For the New Intellectual: The
Philosophy of Ayn Rand (Signet) by
Ayn Rand
An Important Book
Ayn Rand challenges the prevalent philosophical doctrines of our time and
the guilt, panic and despair they created. She was the proponent of a new
moral philosophy - an ethic of rational self-interest - that stands in sharp
opposition to the ethics of altruism and self-sacrifice. The fundamentals of
this new morality are set forth in this book. The author also wrote The
Virtue of Selfishness, Capitalism: the Unknown Ideal and Night of 16th
January.
Personal Review: For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of
Ayn Rand (Signet) by Ayn Rand
Ayn Rand presents her philosophy as an alternative to the two
philosophical cul-de-sacs, which have dominated the field and every other
branch of knowledge in modern times. This book opens with a fifty-page

essay, which delineates the two most prevalent approaches in the history
of western philosophical thought to the nature of man (ethics) and social
organization (political philosophy).
These old approaches can ultimately be traced back to the dual leadership
roles of the warrior chieftain and the witch doctor in pre-historic tribal times.
Recently, they have taken on new clothing, but remain essentially the
same.
In modern times, these approaches divide along the mind/body dichotomy
initiated by Descartes. As in tribal eras, however, both approaches are still
steeped in collectivism. Indeed, they are two sides of the same counterfeit
coin.
Ayn Rand shows how these two approaches with their corresponding
epistemologies are rooted in a philosophical archetype, which predates the
forking point in Descartes. Indeed, even the severing of the forms from the
sensible world in Plato is in full concert with this bifurcation.
Ayn Rand aptly names these archetypes the Witch Doctor and Attila, thus
illuminating their essential qualities. The Witch Doctor communes with
alleged forces beyond this world. Attila relies on brute force to control men
and society. Both are united against their common nemesis--the producer.
The producer recognizes the inviolability of nature and reality and seeks to
understand both through reason. It is on the producers that the Attilas and
the Witch Doctors depend and against whom both unite in envy and hatred
and their desire to rule.
The remainder of the book contains excerpted (philosophically relevant)
passages from her novels.
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