To be sure, Marx was more of an activist than most philosophers, and even (if I'm not mistaken) tried to form some revolutionary groups. But at the end of the day the guy was primarily an academic, bookish type who spent most of his time reading, and the rest of it writing. And again, his body of work is vast and open to interpretation.

Blaming philosophers for evil is like blaming gangsta rap or violent video games for crime. Ayn Rand should have known better before making those statements. That is one of the many reasons I dislike her, though I certainly wouldn't consider her very "evil" compared to dictators and the like, she's more like a crabby aunt who you have to put up with during the holidays.

And for the record I could never envision Ron Paul saying that kind of thing — the guy is very pro-civil liberties and pro free speech, a consummate gentleman, and much more civil than Ayn Rand ever was. He often emphasizes that he's glad that America allows people to read communist writings even though he's personally opposed to Communism.

Well said

sirdroseph

sirdroseph Avatar

Location: Not here, I tell you wat
Gender: Male

Posted: Dec 19, 2011 - 6:35am

LordBaltimore wrote:

She said Kant was the most evil man who ever lived.

Another example of her penchant for hyperbole and sensationalism.

Words are — after all — just words. And even Kant's words are open to interpretation and he never explicitly advocated violence or anything like that. 99% of the people around since Kant have never read him, and even those who do read him usually take him with a grain of salt...he's very much limited to the ivory tower types, unlike Marx. It's hard to argue that someone with such limited appeal could be so "evil" in comparison to Hitler or Stalin.

Philosophers — like artists — merely express things (even Ayn Rand). They're not usually the ones ordering people to their deaths.

Indeed, was Karl Marx responsible for Stalin's and Mao's murders? {#No}

winter

winter Avatar

Location: in exile, as always
Gender: Male

Posted: Dec 19, 2011 - 6:27am

oldslabsides wrote:

I'm not proporting to be a fan, but Rexi's analogy seemed a little far-fetched to me. I'm unaware of what Rand had to say about Kant.

Short version of her take on Kant is "worst human EVER" - worse than Stalin or Hitler. Worse than Plato, if you can imagine such a horror.

I'll agree Rand's nowhere near as awful as any number of despots or murderers. But in my opinion she contributes substantially to stunting many people's emotional and philosophical growth, and to making the world a smaller, more narrow-minded and dogmatic place.

Proclivities

Proclivities Avatar

Location: Paris of the Piedmont
Gender: Male

Posted: Dec 19, 2011 - 6:26am
winter wrote: In all fairness, neither did Kant - and look what she said about him. Yeah, wasn't Kant "the most evil guy - ever" or something like that, according to Rand. Of course, according to group of much more serious philosophers: "Immanuel Kant was a real piss-ant, who was very rarely stable..."

Red_Dragon

Red_Dragon Avatar

Location: Dumbf*ckistan

Posted: Dec 19, 2011 - 6:22am
winter wrote: In all fairness, neither did Kant - and look what she said about him. I'm not proporting to be a fan, but Rexi's analogy seemed a little far-fetched to me. I'm unaware of what Rand had to say about Kant.

winter

winter Avatar

Location: in exile, as always
Gender: Male

Posted: Dec 19, 2011 - 6:16am
oldslabsides wrote: Really Rexi? Even worse than Joe Stalin or The Big H? I don't recall that Ayn ever initiated any pograms or even murdered a single human being. In all fairness, neither did Kant - and look what she said about him.

Red_Dragon

Red_Dragon Avatar

Location: Dumbf*ckistan

Posted: Dec 19, 2011 - 6:08am

rexi wrote:

Not to be inpolite, but the guy named his son after Ayn Rand, which in my opinion is about as close to the devil incarnate as one can get. What passes as middle of the road and reasonable in the US, is considered way out on the right fringe here in Europe. For us, American politics (and certain parts of your culture) are sometimes very hard to digest. I posted this in the economx thread:

How Ayn Rand Seduced Generations of Young Men and Helped Make the U.S. Into a Selfish, Greedy Nation

Really Rexi? Even worse than Joe Stalin or The Big H? I don't recall that Ayn ever initiated any pograms or even murdered a single human being.

rexi

Location: Zurich, Switzerland

Posted: Dec 19, 2011 - 1:52am

Not to be inpolite, but the guy named his son after Ayn Rand, which in my opinion is about as close to the devil incarnate as one can get. What passes as middle of the road and reasonable in the US, is considered way out on the right fringe here in Europe. For us, American politics (and certain parts of your culture) are sometimes very hard to digest. I posted this in the economx thread:

How Ayn Rand Seduced Generations of Young Men and Helped Make the U.S. Into a Selfish, Greedy Nation

maryte

maryte Avatar

Location: Blinding You With Library Science!
Gender: Female

Posted: Dec 18, 2011 - 9:43am

rosedraws wrote:

I'm on some kind of special Ron Paul mailing list, I get a lot of mailings and phonecalls.

Yesterday, I got a mailer that included a recipe book! He had lots of nice family stories, and some philosophies mixed in... I liked it.

I sure wish he wasn't so hellbent on dismantling government protections and safety nets. I may vote for him simply to make the anti-war statement.

The only war he wants to wage is on women's reproductive rights. Libertarian? Yeah, right.

rosedraws

rosedraws Avatar

Location: close to the edge
Gender: Female

Posted: Dec 18, 2011 - 9:20am
And I missed a chance to see him in person on Tuesday... he was at the Town Hall, down the road from where we were having a business meeting. I love living in NH.

rosedraws

rosedraws Avatar

Location: close to the edge
Gender: Female

Posted: Dec 18, 2011 - 9:14am
I'm on some kind of special Ron Paul mailing list, I get a lot of mailings and phonecalls. Yesterday, I got a mailer that included a recipe book! He had lots of nice family stories, and some philosophies mixed in... I liked it. I sure wish he wasn't so hellbent on dismantling government protections and safety nets. I may vote for him simply to make the anti-war statement.

Delph

Location: Ingersoll Onttario Canada
Gender: Male

Posted: Dec 18, 2011 - 7:12am

Delph wrote:

Hey just curious can anyone tell me what's up with the presidential candidate Ron Paul is he really being ignored by the media? Looks like a good guy...thought this was an interesting interview.
Curious Canuck
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/28/ron-paul-on-defending-health-freedom.aspx?e_cid=20110828_SNL_Art_1

Thanks for your reply Scott...there have been interviews and debates with Ron Paul in which he advocates open trade, travel, communication and diplomacy with all nations.What he is opposed to is nation building.

ScottN

ScottN Avatar

Location: Half inch above the K/T boundary
Gender: Male

Posted: Dec 17, 2011 - 4:57pm

Delph wrote:

I don't think he is being ignored (beyond what he deserves) at all. Scratch very deeply into his "gee, that makes sense, good common sense, rhetoric" and imo, you find a contradiction of poorly considered policies, and an isolationist who would be a definite negative if he stumbled into actually being elected.

Delph

Location: Ingersoll Onttario Canada
Gender: Male

Posted: Dec 17, 2011 - 4:48pm
Hey just curious can anyone tell me what's up with the presidential candidate Ron Paul is he really being ignored by the media? Looks like a good guy...thought this was an interesting interview. Curious Canuck http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/08/28/ron-paul-on-defending-health-freedom.aspx?e_cid=20110828_SNL_Art_1

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