Elle Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 I just started this book today, and I was wondering who has read it and if anyone would be interested in keeping up an ongoing dialogue. I have not read anything by Peikoff before but I was looking for some Objectivist lit other than Rand, for a bit of variation. Perhaps I should read more of Rand's non-fiction before diving into this book, but I'm into it maybe 30 pages and hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowzer Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 The Ominous Parallels is an epic book! I think you made a terrific choice; keep reading! I would enjoy discussing it because I still have a lot to learn about that period of history. It rates quite high on my "must research" list so count me as interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dondigitalia Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 What is this one about? I'm always looking for new books (although I tend to buy them faster than I can read them; book-aholism is one addiction I'm proud to have). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowzer Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Succinctly, it is about the influence of philosophy on man. Ideas guide men and their actions and, consequently, ideas write history. More specifically it is about the Nazi rise to power; it is about their philosophy and how it led to their actions. Dr. Peikoff makes the transition between historical concretes and broad abstractions seamless and clear. It is a brilliant achievement and I wish there were hundreds more books like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dondigitalia Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 gracias. I'm on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_stranger Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Hmm... I do have a coupon for Border's collecting dust. I guess I'll have to finish the Iliad right quick and join in. I do like reading and discussing with others - helps to bring things to my attention that I otherwise might have missed. Yes, count me in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackSabbath Posted May 18, 2004 Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 It's outstanding and one of the first books I ever read by an Objectivist. Very readable and re-readable starting from basic principles and showing how Plato, Kant and Hegel are the three biggest villains in history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AwakeAndFree Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 OP is an immortal work of both philosophy and history. Mostly it deals with the history of philosophy and the influence of ideas on the course of human history. Peikoff examines the evolution of ideas from the early Pre-Socratics to Kant and the Romanticists - and shows how a philosophy of anti-reason necessarily leads to concrete horrors. As a concretization of this thesis he examines the Nazi regime and the philosophical/intellectual background from which it came. Lastly, he identifies the same intellectual trends in America, and offers Objectivism as an antidote to them, and the only thing that can save America and the free world from a rising again of collectivist and mysticism. This is one of the best nonfiction books I have ever read, and a must read for any Objectivist with the slightest interest in the workings of history. I have to salute Peikoff, not only for the ideas he expressed in this book, but also on the clarity and power of his style. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshRyan Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 I haven't got around to reading this yet, but it's sitting on my shelf and I would certainly be interested in reading it now and joining a discussion group about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.