In matters of language I am a descriptivist, not a prescriptivist. In other words, I attempt to understand what people mean regardless of how their use of words relates to the historical implications of the word. So yes, the language is blurry and the original meanings are often lost. Today, "should" and "ought" both imply that one is obligated to behave in a certain way for often unclear beneficiaries or values.
I suppose I may be a nihilist too. I have not yet found a basis for absolutes in right/wrong. I do however have an internal sense of joy/suffering, and bias my operations towards maximizing joy. Does that make me a hedonist, too?
It is interesting that Rand accepts property rights and not others. Every philosophy has assumptions that can be challenged.
As for her morality or amorality, I would have to embark on a whole new program of reading to really comment on it. My 20-year memory of her reading is that she objects to other people's valuations of things regularly. Does she make any firm statements about what is right and wrong? I don't recall.
I had no intention of falling into the position of defending Rand's positions when I made this post. I wanted to give her credit for influencing my thinking and to take note of a couple of current happenings that brought her back to mind.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-04-10 07:42 pm (UTC)I suppose I may be a nihilist too. I have not yet found a basis for absolutes in right/wrong. I do however have an internal sense of joy/suffering, and bias my operations towards maximizing joy. Does that make me a hedonist, too?
It is interesting that Rand accepts property rights and not others. Every philosophy has assumptions that can be challenged.
As for her morality or amorality, I would have to embark on a whole new program of reading to really comment on it. My 20-year memory of her reading is that she objects to other people's valuations of things regularly. Does she make any firm statements about what is right and wrong? I don't recall.
I had no intention of falling into the position of defending Rand's positions when I made this post. I wanted to give her credit for influencing my thinking and to take note of a couple of current happenings that brought her back to mind.