“...there ... remains a huge following [of Ayn Rand's philosophy] of those who ignore the indiscretions, infidelities, and moral inconsistencies of the founder and focus instead on the positive aspects of her philosophy. There is much in it to admire, if you do not have to accept the whole package... Criticism of the founder or followers of a philosophy does not, by itself, constitute a negation of any part of the philosophy... Criticism of part of a philosophy does not gainsay the whole.” IfsThinkingDoePhilosophyWholeAcceptingMoralFocusHugeAspectCriticismRemainsFollowingAdmireFollowersFoundersInfidelityPackagesInconsistencyNegation Author:Michael Shermer
“On the left is the realist tradition of the 19th century, with its impulse to social description, radical criticism and meditation on things as they are... culminating in Courbet at his mightiest (The Studio, The Funeral at Ornans and a portrait of a trout that has more death in it than Rubens could get in a whole Crucifixion).” WholeLeftSocialMeditationCenturyTraditionCriticismStudiosRadicalImpulseDescriptionFuneralPortraits19th CenturyRealistCrucifixionTroutRubens Author:Gustave Courbet
“It is not just that it is profoundly offensive to the leaders and people of a democratic Germany to paint Hitler on the wall (or on the remnants of the Wall). It is also consummately counterproductive. Such sauce does not make the meat of substantive criticism more interesting. It means that the whole dish is pushed away. It does not mean that Britain's voice is listened to more attentively in the councils of Europe. It means that it is listened to even less.” PeopleMeanDoeWholeVoiceInterestingLeaderWallEuropeCriticismDemocraticPaintMeatGermanyBritainDishesOffensiveCouncilSauceRemnantsCounterproductivePushed Away Author:Timothy Garton Ash
“On the whole, however, the critic is far less of a professional faultfinder than is sometimes imagined. He is first of all a virtue-finder, a singer of praise. He is not concerned with getting rid of dross except in so far as it hides the gold. In other words, the destructive side of criticism is purely a subsidiary affair. None of the best critics have been men of destructive minds. They are like gardeners whose business is more with the flowers than with the weeds.” MenMindFirstsHas BeensSometimesWholeSidesVirtueFlowerConcernedCriticismGoldPraiseCriticsAffairSingersDestructiveWeedGardenerDross Author:Robert Wilson Lynd