Atlas Shrugged as a Philosophical Novel David Kelley and William Thomas Summer Seminar 2006

A Philosophical Thriller William Thomas Atlas Shrugged as a Philosophical Novel Lecture I

Lecture 1: A Philosophical Thriller I. The Greatest Philosophical Novel? A. Why write a Philosophical novel? B. The Artistic Challenge of the Philosophical Novel C. Ayn Rand’s method in overview II. The Philosophy of Atlas Shrugged-overview A. Objectivism on one foot B. Five ideas distinctive to Rand and Atlas III. Rand’s integration of Plot and Ideas A. Looters, Producers, and Strikers B. Plot overview Part 1. Non-contradiction Part 2. Either-Or Part 3. A is A

Philosophy Philosophy studies the fundamental nature of existence, of man, and of man's relationship to existence. … In the realm of cognition, the special sciences are the trees, but philosophy is the soil which makes the forest possible. —Ayn Rand, Philosophy, Who Needs It (p. 2)  Metaphysics (the theory of reality).  Epistemology (the theory of knowledge)  Ethics (the theory of moral values)  Politics (the theory of legal rights and government)  Aesthetics (the theory of the nature of art)

Philosophy and Art Man's profound need of art lies in the fact that his cognitive faculty is conceptual, i.e., that he acquires knowledge by means of abstractions, and needs the power to bring his widest metaphysical abstractions into his immediate, perceptual awareness. Art fulfills this need: by means of a selective re- creation, it concretizes man's fundamental view of himself and of existence. It tells man, in effect, which aspects of his experience are to be regarded as essential, significant, important. — Ayn Rand, "Art and Cognition" The Romantic Manifesto, p. 45.

The Philosophical Novel  Philosophy  Provides reasons for basic values  Provides general guidance for life  Abstract ideas Arguments, theories Stories to test theories  Novel  Represents a world reshaped by value  Provides specific vision of life  Concrete narrative Plot, characterization Theories to bring out themes of stories Philosophy times Art Making abstractions real Making the real abstractly meaningful

Ayn Rand’s literary method in overview  “Slanted realism” in characterization and world-building  Structured events and scenes  Integration of plot and theme

Lecture 1: A Philosophical Thriller I. The Greatest Philosophical Novel? A. Why write a Philosophical novel? B. The Artistic Challenge of the Philosophical Novel C. Ayn Rand’s method in overview II. The Philosophy of Atlas Shrugged-overview A. Objectivism on one foot B. Five ideas distinctive to Rand and Atlas III. Rand’s integration of Plot and Ideas A. Looters, Producers, and Strikers B. Plot overview Part 1. Non-contradiction Part 2. Either-Or Part 3. A is A

Ayn Rand’s ideas “on one foot” Metaphysics:Objective Reality “Wishing won’t make it so.” Epistemology:Reason “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.” Ethics:Self-Interest “Man is an end in himself.” Politics:Laissez-faire Capitalism “Give me liberty or give me death.”

Key Ideas Distinctive to Atlas Shrugged  The opposition between productive, rational people and destructive and irrational ones  Reason vs. anti-reason  The pursuit of one’s happiness as a moral end in itself, as against self-sacrifice and imposed duty  The unity of mind and body  Trade vs. power as two means of interaction

The Plot of Atlas Shrugged Plot for power, economic disruption Breakthroughs and discoveries, frustrated, DT-HR affair Mysterious disappearances (Laying the ground) Seizure of power, Economic disintegration Desperate quest for Inventor and Destroyer, Compromises with looters. Disappearances accelerate (Attempts to convert Dagny and Hank) Overt dictatorship, Economic collapse, Political collapse Discovery of “Atlantis,” DT-JG romance John Galt’s public speech and capture Release of Galt and victory of the strike. Part I Part II Part III LootersProtagonistsStrikers

Course Outline Sunday: A Philosophical Thriller - Thomas Monday: Producers versus Looters and Parasites - Kelley Tuesday: Reason versus Anti-reason – Thomas Wednesday: The Pursuit of Happiness as a Moral End-in-Itself -Kelley Thursday: The Unity of Mind and Body – Thomas Friday: Trade versus Power - Kelley