The Branches Of Philosophy
August 9th, 2021 at 12:00PM- 1. Metaphysics (Reality, Nature, Identity, Causality)
- 2. Epistemology (Consciousness, Volition, Reason, Logic)
- 3. Ethics (Good/Evil, Values, Virtues, Sex)
- 4. Politics (Rights, Society, Government)
- 5. Esthetics (Beauty, Art)
The quote above is gender neutral, FYI. The physical differences between men and women are irrelevant philosophically. Reality, reason, rational selfishness and individual rights -- the fundamental concepts of Objectivism, Ayn Rand's philosophy -- apply to every individual equally, except children, of course.
Ayn Rand's ideas challenge the ideas that have ruled most of the world since before philosophy was even discovered. She was basically against authoritarianism in any form, against the idea of accepting an authority higher than your own mind. She promoted freedom in politics, egoism in ethics, and reason and reality as the epistemological and metaphysical base of thinking appropriately, guiding your choices in life. The most difficult task you have as a human being is applying your knowledge to the various situations and circumstances you face daily, and without abstract principles to guide you, which is the purpose of philosophy, you're helpless.
I'm not an Ayn Rand scholar, so I'm not qualified to teach her philosophy as such, but I fully agree with it and have tried to apply it to my life for over twenty years. At the very least, I've benefitted immensely from studying it, from seeing all the major moral and political issues from a non-mainstream perspective. The most valuable thing you can learn from her, though, is how to think. She was strictly logical from the ground up and is one of the few philosophers who created a full system of thought.
Whether you know it or not, you have a philosophy, and Ayn Rand's works, I think, are the best introduction to philosophy (sans religion, which is a primitive, ready-made form of philosophy) for everyone.