Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Erizo

Regulars
  • Posts

    2
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Previous Fields

  • Relationship status
    No Answer
  • State (US/Canadian)
    Connecticut
  • Country
    United States
  • Copyright
    Copyrighted

Erizo's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/7)

0

Reputation

  1. Mostly, yes. I've found a few items I disagree with Ayn Rand on, but I agree with her major points. No, a private one. No, my parents paid for it. No. My parents, of course. To answer the question in the title: "How much of your success came from you?" All of it. Let me explain. It sounds like you're equating "success" with "wealth". It's entirely true that, if I lived on a desert island, or a third-world country, I would not have been able to produce as much wealth as I have in the US. I wouldn't have a car, internet access, an education, etc. As you point out, if I had been abandoned as a child, I wouldn't even speak English. However, success isn't about how much money you have, it's about happiness. True, long-term happiness comes from taking pride in the products of your efforts. This means that successful and happy people will be more productive, and therefore wealthier, but the same isn't true in reverse. Getting money you didn't earn doesn't make you successful or happy. Let me give you an example. Consider someone who grows up in a third-world country where they don't even have clean water. They have several options: They could resign themselves to the situation and do nothing. They could make a half-hearted attempt to find new sources of water, and give up after a short search. Finally, they could devote every waking moment to finding a way to clean their water supply, persisting even after many failed attempts. If they finally find a way to filter their water supply, they still wouldn't be considered wealthy by western standards - but they could absolutely be considered successful. On the opposite end, consider a westerner who inherits millions of dollars, but spends all day watching television. This person is much more wealthy - they have a TV, computer, a car, etc. - but nobody would consider them successful. People who spend their lives living off of others are never happy in any meaningful sense. To return to your original questions: Yes, my parents paid for my education. I do not consider this evidence of my success. It is evidence of my parents' success. My success comes from the fact that I've used that education well. The basic principle is: If it didn't come from me, It would not be my success.
  2. I've recently started reading The Virtue of Selfishness, and I'm trying to figure out what a rational man should devote his intellect to. I can see plenty of negative examples of things he should not devote his mind to, such as religion, or his own destruction. However, I keep getting stuck when I try to think of a positive example. Here's my reasoning: A rational man should pursue survival as man qua man. Life as man qua man requires three things: (1) Biological survival (2) The ability to reason (3) The decision to reason Number (1) is easy in a modern industrial society - our (biological) lives are almost never in danger. The only people who have to worry about this are people with deadly diseases. Number (2) is a given - all humans have the ability to reason. Number (3), of course, is what most people are lacking. However, it doesn't seem to require anything - nobody else can stop you from choosing to reason. So my question is, once I've chosen to reason, what should I reason about? The only answer I've come up with is how to achieve life as man qua man, but it seems that once I decide to reason, I've already achieved it. Have I mischaracterized life as man qua man? Is there something else it requires?
×
×
  • Create New...