Do?
18. Don't Let It Go
Index