The Fountainhead

The Fountainhead (Introduction to Philosophy this week)

In my Introduction to Philosophy course this week we are reading and discussing The Fountainhead, a great novel on the themes of independence and integrity. In Part One, Rand’s primary purpose is to contrast the characters Howard Roark and Peter Keating. Here is a table (click to enlarge) summarizing the main events in each young

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“Toohey’s Five Strategies of Altruism” reprint

My original post on Toohey’s five strategies of altruism has been published in a print version designed by Christopher Vaughan, with graphics and scary pull quotes. Here is the PDF version. The post’s opening: “The ethics of altruism holds that others are standard of value. One is good to the extent one puts the interests

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Most dangerous philosophy book? (Spring 2011 edition)

For my Introduction to Philosophy course, a question on the final exam [pdf] was: In your judgment, what is the most dangerous book we read this semester? First give a clear and sympathetic presentation of the book’s most important themes; second, state your criterion/criteria of dangerousness; finally, explain why you think the book is dangerous.

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Gail Wynand’s power strategy (Part 1)

Like Peter Keating, Gail Wynand pursues a use-and-be-used career strategy. Wynand uses strong-arm tactics when necessary in building up his newspaper’s market; he manipulates his employees with money to break their integrity; he fires those like Dominique who refuse to bend; and he lets the lowest-common-denominator of public taste dictate the content of the newspaper

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