Friday, July 06, 2007

Ayn Rand Quote of the Week 2 - 6/7/07

"There is no place for whim in any human activity - if it is to be regarded as human." - Ayn Rand, "Art And Cognition" p78

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is yet another means of ensuring conformity among the "individualists" who comprise the Objectivist rank and file. If every single impulse one feels must be reined in and subjected to Rand's form of reason, how is any individuality, creativity, or originality possible?

Daniel Barnes said...

Yes, I found it quite a remarkable comment in a variety of ways. Your suggestion is a good one. I find it also explains why, between commissions, Howard Roark sits at his desk all day looking at the phone. He daren't do anything whimsical, like going to the park, or reading a magazine, or catching up with an old friend over lunch, or simply lying on his back and watching the clouds drift overhead. Doing so would obviously endanger his status as what Rand describes as the only "human" in the book. Which gives us an idea of just how odd Rand's idea of "human" could be.

Mark Plus said...

That means Roark must have premeditated raping his employer's daughter near the rock quarry. It would look too ordinary if he got drunk first and did it on a whim.