Philosophy: Who Needs It

Philosophy who needs it - EVERYONE. A great antidote to the prevelant attitude of subjective morality that is so rampant today. Rand is a very good writer, explaining complex ideas in a concise, straight-foward way. She is great at berating the apathy of those who simply will not examine the foundations of their beliefs and/or behavior. I laughed out loud many times thinking of my futile attempts at meaningful debate with people who float through life according to unexamined cliches and norms - shifting their values willy-nilly. I laughed thinking of how so many people simply refuse to DECIDE anything. Her critique of "altruism" and Kant is hilarious and it almost brought tears to my eyes reading what I've thought for so long (expressed by someone so well). As a freshman undergrad I was in a philosophy class on Marxism (well, know your enemies right?), with an openly Marxist professor. One day Rand came up in a discussion and an openly Marxist student went on a vague ten minute rant against her and the professor was giddy. Thats when I went and started reading her (fiction mostly) and I can certainly understand why these Marxist fools expressed so much ire for her. To sum up, a short read packed full of wonderful ideas wonderfully presented. Certainly worth the short investment of time required (but of course, those who need it most probably won't like it very much).

This book was an absolute eye-opener for me. I had never before understood the importance of philosophy (any philosophy!) in one's life. I too kind of went into a coma when I heard 'if a tree fell in the woods and no one was there to hear it fall, did it still make a sound' or whatever that line is.Now, I can confidently answer that question and many more. I had no clue of the importance of metaphysics and epistemology in my life. I never even heard of those words in a rational way before. Rand in several paragraphs (of the first chapter especially) laid out all the key elements of philsophy and why a human living on this earth needs them. She also demonstrated how to ask the critical questions we should all ask of ourselves. Even if you choose not to adopt an Objectivist philosphy, she provides the most valuable questions that one really should ask of everything and everyone.It sounds totally trite to say something like 'this book changed my life' but it is true. She explained so much -- not so much in 'believe this' but more of 'think about this'. That is an amazing difference. I for one hate to be told what to do and how to do it. All I ever wanted was the tools to make that determination for myself. In this book, Rand provides those tools. But of course, one must use their own tool -- their mind to make such a determination.

The title essay was originally a speech given at West Point, and one of Miss Rand's own favorite pieces. In it, she eloquently demonstrates the importance of philosophy in man's life... in EVERY man's life. "...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 therefore lethal." This book is for those interested in philosophy, as well as for those who aren't. As Leonard Peikoff states in the Introduction, "Ayn Rand was not only a novelist and a philosopher; she was also a salesman of philosophy -- the greatest salesman philosophy has ever had." Philosophy's purpose is not to impress people at cocktail parties or to "trick" people in debates with ready-to-wear paradoxes. Philosophy is essential to life -- read this book to discover why.

Ayn Rand considered the invitation to address the West Point cadets as the greatest honor of her life. She titled her speech "Philosophy who needs it", and those at West Point liked the speech so much that they asked and received permission to use it as chapter one in the West Point Philosophy text book.It was later, in the early 90s, that I voiced an opinion that studying philosophy was a waste of time, so my army officer brother gave me a copy of this book. So I read the speech (it's chapter one in this book, too), and it changed my life - impressively so, for the better. Read the speech, and see for yourself.

Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism is implicit in her novels, but she held that the plot of a story was never to be subordinated to didactic philosophical purposes. Thus, even in *Atlas Shrugged*, the novel in which her philosophy is most explicit, many details are left out. After *Atlas* was published, Ayn Rand spent much of the remainder of her life writing essays that elaborate upon her philosophy and apply it to current events. *Philosophy: Who Needs It* may be the best collection of these essays for a curious reader to start with. The answer to the question implicit in the title is that *everyone* needs philosophy, that philosophy is an inescapable part of your life. The real questions are: Is your philosophy an integrated system that you consciously accept? Or is it a random assortment of rules of thumb, trite slogans, and things you learned in church, none of which you ever think to question? In the title essay, Ayn Rand does not try to sell you on her particular philosophy, but on the importance of philosophy as such. I recommend this book to anyone who thinks philosophy is merely of "academic" interest.