Marcus Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Quote Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god.- Aristotle Howard Roark, hero of the fountainhead, is he beast or god? He is a man without any apparatus (per Ayn Rand's journal) for understanding others. Obviously a sociopath or serial killer would qualify as a "beast" but Howard Roark was none of these. He was totally self-sufficient, had few things to say, few friends (in fact, none in the beginning). Howard Roark did not concern himself with the affairs of men. Peikoff says he was a "normal" man, but it's not "normal" to be totally comfortable outside of the domain of other men and society. He was not a supernatural phenomenon but he wasn't a "normal" man by any means. Does that make him a "god" in a sense? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brant Gaede Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Howard Roark is what Rand--and you--made him. --Brant make him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BaalChatzaf Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 2 hours ago, Marcus said: Howard Roark, hero of the fountainhead, is he beast or god? He is a man without any apparatus (per Ayn Rand's journal) for understanding others. Obviously a sociopath or serial killer would qualify as a "beast" but Howard Roark was none of these. He was totally self-sufficient, had few things to say, few friends (in fact, none in the beginning). Howard Roark did not concern himself with the affairs of men. Peikoff says he was a "normal" man, but it's not "normal" to be totally comfortable outside of the domain of other men and society. He was not a supernatural phenomenon but he wasn't a "normal" man by any means. Does that make him a "god" in a sense? Is Elon Musk a normal person? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcus Posted March 10, 2016 Author Share Posted March 10, 2016 10 minutes ago, BaalChatzaf said: Is Elon Musk a normal person? Ofcourse not. Not by a long shot. That is my point. These characters aren't "normal men" like Objectivism claims. Either genetically or otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atlashead Posted March 15, 2023 Share Posted March 15, 2023 Well that's the thing, Howard Roark is NOT a homo sapien. Howard Roark is non-human-he is ANIMAL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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