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The basis for the Benevolent Universe Premise

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I was reading the lexicon on the benevolent universe premise (http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/benevole...se_premise.html, first entry), and came across a part that said that there is a fundamental conviction that idea's matter. This is what the benevolent universe premise is based on, so a person realizes that ideas are what lead you to success, happiness, and achievement.

What does idea mean in this context?

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A benevolent universe premise holds that reality is and has been proven to be comprehensible and predictable, and that the way to improve your happiness is to improve your understanding of reality. An idea, then, is an attempt to understand reality, and it matters because reality can be understood. The only context in which ideas would not matter would be if reality itself were subject to arbitrary changes which would invalidate and frustrate any attempt to understand it, or if reality were simply unobservable.

A malevolent universe premise, on the other hand, is one in which the nature of reality is unpredictable and incomprehensible, and we are therefore doomed to failure and unhappiness because we have no power to improve ourselves or our lives. This premise is common to religious metaphysics, in which there is always a higher power that controls reality and is either indifferent or hostile to all those who do not placate that power with their uncritical faith. A similar premise can be found in Kant's noumenal/phenomenal reality dichotomy, in which the phenomenal world, the one we can see, is a poor reflection of the noumenal world which is the true reality, and which is ultimately incomprehensible because it cannot be directly observed.

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I think thats a reference to long range principles. Reality is too complex to deal with in a tit for tat fashion. So you need some principles to guide you and keep you from having to consider all the particulars in a given situation or all the possible outcomes. Choosing the right principles means that you can be sure in the long run you get the best possible outcome. So the ideas matter in that sense.

Edited by Fred Kinnen
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Thanks guys. I misread the passage I was referring to. It actually says that the conviction that ideas matter (and subsequently that truth, knowledge, and one's mind matters) leads to your inability to believe in the power or triumph of evil.

My bad.

In this case, what is meant by ideas?

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Thanks guys. I misread the passage I was referring to. It actually says that the conviction that ideas matter (and subsequently that truth, knowledge, and one's mind matters) leads to your inability to believe in the power or triumph of evil.

My bad.

In this case, what is meant by ideas?

http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/benevole...se_premise.html

You are still misreading it. Truth, knowledge and your mind are the referents of ideas, they are what the word means.

Subsequent is not the relationship.

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http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/benevole...se_premise.html

You are still misreading it. Truth, knowledge and your mind are the referents of ideas, they are what the word means.

Subsequent is not the relationship.

It seems to me that ideas are made up of your mind, knowledge, and truth, but are not those things.

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