“Man has been called a rational being, but rationality is a matter of choice-and the alternative his nature offers him is: rational being or suicidal animal. Man has to be man-by choice; he has to hold his life as a value-by choice; he has to learn to sustain it-by choice; he has to discover the values it requires and practice his virtues-by choice. A code of values accepted by choice is a code of morality.” MenHas BeensMatterValuesChoicesAnimalPracticeVirtueMoralityOffersAcceptedRationalAlternativesCodeRationalitySuicidal Author:John Galt
“Productive work is the central purpose of a rational man's life, the central value that integrates and determines the hierarchy of all his other values. Reason is the source, the precondition of his productive work, pride is the result.” MenReasonPurposeValuesWorkResultsSourcePrideDetermineRationalProductiveHierarchyIntegratingProductive Work Book:The Virtue of Selfishness Source: The Virtue of Selfishness
“I am a believer in Adam Smith, who says that if you look at something that really contributes value to society, and you can deliver it at a reasonable price, then society will recognise that at some point because rational behaviour will come into play.” IfsLooksPlayValuesBelieverRationalReasonableAdamBehaviourRecognise Author:David Cheriton
“Raymond Aron ascribes to Weber the view that 'each man's conscience is irrefutable.' ... while [Weber] holds that an agent may be more or less rational in acting consistently with his values, the choice of any one particular evaluative stance or commitment can be no more rational than any other. All faiths and all evaluations are equally non-rational.” MenMayValuesChoicesViewsActingParticularConscienceCommitmentRationalAgentsConsistentlyStanceEvaluationWeber Author:Alasdair MacIntyre
“What counts now are the value-less facts, the material and the rational. All else is regarded with condescension as being of only sentimental value.” FactsValuesMaterialsHarmonyRationalSentimentalCondescensionCondescension AndSentimental Value Book:The Ever-Present Origin Source: The Ever-Present Origin
“The belief that value judgments are not subject, in the last analysis, to rational control, encourages the inclination to make irresponsible assertions regarding right and wrong or good and bad. One evades discussion of serious issues by the simple device of passing them off as value problems, whereas, to say the least, many of these conflicts arose out of man's very agreement regarding values.” MenProblemLastsValuesBeliefSimpleIssuesSubjectsSeriousConflictJudgmentPassingRationalPassingsDiscussionAnalysisAgreementDevicesInclinationGood And BadIrresponsibleAssertionSerious Issues Book:What is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies Source: What is Political Philosophy? And Other Studies
“Psychologist Nathaniel Branden speaks of a benevolent sense of life possible to those with rational, productive values, vividly contrasted with the coercive parasitic group-culture of mystics and altruists we live in, where people all around you seem a burdensome annoyance, a threat to your survival. Having been told from childhood that life is a zero-sum game in which you owe everything to others, at some level you worry all the time that someday the bastards will collect. And collect they do, every April 15th. Why do you think they call it collectivism?” PeopleThinkingSeemsLife IsValuesCultureGamesSpeakLevelsWorryGroupsChildhoodSurvivalThreatRationalProductiveSomedayZeroAprilPsychologistCollectivismBenevolentAnnoyanceZero Sum Game Author:L. Neil Smith
“What is most disturbing today is that we use rational methods to cultivate the tastes and values of the young in all kinds of educational, religious, and cultural institutions that are predicated on corporate practices and goals. Everything we do to, with, and for our children is influenced by capitalist market conditions and the hegemonic interests of ruling corporate elites. In simple terms, we calculate what is best for our children by regarding them as investments and turning them into commodities.” KindChildrenUseTodayYoungValuesGoalTermInterestReligiousSimplePracticeConditionsTasteOur ChildrenMethodInstitutionsInvestmentEducationalRationalAll KindsCorporateCapitalistElitesCommodityRulingDisturbing Author:Jack Zipes