How to protect our individuality, moral purpose and consciousness

Exceptional authors tend to appear when you are on a particular path and are ready for the knowledge they can impart to you. Many of us can list books that have had the most influence on our way of thinking or way of life. My list now includes Ayn Rand, a reclaimed author who wrote both fictional and theoretical books that, in the same frame as George Orwell, warned of the danger of not thinking for ourselves and living our lives according to the whims of others.

Ayn Rand thought that one should study philosophy in self-protection and in defense of truth, justice, freedom and any value you ever held or may ever hold. Her philosophy known as Objectivism is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity and reason as his only absolute.

As stated by the Ayn Rand Institute: Ayn's philosophy is not an esoteric subject but a daily force shaping individual lives and human history. You must have some view of the kind of world you live in, of how best to understand and deal with it, and of what to aim at in life. Your only choice is whether your philosophical premises are acquired by your own independent thinking or absorbed unquestioningly from those around you.

Ayn Rand opposed philosophies such as Collectivism and Statism, which she considered to include different forms of government that embrace Communism, Fascism, Socialism, Meritocracy, Democracy and the Welfare State. Her ideal form of government exists solely to uphold man's individual rights and protect him from physical violence with its only authority being the consent of the governed. It is therefore not the ruler, but the servant or agent of the citizens with no rights except the rights delegated to it by the citizens for a specific purpose.

George Orwell who wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm was a socialist warning of the dangers of totalitarianism (brought about by collectivism and altruism) and corruption (brought about by favouritism, unearned privilege and the taking away of a man's right to live freely and think for himself).

From her dedication to the universal truths of Aristotle, the moral justification of Capitalism (where man is free to exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor others to himself, as determined by Natural Law) and the recognition that every man is an end to himself (not a means to the ends of others), to the critical analysis (and philosophical detectivism) of flawed philosophies (mostly unknown) that have led to the situation we find ourselves in today.

For all these reasons, Philosophy: Who Needs It, is a critical book that carries an important message as relevant today as it is was in 1982.

Authors of note

Ayn Rand [1934-1982] was a Russian-born American writer and philosopher, known for her acclaimed fiction writing (including Anthem, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged) which was underpinned by her own philosophical system (Objectivism) encompassing Capitalism as a social system based on the recognition of individual rights, including property rights in which all property is privately owned.

For each one of us to live a harmonious and prosperous life on Earth, Ayn suggests we need to:

• Follow reason, not whims or faith
  
• Work hard to achieve a life of purpose and productiveness
  
• Earn genuine self-esteem
• Pursue our own happiness as our highest moral aim
  
• Prosper by treating others as individuals, trading value for value
  

This aligns with some of my other favourite philosophers including Erich Fromm, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow and my late Dad, Jeff Cartwright, who have uncovered fundamental truths about human nature, our connection to each other and our existence in the wider Universe as a basis upon which to design the building blocks needed to create living environments that focus on every individual's right to thrive and grow.

Philosophy by design

It is clear to see why Ayn Rand created her own philosophy based on fundemental truth. This was necessary (particularly in her novels) to demonstrate how we can create a better world by tapping into our own minds and connecting with our inner consciousness. It also highlights the outrageous irrationality of pseudo-scientists who are bought and paid by the government and corporate entities, and promoted preferentially on mainstream media.

It is no wonder that concepts of individual independence and freedom are so vehemently opposed by those who seek the good life for themselves to the detriment of everyone else - and why they prefer us not to think about it.

Ayn's writings, lectures and books confirm that positive change is possible and that such tyranny can be countered, quietly, by contesting unfounded, irrational claims as we come across them. It means being prepared to use our minds and to speak out, rather than being told what to think and accepting the untruth that our ideas are not important.

Choosing the kind of world we want to live in is in our hands and we need to take note, because, as Ayn said in 1982 when this book was published: the brutes are winning by default.

It is prudent for us to be able to recognise rational philosophies that have our best interests at heart, compared to dogmatic pseudo-philosophies based on whims forcing change upon us without our knowledge, consent or favour.

The beauty of Ayn Rand is that she shows us how to counter such falsities and stand up to our own truth.

Indigenous philosophy

It was no surprise to discover that philosophy has been instrumental in the creation and sustainable growth of indigenous communities through the ages. It has enabled them to live according to their own principles in harmony with Nature, strengthened by the extraordinarily brave measures taken to protect the legacy of their ancestors and the lives of their children into the future.

Miguel van der Velden, who traces his roots to the Wayuu, Añú and Cuiba tribes of Venezuela, and to Dutch and Spanish travellers, understands how Indigenous philosophies help Indigenous Peoples regain their cultural integrity, and how this can help to steer humanity off the path of destruction and spiritual estrangement felt by so many today. He says:

One of the main goals of philosophy is to ask why we have this life and how we are meant to live it. As such, it has been the backbone of many cultures throughout the world and history. It has influenced entire nations, One could argue that in everything we do, there is a philosophy underlying the action. This raises great concern: if this is true, and philosophy plays such a fundamental role in society, then what great flaw in the philosophy of the modern world is causing us to destroy the environment, turn a blind eye to oppression and subject ourselves to a political-economic system that for many of us simply does not fit.

This ties in perfectly with Ayn Rand's warning that we must call out the wicked and flawed philosophies that have been enabled to permeate society, funded by those who increasingly try to prevent us using our own minds and intuition to understand the world we find ourselves living in. While doing the inner work to understand who we are is so important, so is using our minds to think logically and rationally about the future we want to create.

It means we must think for ourselves and protect ourselves from believing things we are told at face value. It means questioning everything we are told until it makes sense in our own mind and feels right in our soul. Only then can we be sure that the knowledge we are taking on board is grounded in truth and supports our rights as individuals.

Philosophical detectivism

In your role as a philosophical detective, your mission is to pick up on catch phrases used as handy means of rationalisation which Ayn describes as the hatred of reality, the notion that reason is unable to perceive reality and proclaims the supremecy of emotions in an uncomprehensible world. For example:

• Nobody can be certain of anything - a rationalisation for a feeling of envy and hatred toward those who ARE certain
• Nobody is perfect in this world - a rationalisation for the desire to continue indulging in one's imperfections and to escape reality
• Nobody can help anything he does - a rationalisation for the escape from commitment and moral responsibility
  

The key is to take whatever is being said as read and to question the logic. By answering (to any of the above), so tell me, why not? will probably be enough to end the conversation, and you will have caught them by surprise and deflated them - reducing their confidence ever so slightly the next time they choose to spout such nonsense.

If someone says to you, it may be true for you but it's not true for me (which tries to make the Law of Identity invalid - see below), you could point out that something can't be true and untrue at the same time so which is it?

If someone says to you, this may be good in theory, but it doesn't work in practice (which tries to detach theory from reality), you could say that it is theory that underpins practice identifying principles that can be used as guidelines for man's actions. 

If someone says to you, it's logical but logic has nothing to do with reality (which tries to assume that things are not really as they are), you could point out that logic is the art of non-contradictory identification which is ruled by the Law of Identity where each thing is identical with itself.  Mention that this is underpinned by the Law of Logic (or logical reasoning) which ensures that terms and subjects remain consistent and self-referential within an argument.

The question is, are we going to continue to pander to the whims of individuals, corporations and governments that deem to control us by erasing our identity and denegrating our minds using underhand tactics? Or, are we going to think for ourselves and use our intelligence and common sense to burst their bubble of untruth and stop the madness?

The dangers of altruism

Thanks to Ayn Rand, I can at last say that I understand the pros of Capitalism, Objectivism and Individualism (representing freedom) and the cons of Communism, Collectivism and Altruism (representing dictatorship).

These are highly complex subjects which I have been afraid to delve into with my limited intellectual skills and lack of formal academic training. Starting with Philosophy: Who Needs It and then Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal whch I am reading now. It has been a revelation to be able to consolidate my thinking, substantiate my philosophy for a beautiful life on Earth for all people (incorporating my Dad's legacy) and to know how to counter those who are likely going to attack this beautiful work on grounds of hate, fear and irrationality, when given the opportunity to do so.

I will write further on this as understanding what philosophy is, where it comes from and how it impacts on our daily lives is vitally important if we are to have control over the lives we want lead - rather than allowing ourselves to be coralled into oblivion as a collective mass of nonsensical average individuals with no personal rights to anything.

By believing we are an insignificant part of the collective with a duty to sacrifice ourselves to an unspecified and constantly changing greater good based on the insecurities of those who have no interest in us as individuals at all, we are sleepwalking into a dictatorship.

It helps to understand that the idea of self-sacrifice comes from the Philosophy of Altruism which, far from being an important moral value promoted by many cultures and religions, is actually an insult to our intelligence. This is because it steadily sucks the life out of everything we hold dear, especially our innate generosity, appreciation of reciprocal giving and receiving, our need to support each other, our desire to work creatively and to enjoy being recognised and rewarded for our efforts - as we should.

All such common rights and simple pleasures in life that we appreciate are being threatened by the idea that we should sacrifice everything we own - including our minds - to the unconscious and irrational notions of others.

What we can do

There is no question that we have been remiss in allowing (or consenting to) the creation of man-made rules and unlawful legistlations that not only hold us back but are designed to positively work against us. All we want is the freedom to live the lives we choose in comfort and safety with respect shown for each other and the natural world.

We know this means taking responsibility and holding ourselves accountable for our actions, given the opportunity to follow our own path and build a future that we can look forward to.

The question we need to ask is, why do we feel so far away from living a simple life that we can enjoy in peace? The answser is that we expect our governments to help us and provide for us, and we went along with their stories because they made it sound so enticing. They made us think they were the clever ones and that there is no way we can be as clever as them - and that we could demand certain rights (back) if they were taken away.

I think we can see that this is not the case and it's time for us to raise our heads above the parapit to come together and find a way forward that we can all agree upon and that works for everyone. Ayn states this clearly when she says:

As a human being, you have no choice about the fact that you need a philosophy. Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation - or let your subsconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalisations, undefined conradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy and fused into a single, solid weight: self doubt, like a ball and chain in the place where your mind's wings should have grown.

This concludes my overview of this incredibly informative and supremely helpful book which was written for people like you and me who want to bring positibe change into this world. I will be back to share more but for now, I hope it has given you the incentive to apply your little grey cells to understanding your philosophy, and, as Agatha Christie's Poirot put it, to develop a unique style of detection, a combination of logical deduction, hands-on investigation and intuition.

For the sake of our shared preferred future, come with me on this journey and let's get to it.

Sue Cartwright

Spiral Leaf

Buy the book!

For the New Intellectual by Ayn Rand (1961)

The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand (1961)

Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand  (1967)

The Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand  (1975

The New Left by Ayn Rand (1975)

Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology by Ayn Rand (1990)

Philosophy: Who Needs it by Ayn Rand  (1982)

As far as I can tell, Ayn Rand's non-fiction books are no longer in print so I have listed the titles above so that you can search for them online. I use Abe Books who stock old and new books with delivery to the British Isles (no affiliation).