The Rational Life Center

[JamesShrugged]

The Rational Life Center is an initiative I have created to promote rational living. It mainly deals with the application of rational thought to the special sciences such as nutrition, health, time management, education. Links to such information can be found on the blog. In addition the blog has a special focus on rational thinking methods, correct thinking habits (psycho-epistemology) and general cognitive enhancement to include memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration.

While almost none of this material can be considered Objectivism (however there are links to philosophy, after all a rational philosophy is integral to a rational way of life), it is consistent with Objectivist principles.

"The Rational Life Center is a division of the Temple of the Human Spirit.

The Purpose of the RLC is to encourage reason-based living.

The Temple of the Human Spirit is an organization founded on the movement began by Ayn Rand in 1943 with the publication of “The Fountainhead.” It is dedicated on the principles exemplified by Howard Roark; rationality, independence, integrity, honesty, justice, productivity, purpose, pride and self-esteem: which we perceive to be the highest form of the human spirit. It is the human spirit, the spirit of reason, which has lifted man out of the dark ages and into the heavens. The skyscraper, the airplane, and the space shuttle are all monuments to the awe inspiring power of the human spirit, a power which no mystical belief can rival in its ability to achieve health, happiness and success.

The Temple promotes a rational worldview which, in addition to basic philosophy, encompasses ideological positions the fields of the special sciences that we identify as congruent with our fundamental premises."

[Xray]

The Rational Life Center is an initiative I have created to promote rational living. It mainly deals with the application of rational thought to the special sciences such as nutrition, health, time management, education. Links to such information can be found on the blog. In addition the blog has a special focus on rational thinking methods, correct thinking habits (psycho-epistemology) and general cognitive enhancement to include memory, intelligence, motivation, attention, and concentration.

While almost none of this material can be considered Objectivism (however there are links to philosophy, after all a rational philosophy is integral to a rational way of life), it is consistent with Objectivist principles.

"The Rational Life Center is a division of the Temple of the Human Spirit.

The Purpose of the RLC is to encourage reason-based living.

The Temple of the Human Spirit is an organization founded on the movement began by Ayn Rand in 1943 with the publication of “The Fountainhead.” It is dedicated on the principles exemplified by Howard Roark; rationality, independence, integrity, honesty, justice, productivity, purpose, pride and self-esteem: which we perceive to be the highest form of the human spirit. It is the human spirit, the spirit of reason, which has lifted man out of the dark ages and into the heavens. The skyscraper, the airplane, and the space shuttle are all monuments to the awe inspiring power of the human spirit, a power which no mystical belief can rival in its ability to achieve health, happiness and success.

The Temple promotes a rational worldview which, in addition to basic philosophy, encompasses ideological positions the fields of the special sciences that we identify as congruent with our fundamental premises."

I'd hesitate to think of Howard Roark as the role model of rationality. His feeling entitled to blow up a building for alleged "breach of contract", a contract which was not his (the contract was with Keating, not Roark) is more an example of irrationality.

Also, Roark's taking part in a fraud where agrees to his work being presented as someone else's can be called unethical.

Edited September 2, 2011 by Xray

[Selene]

This is a paid commercial announcement tape by Angela.

1) Roark had a perfect right to enforce his contract with Peter Keating, who had no right to permit the desecration of Cortland's design while expropriating the brilliant and innovative design solutions which allowed the project to be built within budget at all;

2) Roark did not blow up the "slum" based on his "feelings," but by the right that his ego had earned; and finally,

3) Roark blew it up because he could. <<<<my personal favorite, but then again Ragnar was my favorite character in Atlas.

By the way Angela, you do remember that the Fountainhead is a novel...correct?

Adam

Roark bad...government housing built with expropriated ideas and expropriated money good! Nope.

[merjet]

I'd hesitate to think of Howard Roark as the role model of rationality. His feeling entitled to blow up a building for alleged "breach of contract", a contract which was not his (the contract was with Keating, not Roark) is more an example of irrationality.

Also, Roark's taking part in a fraud where agrees to his work being presented as someone else's can be called unethical.

It's called literary license, with maybe a little influence from Nietzsche. "In Beyond Good and Evil, Nietzsche accuses past philosophers of lacking critical sense and blindly accepting Judeo-Christian premises in their consideration of morality" (link).

[Xray]

This is a paid commercial announcement tape by Angela.

I'm not singing the "praise of statism" or anything of the sort, if that's what you had in mind.

I don't have any black-and-white thinking in either direction; things are far too complex to do any pigenholing there.

1) Roark had a perfect right to enforce his contract with Peter Keating, who had no right to permit the desecration of Cortland's design while expropriating the brilliant and innovative design solutions which allowed the project to be built within budget at all;

2) Roark did not blow up the "slum" based on his "feelings," but by the right that his ego had earned; and finally,

3) Roark blew it up because he could. <<<<my personal favorite, but then again Ragnar was my favorite character in Atlas.

By the way Angela, you do remember that the Fountainhead is a novel...correct?

Adam

Roark bad...government housing built with expropriated ideas and expropriated money good! Nope.

There have been many discussions here on OL about the controversial character Howard Roark and his actions, with e. g. poster Jonathan providing excellent arguments on the subject; I'm sure you will remember them as well.

As for The Fountainhead being "only" a novel: I have often asked myself what Ayn Rand would have answered if asked: "Miss Rand, in case a "real-life Roark" would dynamite a building like your fictional hero did, would you endorse this action too?"

Edited September 2, 2011 by Xray

[anthony]

As for The Fountainhead being "only" a novel: I have often asked myself what Ayn Rand would have answered if asked: "Miss Rand, in case a "real-life Roark" would dynamite a building like your fictional hero did, would you endorse this action too?"

Endorse it? She'd be delighted I reckon. Assuming all things to be equal.

Shocking? Then that demonstrates how much further the world has slipped into automatic altruism since she wrote TF.

One man (or woman) standing against the need, entitlement and condemnation of a Society, which has always presumed upon individual sacrifice, was her central theme. To re-state the obvious.

(The Hickmann case - where she definitely did (albeit privately and temporarily) go over-board - bears this out.)

Tony