Ayn Rand

heimspekingur sem veltir fyrir sér kristni. Úrdráttur úr bréfi sem hún skrifar 9 júlí 1946, Letters of Ayn Rand, s. 287:  

 

There is a great, basic contradiction in the teachings of Jesus. Jesus was one of the first great teachers to proclaim the basic principle of individualism -- the inviolate sanctity of man's soul, and the salvation of one's soul as one's first concern and highest goal; this means -- one's ego and the integrity of one's ego. But when it came to the next question, a code of ethics to observe for the salvation of one's soul -- (this means: what must one do in actual practice in order to save one's soul?) -- Jesus (or perhaps His interpreters) gave men a code of altruism, that is, a code which told them that in order to save one's soul, one must love or help or live for others. This means, the subordination of one's soul (or ego) to the wishes, desires or needs of others, which means the subordination of one's soul to the souls of others.

 

This is a contradiction that cannot be resolved. This is why men have never succeeded in applying Christianity in practice, while they have preached it in theory for two thousand years. The reason of their failure was not men's natural depravity or hypocrisy, which is the superficial (and vicious) explanation usually given. The reason is that a contradiction cannot be made to work. That is why the history of Christianity has been a continuous civil war -- both literally (between sects and nations), and spiritually (within each man's soul). héðan

Vanalega er þetta talið fara saman: að bjarga sálu sinni er að þjóna öðrum. En Rand hefur eflaust rétt fyrir sér, þetta er kannski þversögn og illframkvæmanlegt.  

Athugasemdir

[Ævarandi (IP-tala skráð) 8.7.2008 kl. 00:58]

Af hverju þarf þetta að vera mótsögn. Er heimspekingurinn ekki bara með vanþroskaðar hugmyndir um kærleikann? Þetta hljómar einfalt: "Elskaðu náungann EINS OG sjálfan þig." Það er erfiðara í framkvæmd. En það er ekki um neina mótsögn að ræða.

[SM, 8.7.2008 kl. 01:11]

spurning hvernig þetta birtist eða er í framkvæmd. Eflaust millivegurinn.