To the New Intellectuals: Ayn Rand's Philosophy

Author: Ayn Rand (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Ayn Rand (1905—1982) was one of the most renowned, best-selling novelists and essayists of the 20th century, as well as a philosopher and public intellectual. She was both a novelist and a philosopher. Her most challenging philosophical novel, Atlas Shrugged, is hailed as "the most influential book on contemporary Americans since the Bible." As a philosopher, her philosophy of "Objectivism" has had a widespread and profound influence worldwide. The Objectivist Newsletter is Ayn Rand's challenge to the prevailing philosophical dogmas and the resulting "atmosphere of guilt, suffering, despair, boredom, and pervasive escapism." As one of the most controversial figures in the intellectual world, Ayn Rand was a proponent of rational egoism, forming a sharp contrast with altruistic and self-sacrificing ethics. The foundation of this moral view—a philosophy of life in the present—was proclaimed with a resounding voice in this book.