Ayn Rand thinks Similarly to Sklansky?

[Zygote]

i'd say i agree with close to 100% percent of her views expressed in this video.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MZ7ZSzvVBGo

[ALawPoker]

Nice link.

I don't think it's a matter of "admitting." I think Sklansky is pretty brutally honest about what he thinks. I don't see how he disagrees with anything she said about altruism; for whatever reasons though, I'm pretty sure DS doesn't philosophically care about the role of government. He probably takes it for what it is, and cares more about practical solutions to problems.

[Follow]

Sklansky's views seem very Objectivist to me if I had to guess, but I think he would honestly answer a question like this if presented to him. Also, if I had to guess, the reason why so many don't understand his moral compass is because they either aren't objectivists or aren't familiar with objectivist thought/philosophy.




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[threeonefour]

First nit point, I would say Sklansky thinks similarly to Rand and not the other way around [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Second, as a preemptive strike on the haters (preemptive strikes being something that followers of Rand fully support to my knowledge) the broad strokes of Rand's philosophy is pretty inoffensive are almost universally followed by the average joe. She gets a really bad rap because his books aren't that well written (though the underlying claims are compelling).

People don't actually act altruistic, rather their Utility function factors in the utility of other people and thus often increase other people's utility in an effort to maximize their own.

this is why i take out the trash when my roommate is sick, we both want the trash out, we both rather have someone else do it in a vacuum, but the guy is sick and i care about his welfare and i would like to take some burden off his shoulders because frankly that would make me happy.

[Phil153]

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i care about his welfare

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This is the piece of the pie that we all know is true but the utility people can't swallow.

[threeonefour]

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i care about his welfare

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This is the piece of the pie that we all know is true but the utility people can't swallow.

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i would disagree. i have read a couple of articles by Economists that basically were entirely about interdependent utility functions. Economists like to 'raid' other social sciences and i have certainly heard some talk about altruism in this sense of a person really just acting in a self interested manner that incidentally (wrong word choice obviously but i can't think of anything better) helps other people.

"there is always a quid pro quo"

[chezlaw]

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i care about his welfare

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This is the piece of the pie that we all know is true but the utility people can't swallow.

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Sure some struggle to realise it, but once you recognise that one of the things that matters to us is the wellbeing of others then its sorted.

but we don't let the fact its sorted stop us disagreeing about it [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

The only problem left is whether utility is ordered and so whether it makes sense to talk about maximising it.

chez

[Follow]

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Second, as a preemptive strike on the haters (preemptive strikes being something that followers of Rand fully support to my knowledge)

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Whoa, re-read Rand please. Your knowledge is lacking.


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the broad strokes of Rand's philosophy is pretty inoffensive are almost universally followed by the average joe. She gets a really bad rap because his books aren't that well written (though the underlying claims are compelling).

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you confusing Ayn Rand with someone else? Ayn Rand is a female.


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this is why i take out the trash when my roommate is sick, we both want the trash out, we both rather have someone else do it in a vacuum, but the guy is sick and i care about his welfare and i would like to take some burden off his shoulders because frankly that would make me happy.

[/ QUOTE ]

Watch the video.




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[DougShrapnel]

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People don't actually act altruistic, rather their Utility function factors in the utility of other people and thus often increase other people's utility in an effort to maximize their own.

[/ QUOTE ] I agree with the rest, at least the parts that I have an opinion on, just want to nitpick this. This is a very popular notion now a days. However I think this model is possibly flawed. Maximizing might only be one rational strategy of the larger set of strategies encompassed by avoiding actions that produce a negative utility. Rational people don't harm themselves. This definition of rational might produce a better model of human behavior. I'm not sold yet.

[Follow]

Wow, my eyes are buggy and head is spinning reading this thread. I think very few of you have actually read Rand before talking about the subject...




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