On Ayn Rand

Wadsworth Philosophers Series

by Allan Gotthelf, Gotthelf Allan

This brief text assists students in understanding Ayn Rand's philosophy and thinking so that they can more fully engage in useful, intelligent class dialogue and improve their understanding of course content. Part of the "Wadsworth Philosophers Series," (which will eventually consist of approximately 100 titles, each focusing on a single "thinker" from ancient times to the present), ON AYN RAND is written by a philosopher deeply versed in the philosophy of this key thinker. Like other books in the series, this concise book offers sufficient insight into the thinking of a notable philosopher better enabling students to engage the reading and to discuss the material in class and on paper.

Genres: Philosophy

100 pages, Paperback

First published December 29, 1999

Reviews

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allan Gotthelf's seemingly little book is a faithful and compact reiteration of the thinking of Ayn Rand, the main ideas of her philosophical system. It's small size is a bit misleading, as the content is so full that one has to read it slowly and grasp things well before moving on, so that reading a page becomes a bigger undertaking than expected. The footnotes are also often very great addons to the content. Gotthelf gives Rand justice, but also sometimes adds some of his own enthusiasm and he clearly shows his agreement to the ideas. Agreement is often something that accompany the understanding of the ideas(maybe especially when it comes to Rand), and this book is a great example of that because Gotthelf is able to explain what needs to be explained in order to add understanding for the reader. There are a few sections that feels more like just showing what Rand said about a topic, rather than ellaborating on it, but for a book like this they serve as good examples of the natural road to which Rands ideas led. This is a worhty read on Ayn Rand that gives you the same food for thought that Rand herself was able to provoke.