What is "Objectivism while standing on one foot"?

[Dikaiosyne]

[The mention of Objectivism while 'standing on one foot' in another thread (link), led to this discussion, which has been split off here.]

Just out of curiosity, being new at this, if Objectivism on one foot is "in metaphysics, objective reality; in epistemology, reason; in ethics, self-interest; and in politics, capitalism." Then what is the other foot of Objectivisim?

Would it just be the "one foot" applied?

It seems to be the broad base of Objectivist thought: (from most broad, or rather univerisal) Metaphysics, into Epistemology, into Ethics, into Politics. Maybe its just I don't get the reference.

This is one the I voted for BTW

Edited November 29, 2005 by softwareNerd

[HaloNoble6]

I think the "one foot" was a quip. It was meant to convey the notion "if I were to describe Objectivism in the most simplest, concise, essential terms, it would be: ..."

Edited November 28, 2005 by Felipe

[BurgessLau]

Dikaiosyne, see p. 343 of The Ayn Rand Lexicon, the "Objectivism" entry number 2.

Also, please read the poll statements carefully -- that is, objectively. Describing something while "standing on one foot" is a way of saying, in English, "Boil it down, because you aren't going to be able to stand there long!" Ayn Rand did explain her philosophy -- by essentials, as is apprpropriate for an objective philosophy.

Ayn Rand was not saying Objectivism has two feet.

Edited November 28, 2005 by BurgessLau

[JMeganSnow]

I think the "one foot" was a quip. It was meant to convey the notion "if I were to describe Objectivism in the most simplest, concise, essential terms, it would be: ..."

She was asked to describe Objectivism while standing on one foot, i.e. in the amount of time that she could keep her balance, which is more difficult than it appears.

Yeesh.

[HaloNoble6]

Bah, some people (e.g. Snow) take things way too literally.

Edited November 28, 2005 by Felipe

[Dikaiosyne]

I was merely thinking of the minimum required to stand, that would be the Metaphysics, Episitemology, Ethics and Politics.

With Two Feet, you can go places with the idea.

[Inspector]

Bah, some people (e.g. Snow) take things way too literally.

In this case she is right. That is a literal reference to a time that Ayn Rand described her philosophy "on one foot." There are no "two feet" or anything like that, it simply means to describe it in the time that one can maintain one's balance on one foot. (i.e. briefly!)

[HaloNoble6]

Yes, I'm sure AR stood on one foot and tested out to see if she could actually do it. Yes, she literally did this. Perhaps there's a video of this? Perhaps you personally saw it? Perhaps she said she actually did it?

I.e., what is meant by it is a request for a breif essentialized description, which is what I said.

Edited November 28, 2005 by Felipe

[Inspector]

Yes, I'm sure AR stood on one foot and tested out to see if she could actually do it. Yes, she literally did this. Perhaps there's a video of this? Perhaps you personally saw it? Perhaps she said she actually did it?

I.e., what is meant by it is a request for a breif essentialized description, which is what I said.

Unlike you, I don't see anything wrong with describing the literal origin of a metaphor, especially in the context of speaking to someone who doesn't "get" that it is a metaphor, much less its meaning. I think, in fact, that it is perhaps the most helpful approach to be that literal.

[HaloNoble6]

I have nothing against describing metaphors. I was merely pointing out that it wasn't literal, that AR didn't actually stand on one foot and what not. Sheesh.

[Inspector]

I have nothing against describing metaphors. I was merely pointing out that it wasn't literal, that AR didn't actually stand on one foot and what not. Sheesh.

Where did Megan say that Miss Rand was actually standing on one foot?

[BurgessLau]

I was merely pointing out that it wasn't literal, that AR didn't actually stand on one foot and what not.

In "Introducing Objectivism," The Objectivist Newsletter, August, 1962, p. 35, (excerpted in The Ayn Rand Lexicon, p. 343), Ayn Rand writes:

"At a sales conference at Random House, preceding the publication of Atlas Shrugged, one of the book salesmen asked me whether I could present the essence of my philosophy while standing on one foot. I did, as follows: 1. Metaphysics: Objective Reality [...]" [bold added for emphasis.]

I don't know whether "I did" refers to both the standing and the presenting or only to the presenting, but I wouldn't be surprised with the former. Her sense of humor was as sharp as her anger.

[HaloNoble6]

Where did Megan say that Miss Rand was actually standing on one foot?

Nowhere, but it was implied that AR was asked to literaly accomplish this by Snow's description. That she was responding to me in a corrective fashion, as if what I'd said was wrong, implied this. If AR was actually asked, in some setting, to literally stand on one foot, not in a metaphorical sense, I will stand corrected. But what her comments implied were not a metaphorical explanaition, so I felt obliged to comment that some people take things too literally.

And anyway, this is not what Burgess wanted to discuss, and Snow was presumably being silly, and so was I, so drop it.

Edited November 29, 2005 by Felipe

[Inspector]

Nowhere, but it was implied that AR was asked to literaly accomplish this by Snow's description.

It was? In fact her description included the term "i.e." which indicates that she was NOT being literal. I do agree that it is confusing that she put it as a reply to your post, instead of to the person asking the question.

[softwareNerd]

If you wanted to though, you could picture Objectivism as a little man with Metaphysics and Epistemology as the two legs (that makes two feet ), with Ethics as the body, and with two arms of Politics and Ethics ascending from the body.

While I say this in jest, I do remember a lecture where Dr. Peikoff spoke of using the symbol of an "X" as a simplified way to picture the structure of the 5 topics. [E & OE]

[BurgessLau]

SoftwareNerd, your description above of the structure of philosophy is definitive proof that you are, indeed, a Proud Father -- of small children!

(I suspect your second "Ethics" was a typographical slip for "Esthetics.")

Edited November 29, 2005 by BurgessLau

[BurgessLau]

[...] I do remember a lecture where Dr. Peikoff spoke of using the symbol of an "X" as a simplified way to picture the structure of the 5 topics. [E & OE]

Unfortunately, I haven't heard Dr. Peikoff's description. What I find very interesting is that when Ayn Rand essentialized her philosophy, while standing on one foot, she did not mention esthetics. I infer from her various comments in The Romantic Manifesto that esthetics is special, partly, in that it is not the foundation for any other branch (and hence not an essential (causal) characteristic of the philosophy as a whole, in the strict sense). Esthetics is also special in that it is the study of art's role in capturing emotions and insights that arise from one's fundamental view of the world -- that is, one's metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and politics. Art allows us to grasp -- as a single experience -- everything else. Art is how we hold it all in mind at once.

[JMeganSnow]

Oh, goodness, what a bunch of babble to spawn from a two-line comment.

The reason I said anything was that the quotation about "standing on one foot" is on ARI's website here, so I thought everyone would know about it. I provided the explanation of the metaphor because I'm aware that Felipe is a non-native English speaker and I'm familiar with the fact that the peculiar metaphors of English are one of the hardest things to get 100% right when you didn't grow up speaking it. He got the general idea, but I happen to think absolute precision is the only way to really understand metaphorical speech so you can use it casually and correctly.

For example, an Argentinian friend of mine once told me not to "sell myself cheap" . . . which to an American brands you instantly as a non-native English speaker because the actual expression is "sell yourself short". When I corrected him (my friend) he complained that it doesn't make any sense. Well, actually it does, because the expression originated with the stock market, where such a thing as "selling short" does have a valid and specific meaning. (I think that's the origin, but I could be mistaken.)

Felipe, if you don't like that I do apologize, I realize it can be obnoxious. I happen to love the English language and I don't like to see it mucked with even a little, so tiny distinctions like that are important to me, whereas someone else might not care as long as they are understandable.

[RationalBiker]

Here is the relevant quote, with my bold emphasis;

JUNE 17, 1962—At a sales conference at Random House, preceding the publication of Atlas Shrugged, one of the book salesmen asked me whether I could present the essence of my philosophy while standing on one foot. I did, as follows:

1. Metaphysics: Objective Reality

2. Epistemology: Reason

3. Ethics: Self-interest

4. Politics: Capitalism

Source: The Ayn Rand Column, Introducing Objectivism.

[HaloNoble6]

Felipe, if you don't like that I do apologize, I realize it can be obnoxious. I happen to love the English language and I don't like to see it mucked with even a little, so tiny distinctions like that are important to me, whereas someone else might not care as long as they are understandable.

Forget it. I understood the metaphor perfectly, I just thought it was of little importance to the question at hand, or that it was so clear that it wasn't of literal quality that explaining it as a quip was fine. I am a native English speaker: I've been here since I was 6 months of age. Anyway I don't make excuses for myself (unless I'm joking), so please don't you do it, I didn't ask you to. Sheesh. Edited November 29, 2005 by Felipe

[softwareNerd]

Now all we need is a poll added to this topic.

Q: Reading out the text from .... <ref>,

Answer 1: I was able to read it all while standing on one foot

Answer 2: We need a shorter version

[JMeganSnow]

I am a native English speaker: I've been here since I was 6 months of age.

Oops. Sorry again. Different people talk quite differently anyway, I shouldn't assume. There's a saying about that.