Objectivism Wiki - User contributions [en]

Golden Rule

2014-08-30T16:44:01Z

Dream weaver: Created page with "The Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you'd want them to do unto you." Ayn Rand made an entry in her journal July 5, 1945. She contended that the Golden Rule was used in..."

The Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you'd want them to do unto you."

Ayn Rand made an entry in her journal July 5, 1945.
She contended that the Golden Rule was used in support of altruism. For example you must give out to charity because you want to be an object of charity yourself. The extension of this is you must sacrifice yourself to others because you want others to sacrifice themselves to you.

She held that the golden rule can work only in application to her morality: you do not sacrifice yourself to others and you do not wish them to sacrifice themselves to you.

As if out of "The Ethics of Emergencies" which had not yet been written, she continues by pointing out: You may want to be helped in an emergency or a catastrophe—but only in such cases. You consider such cases a calamity—not your normal and proper state of existence.

She concludes with the following: You do not wish to live as an object of charity—and you do not hand charity out to others.

Template:MainPage/OtherTopics

2014-08-30T16:22:53Z

Dream weaver:

'''<big>Other Notable Topics</big>''' [[Common Misconceptions about Objectivism]] [[Fallacies]] [[Logical Terms]] [[Introduction to Objectivist Dictionary]] [[Golden Rule]]

Book Recommendations

2014-08-17T19:47:39Z

Dream weaver: /* Non-Fiction */

== Non-Fiction ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| Evidence of the Senses || Kelley, David || 4 ||
|-
| How We Know || Binswanger, Harry || ||
|-
| Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand || Peikoff, Leonard || 5 ||
|-
| Philosophy: Who Needs It || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The DIM Hypothesis || Peikoff, Leonard || ||
|-
| The Logical Leap || Harriman, David || 5 ||
|-
| The Romantic Manifesto ||Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Virtue of Selfishness || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
|}

== History ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| A History of Western Philosophy || Jones, W. T. || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Why I am not a Muslim || Warroq, Ibn || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
|}
== Money ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| "Money" The Greatest Hoax on Earth || Jenkins Sr., M.R., Merrill M. E. || 4 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Economics in One Lesson || Hazlit, Henrey || 4 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Human Action || von Mises, Ludwig || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| The God of the Machine || Patterson, Isabelle || 3 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| The Secrets of the Federal Reserve || Mullins, Eustace || 3 || Dream_Weaver
|-
|}

== Fiction ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| Atlas Shrugged || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Fountianhead ||Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Night of January 16th || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
|}
== Poetry ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| title || author || rating || contributor
|-
|}

Book Recommendations

2012-11-14T02:30:43Z

Dream weaver: /* Money */

== Non-Fiction ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| The Logical Leap || Harriman, David || 5 ||
|-
| Evidence of the Senses || Kelley, David || 4 ||
|-
| Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand || Peikoff, Leonard || 5 ||
|-
| Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Romantic Manifesto ||Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Virtue of Selfishness || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
|}
== History ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| A History of Western Philosophy || Jones, W. T. || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Why I am not a Muslim || Warroq, Ibn || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
|}
== Money ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| "Money" The Greatest Hoax on Earth || Jenkins Sr., M.R., Merrill M. E. || 4 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Economics in One Lesson || Hazlit, Henrey || 4 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Human Action || von Mises, Ludwig || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| The God of the Machine || Patterson, Isabelle || 3 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| The Secrets of the Federal Reserve || Mullins, Eustace || 3 || Dream_Weaver
|-
|}

== Fiction ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| Atlas Shrugged || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Fountianhead ||Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Night of January 16th || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
|}
== Poetry ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| title || author || rating || contributor
|-
|}

Rule of Fundamentality

2012-07-03T20:12:20Z

Dream weaver: Created page with "Metaphysically, a fundamental characteristic is that distinctive characteristic which makes the greatest number of others possible; epistemologically, it is the one that explains..."

Metaphysically, a fundamental characteristic is that distinctive characteristic which makes the greatest number of others possible; epistemologically, it is the one that explains the greatest number of others.

Book Recommendations

2012-02-12T19:14:38Z

Dream weaver:

== Non-Fiction ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| The Logical Leap || Harriman, David || 5 ||
|-
| Evidence of the Senses || Kelley, David || 4 ||
|-
| Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand || Peikoff, Leonard || 5 ||
|-
| Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Romantic Manifesto ||Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Virtue of Selfishness || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
|}
== History ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| A History of Western Philosophy || Jones, W. T. || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Why I am not a Muslim || Warroq, Ibn || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
|}
== Money ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| "Money" The Greatest Hoax on Earth || Jenkins Sr., M.R., Merrill M. E. || 4 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Economics in One Lesson || Hazlit, Henrey || 4 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Human Action || von Mises, Ludwig || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| The God of the Machine || Patterson, Isabelle || 3 || Dream_Weaver
|-
|}
== Fiction ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| Atlas Shrugged || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Fountianhead ||Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Night of January 16th || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
|}
== Poetry ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| title || author || rating || contributor
|-
|}

Principle

2011-12-21T20:59:16Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*[[Fact|Facts]] are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a [[fact]] of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*[[Measurement omission|Measurement-omission.]]

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*[[Crow-epistemology|Crow-epistemology.]]

*[[Unit-economy]].

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human [[knowledge]] on every level is relational.

*[[Knowledge]] follows a necessary order.

*[[Rand's Razor|Rand's Razor.]]

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

Crow-epistemology

2011-12-19T21:42:02Z

Dream weaver:

{{stub}}
From THE NUMBER CONCEPT: ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT. by Levi Leonard Conant, published 1896

In connection with the assertion that the idea of number seems to be understood by the higher orders of animals, the following brief quotation from a paper by Sir John Lubbock may not be out of place: "Leroy ... mentions a case in which a man was anxious to shoot a crow. 'To deceive this suspicious bird, the plan was hit upon of sending two men to the watch house, one of whom passed on, while the other remained; but the crow counted and kept her distance. The next day three went, and again she perceived that only two retired. In fine, it was found necessary to send five or six men to the watch house to put her out in her calculation. The crow, thinking that this number of men had passed by, lost no time in returning.' From this he inferred that crows could count up to four.

Ayn Rand drew the analogy from a similar story recognising that man's consciousness is limited in a similar fashion.

Proof

2011-12-19T21:35:12Z

Dream weaver: Created page with "Proof consists of showing the logical and hierarchal relationship of an idea to the data provided by the senses."

Proof consists of showing the [[logic|logical]] and [[hierarchy|hierarchal]] relationship of an idea to the data provided by the senses.

Unit-economy

2011-12-16T15:45:42Z

Dream weaver:

[[Concept formation|Concept-formation]] is a process that permits us to take a vast amount of information and condense it down into a single symbol which can be used to convey or recall that information readily. Like in mathematics, ||||||||| can be expressed as 9 or nine |'s, the concept man can be used to refer to every man that was, that is, and will ever be with an economical, single unit.

Fact

2011-12-16T00:59:49Z

Dream weaver: Created page with "A fact is the quality of being actual : actuality <a question of fact hinges on evidence> A fact is something that has actual existence <space exploration is now a fact> ..."

A fact is the quality of being actual : actuality <a question of fact hinges on evidence> 
A fact is something that has actual existence <space exploration is now a fact> A fact is an actual occurrence <prove the fact of damage> 
A fact is a piece of information presented as having objective reality 

Many facts are available to be validated by direct perception. 
If a fact cannot be validated directly by direct perception, a process or method of [[proof]] can be used to show or establish its relationship to the directly perceivable.

Principle

2011-12-16T00:47:01Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*[[Fact|Facts]] are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a [[fact]] of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*[[Measurement omission|Measurement-omission.]]

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*[[Crow-epistemology|Crow-epistemology.]]

*[[Unit-economy]].

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*[[Rand's Razor|Rand's Razor.]]

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

Concept

2011-12-10T21:59:55Z

Dream weaver:

A concept is a mental integration of a set of two or more [[existents]], which share the same characteristics. This has the effect of pulling together many existents under one mental unit rather than dealing with many existents individually. While any one existent is composed of many characteristics, concepts abstract away only some of the specific properties of concrete examples. Man [[concept formation|creates concepts]] by understanding relationships of similarity and difference observed between existents; the [[unit]] is the Objectivist "bridge between metaphysics and epistemology" (ITOE p. 7). The essential fact which needs to be grasped in creating and acquiring concepts is that every existent has an identity (a nature).

Similarities and differences in an existent's nature, which man perceives, form the basis for assigning the existent to a particular concept. Similarities in terms of [[commensurable characteristics]] are the basis for the definition of a concepts, and since concepts stand for two or more concretes, it must be possible to differentiate one concrete from another one which is subsumed under the same concept: see [[measurement omission]].

A [[concept]] is just such a classification: a mental "integration" of at least two existents that share a common attribute or set of attributes (perhaps in different measures or degrees), each of which is for this purpose regarded as a unit of the concept. Once a concept is formed, it is given a specific definition and assigned a word; thereafter, it can be treated almost as a perceptual object, containing (or otherwise linking to) a wealth of implicit knowledge that need not be held explicitly in consciousness.

These concepts are formed by means of "[[measurement omission]]". Concepts are formed by isolating specific attributes of two or more similar concretes(such as tables, to use Rand's example), and omitting the particular measurements involved. The concept of table, therefore, is formed by isolating the attributes(Rand's "Conceptual Common Denominators") that constitute "table-ness"----ie, support(s) and a flat surface upon which items may be placed----and omitting the specific measurements involved; height, weight, color, number of supports, diameter of surface, etc. Once a concept is formed, it is defined by identifying its "essential" characteristic(s); that is, the characteristic or characteristics on which, within the context in which the concept is being formed, the most other characteristics depend.

The reference to "context" here is crucial. Since every concept is formed in a specific context, every definition is therefore contextual. If concepts are properly formed, then even though additional knowledge may require changes to one's definitions, one's later definitions will not contradict one's earlier ones.

What is the role of reason in this process? [[Reason]] consists in forming concepts through the use of logic, what Objectivism defines as "the art of noncontradictory identification".

Objectivism denies that the proposition is the fundamental unit of knowledge, arguing instead that concepts themselves constitute the building blocks of knowledge. So, in their way, do percepts, which consist of the knowledge that something exists. Concepts, however, consist of knowledge of what exists.

== Concepts of (perceptual) entities ''(nouns, pronouns)'' ==
Concepts of perceptual entities are the first type of concepts we integrate.

== Concepts of attributes or characteristics ''(adjectives)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of attributes or characteristics (of entities) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of motion ''(verbs)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of motion (of an entity) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of characteristics of motion ''(adverbs)'' ==
The concepts of characteristics of motion permit more distinguish between two or more instances of similar motions.

== Concepts of materials ==
Concepts of materials are formed by observing differences in the constituent materials of entities.

== Concepts of colors ==
Concepts of colors are a subdivision within ''concepts of attributes or characteristics''.

== Concepts of relationships ''(prepositions)'' ==
Concepts of relationships describe spatial or temporal relationships among existents.

== Concepts of consciousness ==
Concepts of consciousness deal with the various actions of consciousness abstracting the action from the content which the action pertains to.

== Concepts of relationships among thoughts ''(conjunctions)'' ==
These concepts are a subdivision within ''concepts of consciousness''.

== Concepts pertaining to the ''products'' of psychological processes ==
Some examples of these would be ''[[knowledge]]'', ''[[science]]'', and ''[[Idea|ideas.]]''

== Concepts of method ==
Concepts of method are formed by retaining the distinguishing characteristics of the purposive course of action and of its goal, while omitting the particular measurements of both.

The fundamental ''concept of method'', upon which all other ''concepts of method'' depend, is ''[[logic]]''.

== Concepts of measurement ==
A concept of measurement is a subdivision within ''concepts of method''.

== See also ==
*[[Concept-Formation]]
*[[Epistemology]]

{{E_Nav}}

[[Category:Epistemology]]

Epistemology

2011-12-10T20:11:34Z

Dream weaver: /* Epistemology */

{{Q|Epistemology is a science devoted to the discovery of the proper methods of acquiring and validating knowledge.|Ayn Rand, [[IToE]]}}
== Epistemology ==

Epistemology is the branch of [[philosophy]] that deals with the validity and requirements of human [[knowledge]]. Epistemology includes those facts about how one thinks and how one ''should'' think which one must understand to minimize errors when learning about other subjects.

In essence, Objectivist epistemology holds that all of man's knowledge comes from the senses, and is developed in the following order- '''[[Percepts]]''', which come from the automatic integration of certain sensations that lead to awareness of a specific existent, and '''[[Concepts]]''', the mind's organization of percepts [as well as other concepts] into groups based on their essential characteristics that differentiate them from other entities. Furthermore, Objectivist epistemology rejects all forms of faith or mysticism as means of knowledge.

The foundational writing for Objectivist epistemology is Ayn Rand's ''Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology'' (ITOE); Leonard Peikoff's ''Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand'' (OPAR) further develops a number of the basic ideas of ITOE.

== From sensations to concepts ==
Sensations are the basic information provided to the mind by the sensory organs, such as the light from the computer screen you're reading now. The perception of these sensations is considered [[axiom|axiomatically]] "valid" on the grounds that it is [[contradiction|self-contradictory]] to deny the efficacy of the [[sensation|senses]] as sources of genuine [[knowledge]], because such an assertion implicitly relies upon the validity of the senses, as they are the only possible source of the alleged knowledge of their invalidity.

Sensation, or awareness of raw sensory data, counts as knowledge in a limited way. However, sensations as such are not retained by the mind and so cannot provide guidance beyond the present moment. (To refer to the previous example, if the computer screen you're reading turns off, the sensation ends.) Perception extends the awareness of the objects of sensation over time, a "percept" being a group of sensations that is automatically retained and integrated by the mind. Some animals other than human beings operate at the level of sensory perception and thus possess a measure of knowledge.

Human beings are unique in possessing another, higher level of cognition: the conceptual level. According to Objectivism, the human mind apprehends reality through a process of reasoning based upon sensory observation, in which perceptual information is built up into concepts and propositions.

However, humans are not guaranteed to achieve this level of consciousness, instead possessing a "volitional consciousness", reaching the "conceptual level" only by an act of volition to which no one can be led or forced from the outside. All humans by definition have the potential to achieve the conceptual level, but some may fail to actualize this potential — and some may lapse from the conceptual level by practising evasion, by which is meant evasion of reason, a deliberate abandonment of the rational consciousness.

Any mind, human or nonhuman, can explicitly hold only so many perceptual units at a time. But the human mind is able to extend its knowledge over a wide range of space, time, and scope by organizing its perceptual information into classifications.

'''''For more information on the formation of concepts, see [[Concept formation]]'''
==Topics In Epistemology==
=== The analytic-synthetic dichotomy ===
Objectivism explicitly rejects the [[analytic-synthetic dichotomy]]. This dichotomy — which stems from the views of [[David Hume]] and [[Immanuel Kant]] — is the view that there is a fundamental distinction between statements that are true in virtue of meaning, alone, and statements whose truth depends upon something more (usually, upon the way the world is). Rand rejected the view that there is any such fundamental distinction, because she accepted that the meaning of a word is its referent, including that referent's every attribute. Consequently, any true proposition is in a way true in virtue of meaning, while its truth simultaneously depends upon the way the world is. In specific, Rand holds that the meaning of a non-singular term is the concept associated with that term, while this concept somehow includes or subsumes all the particulars of a given class, including all the attributes had by these particulars. Which particulars a concept subsumes, according to Rand, depends upon what the concept-coiner was discriminating from what when he or she formed the concept (this appears to be how Rand accommodates Gottlob Frege's insight that there are different "modes of presentation" of the same content). This view is a version of content externalism, similar in certain ways to the views of [[Hilary Putnam]] and Tyler Burge.

The analytic-synthetic dichotomy is intimately related to the distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge, as some philosophers believe that analytic truths are known a priori (i.e., they are justified independent of any experience), while synthetic truths are known a posteriori (i.e., they are justified in virtue of experience). Rand rejects the view that there is any a priori knowledge. All knowledge, she holds, including mathematical knowledge, is about the world (though possibly at some very high level of abstraction or quantization). Justification always terminates in the evidence of the senses.

The analytic-synthetic dichotomy is also related to the alleged distinction between necessary and contingent truths, i.e., the claims of a distinction between truths that could not have been otherwise and truths that could have been otherwise. Many contemporary philosophers believe that mathematical truths such as "2 + 2 = 4" are necessary (could not have been otherwise) while statements such as "There are nine planets in our solar system" are contingent (could have been otherwise). These notions of contingency and necessity have led many contemporary philosophers to elaborate metaphysical systems-building. In constrast, Objectivism holds that there is no distinction between necessary vs. contingent facts in the natural world (that is, all natural facts are necessary) and that the concept of "contingent" applies exclusively to the results of human choice (that is, there is a fundamental distinction between the metaphysical and the man-made). All facts hold in virtue of the natures or identities of the entities involved. Man-made facts hold in virtue of actions that were initiated by volitional beings ("I went to the grocery today" is a man-made fact, because I could have done otherwise). Metaphysical facts, by contrast, hold without reference to any action of a volitional consciousness.

Objectivism holds that, in a sense, all facts are "necessary": all knowledge is knowledge of identity, i.e., a statement that an entity (or aspect, potentiality, condition etc. of an entity) is what in fact it is. Many contemporary philosophers claim that, while the proposition "1 + 1 = 2" is "necessary" because true in all possible realities, the proposition "the atomic mass of hydrogen is 1" is "contingent" because it is not constant across possible worlds. Objectivism would reply that the second proposition is just as "necessary" as the first: if the atomic mass differed, the substance in question would not be hydrogen. Objectivism recognizes no legitimate meaning of "necessity" other than this one.

Additionally, Objectivism also accepts so-called "nomological" possibility and necessity. Statements of nomological possibility say that certain states-of-affairs are in accordance with natural reality in the sense that they reflect the potential of an entity to act in a certain way. For example, consider the propositions, "This glass could break" and "It could rain this weekend." These report truths, because they say that, it is in the nature of glasses that they can break (given the right circumstances) and similarly it is in the nature of the weather that it has the potential to produce rain. Objectivism analyzes counterfactuals, e.g., "If I had dropped this glass, it would break," in similar terms. Objectivism does not insist, as many contemporary philosophers do, that there must be some fact in another possible world for this proposition to correspond with, in order for it to be true. Objectivism also rejects the now-popular view that these nomological facts should be analyzed using a "possible worlds" framework that builds on a distinction between the necessary and the contingent.

=== The problem of universals ===
Objectivism offers the foregoing account as the solution of the problem of universals. This problem has throughout the history of philosophy been regarded as a problem of metaphysics, but Objectivism asserts that its proper resolution lies in epistemology. Traditional solutions to the problem divide generally into realism and nominalism. Objectivism regards the first as "intrinsicism" (the view that universals are "intrinsic" to reality) and the second as "subjectivism" (the view that universals are arbitrary creations of the human mind). The proper resolution, Objectivism says, is that universals are concepts, created to meet the unique cognitive needs of the human mind, but objective so long as they are validly formed.

=== Objectivism, classical rationalism, classical empiricism ===
There are many notable differences between Objectivist epistemology and classical [[rationalism]]. While a classical rationalist would defend a "thick" conception of reason that includes ''a priori'' knowledge and the grasp of relations of necessity, Objectivism defends a "thin" conception that denies the possibility of ''a priori'' knowledge, tends to treat the grasp of necessity as something akin to mystical insight, and relegates reason to the role of classifying and organizing the information provided by sensory perception.

==See Also==
*[[Concept-Formation]]
*[[Measurement ommision]]
* The [[objectivity]] of knowledge.
* The Validity of the [[senses]].
* [[Sensations]], [[Percepts]], [[Concepts]].
* [[Concept formation]] by [[Measurement Omission]].
* The difference between, and validity of, both [[Deduction]] and [[Induction]].
* [[Axioms]] of human knowledge, [[Axiomatic concepts]].
* [[Existence]], [[Identity]] ([[A is A]]), [[Consciousness]].
* [[Volition]] as a necessary part of an objective Epistemology.
* [[Psycho-Epistemology]] and its relation to Epistemology.

{{E_Nav}}

Epistemology

2011-12-10T20:08:34Z

Dream weaver:

{{Q|Epistemology is a science devoted to the discovery of the proper methods of acquiring and validating knowledge.|Ayn Rand, [[IToE]]}}
== Epistemology ==

Epistemology is the branch of [[philosophy]] that deals with the validity and requirements of human [[knowledge]]. Epistemology includes those facts about how one thinks and how one ''should'' think which one must understand to minimize errors when learning about other subjects.

In essence, Objectivist epistemology holds that all of man's knowledge comes from the senses, and is developed in the following order- '''[[Percept|Percepts]]''', which come from the automatic integration of certain sensations that lead to awareness of a specific existent, and '''[[Concepts]]''', the mind's organization of percepts [as well as other concepts] into groups based on their essential characteristics that differentiate them from other entities. Furthermore, Objectivist epistemology rejects all forms of faith or mysticism as means of knowledge.

The foundational writing for Objectivist epistemology is Ayn Rand's ''Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology'' (ITOE); Leonard Peikoff's ''Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand'' (OPAR) further develops a number of the basic ideas of ITOE.

== From sensations to concepts ==
Sensations are the basic information provided to the mind by the sensory organs, such as the light from the computer screen you're reading now. The perception of these sensations is considered [[axiom|axiomatically]] "valid" on the grounds that it is [[contradiction|self-contradictory]] to deny the efficacy of the [[sensation|senses]] as sources of genuine [[knowledge]], because such an assertion implicitly relies upon the validity of the senses, as they are the only possible source of the alleged knowledge of their invalidity.

Sensation, or awareness of raw sensory data, counts as knowledge in a limited way. However, sensations as such are not retained by the mind and so cannot provide guidance beyond the present moment. (To refer to the previous example, if the computer screen you're reading turns off, the sensation ends.) Perception extends the awareness of the objects of sensation over time, a "percept" being a group of sensations that is automatically retained and integrated by the mind. Some animals other than human beings operate at the level of sensory perception and thus possess a measure of knowledge.

Human beings are unique in possessing another, higher level of cognition: the conceptual level. According to Objectivism, the human mind apprehends reality through a process of reasoning based upon sensory observation, in which perceptual information is built up into concepts and propositions.

However, humans are not guaranteed to achieve this level of consciousness, instead possessing a "volitional consciousness", reaching the "conceptual level" only by an act of volition to which no one can be led or forced from the outside. All humans by definition have the potential to achieve the conceptual level, but some may fail to actualize this potential — and some may lapse from the conceptual level by practising evasion, by which is meant evasion of reason, a deliberate abandonment of the rational consciousness.

Any mind, human or nonhuman, can explicitly hold only so many perceptual units at a time. But the human mind is able to extend its knowledge over a wide range of space, time, and scope by organizing its perceptual information into classifications.

'''''For more information on the formation of concepts, see [[Concept formation]]'''
==Topics In Epistemology==
=== The analytic-synthetic dichotomy ===
Objectivism explicitly rejects the [[analytic-synthetic dichotomy]]. This dichotomy — which stems from the views of [[David Hume]] and [[Immanuel Kant]] — is the view that there is a fundamental distinction between statements that are true in virtue of meaning, alone, and statements whose truth depends upon something more (usually, upon the way the world is). Rand rejected the view that there is any such fundamental distinction, because she accepted that the meaning of a word is its referent, including that referent's every attribute. Consequently, any true proposition is in a way true in virtue of meaning, while its truth simultaneously depends upon the way the world is. In specific, Rand holds that the meaning of a non-singular term is the concept associated with that term, while this concept somehow includes or subsumes all the particulars of a given class, including all the attributes had by these particulars. Which particulars a concept subsumes, according to Rand, depends upon what the concept-coiner was discriminating from what when he or she formed the concept (this appears to be how Rand accommodates Gottlob Frege's insight that there are different "modes of presentation" of the same content). This view is a version of content externalism, similar in certain ways to the views of [[Hilary Putnam]] and Tyler Burge.

The analytic-synthetic dichotomy is intimately related to the distinction between a priori and a posteriori knowledge, as some philosophers believe that analytic truths are known a priori (i.e., they are justified independent of any experience), while synthetic truths are known a posteriori (i.e., they are justified in virtue of experience). Rand rejects the view that there is any a priori knowledge. All knowledge, she holds, including mathematical knowledge, is about the world (though possibly at some very high level of abstraction or quantization). Justification always terminates in the evidence of the senses.

The analytic-synthetic dichotomy is also related to the alleged distinction between necessary and contingent truths, i.e., the claims of a distinction between truths that could not have been otherwise and truths that could have been otherwise. Many contemporary philosophers believe that mathematical truths such as "2 + 2 = 4" are necessary (could not have been otherwise) while statements such as "There are nine planets in our solar system" are contingent (could have been otherwise). These notions of contingency and necessity have led many contemporary philosophers to elaborate metaphysical systems-building. In constrast, Objectivism holds that there is no distinction between necessary vs. contingent facts in the natural world (that is, all natural facts are necessary) and that the concept of "contingent" applies exclusively to the results of human choice (that is, there is a fundamental distinction between the metaphysical and the man-made). All facts hold in virtue of the natures or identities of the entities involved. Man-made facts hold in virtue of actions that were initiated by volitional beings ("I went to the grocery today" is a man-made fact, because I could have done otherwise). Metaphysical facts, by contrast, hold without reference to any action of a volitional consciousness.

Objectivism holds that, in a sense, all facts are "necessary": all knowledge is knowledge of identity, i.e., a statement that an entity (or aspect, potentiality, condition etc. of an entity) is what in fact it is. Many contemporary philosophers claim that, while the proposition "1 + 1 = 2" is "necessary" because true in all possible realities, the proposition "the atomic mass of hydrogen is 1" is "contingent" because it is not constant across possible worlds. Objectivism would reply that the second proposition is just as "necessary" as the first: if the atomic mass differed, the substance in question would not be hydrogen. Objectivism recognizes no legitimate meaning of "necessity" other than this one.

Additionally, Objectivism also accepts so-called "nomological" possibility and necessity. Statements of nomological possibility say that certain states-of-affairs are in accordance with natural reality in the sense that they reflect the potential of an entity to act in a certain way. For example, consider the propositions, "This glass could break" and "It could rain this weekend." These report truths, because they say that, it is in the nature of glasses that they can break (given the right circumstances) and similarly it is in the nature of the weather that it has the potential to produce rain. Objectivism analyzes counterfactuals, e.g., "If I had dropped this glass, it would break," in similar terms. Objectivism does not insist, as many contemporary philosophers do, that there must be some fact in another possible world for this proposition to correspond with, in order for it to be true. Objectivism also rejects the now-popular view that these nomological facts should be analyzed using a "possible worlds" framework that builds on a distinction between the necessary and the contingent.

=== The problem of universals ===
Objectivism offers the foregoing account as the solution of the problem of universals. This problem has throughout the history of philosophy been regarded as a problem of metaphysics, but Objectivism asserts that its proper resolution lies in epistemology. Traditional solutions to the problem divide generally into realism and nominalism. Objectivism regards the first as "intrinsicism" (the view that universals are "intrinsic" to reality) and the second as "subjectivism" (the view that universals are arbitrary creations of the human mind). The proper resolution, Objectivism says, is that universals are concepts, created to meet the unique cognitive needs of the human mind, but objective so long as they are validly formed.

=== Objectivism, classical rationalism, classical empiricism ===
There are many notable differences between Objectivist epistemology and classical [[rationalism]]. While a classical rationalist would defend a "thick" conception of reason that includes ''a priori'' knowledge and the grasp of relations of necessity, Objectivism defends a "thin" conception that denies the possibility of ''a priori'' knowledge, tends to treat the grasp of necessity as something akin to mystical insight, and relegates reason to the role of classifying and organizing the information provided by sensory perception.

==See Also==
*[[Concept-Formation]]
*[[Measurement ommision]]
* The [[objectivity]] of knowledge.
* The Validity of the [[senses]].
* [[Sensations]], [[Percepts]], [[Concepts]].
* [[Concept formation]] by [[Measurement Omission]].
* The difference between, and validity of, both [[Deduction]] and [[Induction]].
* [[Axioms]] of human knowledge, [[Axiomatic concepts]].
* [[Existence]], [[Identity]] ([[A is A]]), [[Consciousness]].
* [[Volition]] as a necessary part of an objective Epistemology.
* [[Psycho-Epistemology]] and its relation to Epistemology.

{{E_Nav}}

Concept

2011-12-10T19:57:05Z

Dream weaver: /* Concepts of (perceptual) entities (nouns, pronouns) */

A concept is a mental integration of a set of two or more [[existents]], which share the same characteristics. This has the effect of pulling together many existents under one mental unit rather than dealing with many existents individually. While any one existent is composed of many characteristics, concepts abstract away only some of the specific properties of concrete examples. Man [[concept formation|creates concepts]] by understanding relationships of similarity and difference observed between existents; the [[unit]] is the Objectivist "bridge between metaphysics and epistemology" (ITOE p. 7). The essential fact which needs to be grasped in creating and acquiring concepts is that every existent has an identity (a nature).

Similarities and differences in an existent's nature, which man perceives, form the basis for assigning the existent to a particular concept. Similarities in terms of [[commensurable characteristics]] are the basis for the definition of a concepts, and since concepts stand for two or more concretes, it must be possible to differentiate one concrete from another one which is subsumed under the same concept: see [[measurement omission]].

A [[concept]] is just such a classification: a mental "integration" of at least two existents that share a common attribute or set of attributes (perhaps in different measures or degrees), each of which is for this purpose regarded as a unit of the concept. Once a concept is formed, it is given a specific definition and assigned a word; thereafter, it can be treated almost as a perceptual object, containing (or otherwise linking to) a wealth of implicit knowledge that need not be held explicitly in consciousness.

These concepts are formed by means of "[[measurement omission]]". Concepts are formed by isolating specific attributes of two or more similar concretes(such as tables, to use Rand's example), and omitting the particular measurements involved. The concept of table, therefore, is formed by isolating the attributes(Rand's "Conceptual Common Denominators") that constitute "table-ness"----ie, support(s) and a flat surface upon which items may be placed----and omitting the specific measurements involved; height, weight, color, number of supports, diameter of surface, etc. Once a concept is formed, it is defined by identifying its "essential" characteristic(s); that is, the characteristic or characteristics on which, within the context in which the concept is being formed, the most other characteristics depend.

The reference to "context" here is crucial. Since every concept is formed in a specific context, every definition is therefore contextual. If concepts are properly formed, then even though additional knowledge may require changes to one's definitions, one's later definitions will not contradict one's earlier ones.

What is the role of reason in this process? Reason consists in forming concepts through the use of logic, what Objectivism defines as "the art of noncontradictory identification".

Objectivism denies that the proposition is the fundamental unit of knowledge, arguing instead that concepts themselves constitute the building blocks of knowledge. So, in their way, do percepts, which consist of the knowledge that something exists. Concepts, however, consist of knowledge of what exists.

== Concepts of (perceptual) entities ''(nouns, pronouns)'' ==
Concepts of perceptual entities are the first type of concepts we integrate.

== Concepts of attributes or characteristics ''(adjectives)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of attributes or characteristics (of entities) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of motion ''(verbs)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of motion (of an entity) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of characteristics of motion ''(adverbs)'' ==
The concepts of characteristics of motion permit more distinguish between two or more instances of similar motions.

== Concepts of materials ==
Concepts of materials are formed by observing differences in the constituent materials of entities.

== Concepts of colors ==
Concepts of colors are a subdivision within ''concepts of attributes or characteristics''.

== Concepts of relationships ''(prepositions)'' ==
Concepts of relationships describe spatial or temporal relationships among existents.

== Concepts of consciousness ==
Concepts of consciousness deal with the various actions of consciousness abstracting the action from the content which the action pertains to.

== Concepts of relationships among thoughts ''(conjunctions)'' ==
These concepts are a subdivision within ''concepts of consciousness''.

== Concepts pertaining to the ''products'' of psychological processes ==
Some examples of these would be ''[[knowledge]]'', ''[[science]]'', and ''[[Idea|ideas.]]''

== Concepts of method ==
Concepts of method are formed by retaining the distinguishing characteristics of the purposive course of action and of its goal, while omitting the particular measurements of both.

The fundamental ''concept of method'', upon which all other ''concepts of method'' depend, is ''[[logic]]''.

== Concepts of measurement ==
A concept of measurement is a subdivision within ''concepts of method''.

== See also ==
*[[Concept-Formation]]
*[[Epistemology]]

{{E_Nav}}

[[Category:Epistemology]]

Unit-economy

2011-12-09T03:35:49Z

Dream weaver: Created page with "Concept-formation is a process that permits us to take a vast amount of information and condense it down into a single symbol which can be used to convey or recall that infor..."

[[Concept-formation]] is a process that permits us to take a vast amount of information and condense it down into a single symbol which can be used to convey or recall that information readily. Like in mathematics, ||||||||| can be expressed as 9 or nine |'s, the concept man can be used to refer to every man that was, that is, and will ever be with an economical, single unit.

Principle

2011-12-09T03:25:37Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*Facts are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*[[Measurement omission|Measurement-omission.]]

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*[[Crow-epistemology|Crow-epistemology.]]

*[[Unit-economy]].

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*[[Rand's Razor|Rand's Razor.]]

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

Principle

2011-12-09T03:22:26Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*Facts are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*[[Measurement omission|Measurement-omission.]]

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*[[Crow-epistemology|Crow-epistemology.]]

*Unit-economy.

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*[[Rand's Razor|Rand's Razor.]]

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

Concept

2011-12-09T03:19:50Z

Dream weaver: /* Concepts pertaining to the products of psychological processes */

A concept is a mental integration of a set of two or more [[existents]], which share the same characteristics. This has the effect of pulling together many existents under one mental unit rather than dealing with many existents individually. While any one existent is composed of many characteristics, concepts abstract away only some of the specific properties of concrete examples. Man [[concept formation|creates concepts]] by understanding relationships of similarity and difference observed between existents; the [[unit]] is the Objectivist "bridge between metaphysics and epistemology" (ITOE p. 7). The essential fact which needs to be grasped in creating and acquiring concepts is that every existent has an identity (a nature).

Similarities and differences in an existent's nature, which man perceives, form the basis for assigning the existent to a particular concept. Similarities in terms of [[commensurable characteristics]] are the basis for the definition of a concepts, and since concepts stand for two or more concretes, it must be possible to differentiate one concrete from another one which is subsumed under the same concept: see [[measurement omission]].

A [[concept]] is just such a classification: a mental "integration" of at least two existents that share a common attribute or set of attributes (perhaps in different measures or degrees), each of which is for this purpose regarded as a unit of the concept. Once a concept is formed, it is given a specific definition and assigned a word; thereafter, it can be treated almost as a perceptual object, containing (or otherwise linking to) a wealth of implicit knowledge that need not be held explicitly in consciousness.

These concepts are formed by means of "[[measurement omission]]". Concepts are formed by isolating specific attributes of two or more similar concretes(such as tables, to use Rand's example), and omitting the particular measurements involved. The concept of table, therefore, is formed by isolating the attributes(Rand's "Conceptual Common Denominators") that constitute "table-ness"----ie, support(s) and a flat surface upon which items may be placed----and omitting the specific measurements involved; height, weight, color, number of supports, diameter of surface, etc. Once a concept is formed, it is defined by identifying its "essential" characteristic(s); that is, the characteristic or characteristics on which, within the context in which the concept is being formed, the most other characteristics depend.

The reference to "context" here is crucial. Since every concept is formed in a specific context, every definition is therefore contextual. If concepts are properly formed, then even though additional knowledge may require changes to one's definitions, one's later definitions will not contradict one's earlier ones.

What is the role of reason in this process? Reason consists in forming concepts through the use of logic, what Objectivism defines as "the art of noncontradictory identification".

Objectivism denies that the proposition is the fundamental unit of knowledge, arguing instead that concepts themselves constitute the building blocks of knowledge. So, in their way, do percepts, which consist of the knowledge that something exists. Concepts, however, consist of knowledge of what exists.

== Concepts of (perceptual) entities ''(nouns, pronouns)'' ==
Concepts of perceptual entities are the first type of concepts we learn.

== Concepts of attributes or characteristics ''(adjectives)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of attributes or characteristics (of entities) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of motion ''(verbs)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of motion (of an entity) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of characteristics of motion ''(adverbs)'' ==
The concepts of characteristics of motion permit more distinguish between two or more instances of similar motions.

== Concepts of materials ==
Concepts of materials are formed by observing differences in the constituent materials of entities.

== Concepts of colors ==
Concepts of colors are a subdivision within ''concepts of attributes or characteristics''.

== Concepts of relationships ''(prepositions)'' ==
Concepts of relationships describe spatial or temporal relationships among existents.

== Concepts of consciousness ==
Concepts of consciousness deal with the various actions of consciousness abstracting the action from the content which the action pertains to.

== Concepts of relationships among thoughts ''(conjunctions)'' ==
These concepts are a subdivision within ''concepts of consciousness''.

== Concepts pertaining to the ''products'' of psychological processes ==
Some examples of these would be ''[[knowledge]]'', ''[[science]]'', and ''[[Idea|ideas.]]''

== Concepts of method ==
Concepts of method are formed by retaining the distinguishing characteristics of the purposive course of action and of its goal, while omitting the particular measurements of both.

The fundamental ''concept of method'', upon which all other ''concepts of method'' depend, is ''[[logic]]''.

== Concepts of measurement ==
A concept of measurement is a subdivision within ''concepts of method''.

== See also ==
*[[Concept-Formation]]
*[[Epistemology]]

{{E_Nav}}

[[Category:Epistemology]]

Concept

2011-12-09T03:13:40Z

Dream weaver: /* Concepts of relationships amoung thoughts (conjunctions) */

A concept is a mental integration of a set of two or more [[existents]], which share the same characteristics. This has the effect of pulling together many existents under one mental unit rather than dealing with many existents individually. While any one existent is composed of many characteristics, concepts abstract away only some of the specific properties of concrete examples. Man [[concept formation|creates concepts]] by understanding relationships of similarity and difference observed between existents; the [[unit]] is the Objectivist "bridge between metaphysics and epistemology" (ITOE p. 7). The essential fact which needs to be grasped in creating and acquiring concepts is that every existent has an identity (a nature).

Similarities and differences in an existent's nature, which man perceives, form the basis for assigning the existent to a particular concept. Similarities in terms of [[commensurable characteristics]] are the basis for the definition of a concepts, and since concepts stand for two or more concretes, it must be possible to differentiate one concrete from another one which is subsumed under the same concept: see [[measurement omission]].

A [[concept]] is just such a classification: a mental "integration" of at least two existents that share a common attribute or set of attributes (perhaps in different measures or degrees), each of which is for this purpose regarded as a unit of the concept. Once a concept is formed, it is given a specific definition and assigned a word; thereafter, it can be treated almost as a perceptual object, containing (or otherwise linking to) a wealth of implicit knowledge that need not be held explicitly in consciousness.

These concepts are formed by means of "[[measurement omission]]". Concepts are formed by isolating specific attributes of two or more similar concretes(such as tables, to use Rand's example), and omitting the particular measurements involved. The concept of table, therefore, is formed by isolating the attributes(Rand's "Conceptual Common Denominators") that constitute "table-ness"----ie, support(s) and a flat surface upon which items may be placed----and omitting the specific measurements involved; height, weight, color, number of supports, diameter of surface, etc. Once a concept is formed, it is defined by identifying its "essential" characteristic(s); that is, the characteristic or characteristics on which, within the context in which the concept is being formed, the most other characteristics depend.

The reference to "context" here is crucial. Since every concept is formed in a specific context, every definition is therefore contextual. If concepts are properly formed, then even though additional knowledge may require changes to one's definitions, one's later definitions will not contradict one's earlier ones.

What is the role of reason in this process? Reason consists in forming concepts through the use of logic, what Objectivism defines as "the art of noncontradictory identification".

Objectivism denies that the proposition is the fundamental unit of knowledge, arguing instead that concepts themselves constitute the building blocks of knowledge. So, in their way, do percepts, which consist of the knowledge that something exists. Concepts, however, consist of knowledge of what exists.

== Concepts of (perceptual) entities ''(nouns, pronouns)'' ==
Concepts of perceptual entities are the first type of concepts we learn.

== Concepts of attributes or characteristics ''(adjectives)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of attributes or characteristics (of entities) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of motion ''(verbs)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of motion (of an entity) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of characteristics of motion ''(adverbs)'' ==
The concepts of characteristics of motion permit more distinguish between two or more instances of similar motions.

== Concepts of materials ==
Concepts of materials are formed by observing differences in the constituent materials of entities.

== Concepts of colors ==
Concepts of colors are a subdivision within ''concepts of attributes or characteristics''.

== Concepts of relationships ''(prepositions)'' ==
Concepts of relationships describe spatial or temporal relationships among existents.

== Concepts of consciousness ==
Concepts of consciousness deal with the various actions of consciousness abstracting the action from the content which the action pertains to.

== Concepts of relationships among thoughts ''(conjunctions)'' ==
These concepts are a subdivision within ''concepts of consciousness''.

== Concepts pertaining to the ''products'' of psychological processes ==

== Concepts of method ==
Concepts of method are formed by retaining the distinguishing characteristics of the purposive course of action and of its goal, while omitting the particular measurements of both.

The fundamental ''concept of method'', upon which all other ''concepts of method'' depend, is ''[[logic]]''.

== Concepts of measurement ==
A concept of measurement is a subdivision within ''concepts of method''.

== See also ==
*[[Concept-Formation]]
*[[Epistemology]]

{{E_Nav}}

[[Category:Epistemology]]

Concept

2011-12-09T03:12:28Z

Dream weaver: /* Concepts of colors */

A concept is a mental integration of a set of two or more [[existents]], which share the same characteristics. This has the effect of pulling together many existents under one mental unit rather than dealing with many existents individually. While any one existent is composed of many characteristics, concepts abstract away only some of the specific properties of concrete examples. Man [[concept formation|creates concepts]] by understanding relationships of similarity and difference observed between existents; the [[unit]] is the Objectivist "bridge between metaphysics and epistemology" (ITOE p. 7). The essential fact which needs to be grasped in creating and acquiring concepts is that every existent has an identity (a nature).

Similarities and differences in an existent's nature, which man perceives, form the basis for assigning the existent to a particular concept. Similarities in terms of [[commensurable characteristics]] are the basis for the definition of a concepts, and since concepts stand for two or more concretes, it must be possible to differentiate one concrete from another one which is subsumed under the same concept: see [[measurement omission]].

A [[concept]] is just such a classification: a mental "integration" of at least two existents that share a common attribute or set of attributes (perhaps in different measures or degrees), each of which is for this purpose regarded as a unit of the concept. Once a concept is formed, it is given a specific definition and assigned a word; thereafter, it can be treated almost as a perceptual object, containing (or otherwise linking to) a wealth of implicit knowledge that need not be held explicitly in consciousness.

These concepts are formed by means of "[[measurement omission]]". Concepts are formed by isolating specific attributes of two or more similar concretes(such as tables, to use Rand's example), and omitting the particular measurements involved. The concept of table, therefore, is formed by isolating the attributes(Rand's "Conceptual Common Denominators") that constitute "table-ness"----ie, support(s) and a flat surface upon which items may be placed----and omitting the specific measurements involved; height, weight, color, number of supports, diameter of surface, etc. Once a concept is formed, it is defined by identifying its "essential" characteristic(s); that is, the characteristic or characteristics on which, within the context in which the concept is being formed, the most other characteristics depend.

The reference to "context" here is crucial. Since every concept is formed in a specific context, every definition is therefore contextual. If concepts are properly formed, then even though additional knowledge may require changes to one's definitions, one's later definitions will not contradict one's earlier ones.

What is the role of reason in this process? Reason consists in forming concepts through the use of logic, what Objectivism defines as "the art of noncontradictory identification".

Objectivism denies that the proposition is the fundamental unit of knowledge, arguing instead that concepts themselves constitute the building blocks of knowledge. So, in their way, do percepts, which consist of the knowledge that something exists. Concepts, however, consist of knowledge of what exists.

== Concepts of (perceptual) entities ''(nouns, pronouns)'' ==
Concepts of perceptual entities are the first type of concepts we learn.

== Concepts of attributes or characteristics ''(adjectives)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of attributes or characteristics (of entities) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of motion ''(verbs)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of motion (of an entity) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of characteristics of motion ''(adverbs)'' ==
The concepts of characteristics of motion permit more distinguish between two or more instances of similar motions.

== Concepts of materials ==
Concepts of materials are formed by observing differences in the constituent materials of entities.

== Concepts of colors ==
Concepts of colors are a subdivision within ''concepts of attributes or characteristics''.

== Concepts of relationships ''(prepositions)'' ==
Concepts of relationships describe spatial or temporal relationships among existents.

== Concepts of consciousness ==
Concepts of consciousness deal with the various actions of consciousness abstracting the action from the content which the action pertains to.

== Concepts of relationships amoung thoughts ''(conjunctions)'' ==
These concepts are a subdivision within ''concepts of consciousness''.

== Concepts pertaining to the ''products'' of psychological processes ==

== Concepts of method ==
Concepts of method are formed by retaining the distinguishing characteristics of the purposive course of action and of its goal, while omitting the particular measurements of both.

The fundamental ''concept of method'', upon which all other ''concepts of method'' depend, is ''[[logic]]''.

== Concepts of measurement ==
A concept of measurement is a subdivision within ''concepts of method''.

== See also ==
*[[Concept-Formation]]
*[[Epistemology]]

{{E_Nav}}

[[Category:Epistemology]]

Crow-epistemology

2011-12-09T02:44:25Z

Dream weaver:

Rand's Razor

2011-12-09T01:55:28Z

Dream weaver:

It states: name your primaries.

Principle

2011-12-09T01:53:44Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*Facts are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*Measurement-omission.

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*[[Crow-epistemology|Crow-epistemology.]]

*Unit-economy.

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*[[Rand's Razor|Rand's Razor.]]

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

Crow

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Crow

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#REDIRECT [[Rand's Razor]]

Rand's Razor

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Rand's Razor

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Principle

2011-12-09T01:48:31Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*Facts are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*Measurement-omission.

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*[[Crow-epistemology|Crow-epistemology.]]

*Unit-economy.

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*Rand's Razor.

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

Crow-epistemology

2011-12-09T01:47:16Z

Dream weaver: Created page with "From THE NUMBER CONCEPT: ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT. by Levi Leonard Conant, published 1896 In connection with the assertion that the idea of number seems to be un..."

From THE NUMBER CONCEPT: ITS ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT. by Levi Leonard Conant, published 1896

In connection with the assertion that the idea of number seems to be understood by the higher orders of animals, the following brief quotation from a paper by Sir John Lubbock may not be out of place: "Leroy ... mentions a case in which a man was anxious to shoot a crow. 'To deceive this suspicious bird, the plan was hit upon of sending two men to the watch house, one of whom passed on, while the other remained; but the crow counted and kept her distance. The next day three went, and again she perceived that only two retired. In fine, it was found necessary to send five or six men to the watch house to put her out in her calculation. The crow, thinking that this number of men had passed by, lost no time in returning.' From this he inferred that crows could count up to four.

Rand's Razor

2011-12-09T01:28:08Z

Principle

2011-12-09T01:22:36Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*Facts are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*Measurement-omission.

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*[[Crow|Crow epistemology.]]

*Unit-economy.

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*Rand's Razor.

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

Principle

2011-12-09T00:59:50Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*Facts are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*Measurement-omission.

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*Crow epistemology.

*Unit-economy.

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*Rand's Razor.

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

User:Dream weaver

2011-12-09T00:59:15Z

Dream weaver:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*Facts are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*Measurement-omission.

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*Crow epistemology

*Unit-economy

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*Rand's Razor

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value.

*A "[[principle]]" is a general truth on which other truths depend.

Principle

2011-12-09T00:57:33Z

Dream weaver:

vargetba
{{stub}}

<blockquote>A principle is "a fundamental, primary, or general truth, on which other truths depend." Thus a principle is an abstraction which subsumes a great number of concretes. It is only by a means of principles that one can set one's long-range goals and evaluate the concrete alternatives of any given moment. It is only principles that enable a man to plan his future and achieve it.</blockquote>["The Anatomy of Compromise", CUI, p144]

Some principles of Objectivism:

*[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

*[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

*[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

*[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

*[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

*[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

*Facts are not "malleable."

*No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

*Consciousness has identity.

*[[Volition|Volition.]]

*The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

*The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

*Measurement-omission.

*The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

*Crow epistemology

*Unit-economy

*Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

*"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

*The law of contradiction.

*Human knowledge on every level is relational.

*Knowledge follows a necessary order.

*Rand's Razor

*The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

*[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

*Life as the standard of value

In [[ethics]], principles for behavior are known as [[virtues]].

[[Category:Ethics]]

User:Dream weaver

2011-12-09T00:51:34Z

Dream weaver:

[[Existence|Existence exists.]]

[[Identity|The law of identity.]]

[[Consciousness|Consciousness is conscious.]]

[[Causality|The law of causality.]]

[[Primacy of Existence|"Primacy of existence."]]

[[Primacy of Consciousness|"Primacy of consciousness."]]

Facts are not "malleable."

No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

Consciousness has identity.

[[Volition|Volition.]]

The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

Measurement-omission.

The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

Crow epistemology

Unit-economy

Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

The law of contradiction.

Human knowledge on every level is relational.

Knowledge follows a necessary order.

Rand's Razor

The [[arbitrary]] cannot be cognitively processed.

[[Mind-Body Dichotomy|Mind-body integration.]]

Life as the standard of value

A "[[principle]]" is a general truth on which other truths depend.

Principle

2011-12-09T00:27:39Z

Dream weaver:

User:Dream weaver

2011-12-09T00:12:10Z

Dream weaver:

Existence exists.

The law of identity.

Consciousness is conscious.

The law of causality.

"Primacy of existence."

"Primacy of consciousness."

Facts are not "malleable."

No alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

Consciousness has identity.

Volition.

The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured.

Measurement-omission.

The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

Crow epistemology

Unit-economy

Thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

The law of contradiction.

Human knowledge on every level is relational.

Knowledge follows a necessary order.

Rand's Razor

The arbitrary cannot be cognitively processed.

Mind-body integration.

Life as the standard of value

A "[[principle]]" is a general truth on which other truths depend.

Primacy of Existence

2011-12-09T00:04:17Z

Dream weaver:

'''The Primacy of Existence''' is a corrolary of the basic [[axiom]]s of Objectivism that states: that [[reality]] is what it is, regardless of [[perception]] or desire (wishing does not make it so). The mind grasps the universe, it does not create it. In other words, ''Existence has primacy over consciousness.'' (Contrast to the [[Primacy of Consciousness]].)

The Primacy of Existence is also the main and strongest reason for Objectivism's position of [[atheism]] in regards to religion, especially against Christian claims of a "creator god". The notion that the only thing in existence before the universe was a conscious entity is contradicted and easily disproved by the axiom, since a consciousness could not be aware without an existence to be aware of.

The Primacy of Existence can also be summed up by the expressions: "Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed" or "Wishing won't make it so."

==Further Reading==
*[http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/primacy_of_existence_vs_primacy_of_consciousness.html "Primacy of Existence vs. Primacy of Consciousness" at the Ayn Rand Lexicon]

{{M_Nav}}

[[Category:Axiom]]

Axioms

2011-12-08T23:56:51Z

Dream weaver:

An '''axiom''' is an irreducible truth expressed in the form of a proposition. A truth you cannot prove nor do without. Axioms are self-evident concepts that form the basis for all higher-level knowledge. Ayn Rand identified three axioms that meet these criteria:

* [[Existence]] exists.
* [[A is A]] ([[Aristotle]]'s law of Identity).
* [[Axiom of Consciousness|Consciousness is Conscious]] [of something].
== Axioms and Axiomatic Concepts ==
In her [[Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology]], she describes the nature of axioms, and shows that the most basic units of man's knowledge are not propositions, but Axiomatic Concepts ("Existence", "Identity", "Consciousness"), which she described as follows:

<blockquote>An axiomatic concept is the identification of a primary fact of reality, which cannot be analyzed, i.e., reduced to other facts or broken into component parts. It is implicit in all facts and in all knowledge. It is the fundamentally given and directly perceived or experienced, which requires no proof or explanation, but on which all proofs and explanations rest.</blockquote>

<cite>Ayn Rand, [[Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology]], Meridian, New York City, 1990, p. 55.</cite>

A more lengthy discussion of axioms and their role can be found in [[OPAR]] [[Leonard Peikoff's|Leonard Peikoff]] Objectivism: The Philosophy of [[Ayn Rand]].

Axioms are perceptually [[self-evident]], [[primary]], [[fundamental]], and irrefutable. For example, the axiom of identity states that existence is identity, or that to be, is to be something. This axiom is [[perception|perceptually]] self-evident because identity is affirmed in everything we experience. Every perception is of something -- having certain properties and not others. Identity is primary because it cannot be broken down into any lower concepts or proven using any lower-level facts. One can only prove that it is an axiom, not the axiom itself, because the concept of proof depends on the validity of identity.
It is fundamental because all our higher-level [[knowledge]] rests on the fact that existence is identity. If we weren't sure of the axiom, we couldn't know whether contradictory ideas could be true, or whether facts true today would hold true tomorrow. It is irrefutable because any attempt to reject identity must rely on identity being true. For example, if one argues that “[[facts]] can be both true and false at the same time”, one assumes that the idea of facts being both true and false is itself true and not false.

== Further Reading ==
*[http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/axioms.html Axioms at the Ayn Rand Lexicon]
{{M_Nav}}

[[Category: Metaphysics]]
[[Category:Axiom]]

Primacy of Existence

2011-12-08T23:53:46Z

Dream weaver:

'''The Primacy of Existence''' is an [[axiom]] of Objectivism that states: that [[reality]] is what it is, regardless of [[perception]] or desire (wishing does not make it so). The mind grasps the universe, it does not create it. In other words, ''Existence has primacy over consciousness.'' (Contrast to the [[Primacy of Consciousness]].)

The Primacy of Existence is also the main and strongest reason for Objectivism's position of [[atheism]] in regards to religion, especially against Christian claims of a "creator god". The notion that the only thing in existence before the universe was a conscious entity is contradicted and easily disproved by the axiom, since a consciousness could not be aware without an existence to be aware of.

The Primacy of Existence can also be summed up by the expressions: "Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed" or "Wishing won't make it so."

==Further Reading==
*[http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/primacy_of_existence_vs_primacy_of_consciousness.html "Primacy of Existence vs. Primacy of Consciousness" at the Ayn Rand Lexicon]

{{M_Nav}}

[[Category:Axiom]]

User:Dream weaver

2011-12-08T01:09:37Z

Dream weaver:

Parmenides in ancient Greece formulated the principle: what is, is. Or, in Ayn Rand's words: existence exists.

In particular, the grasp of "entity," in conjunction with the closely following grasp of "identity," makes possible the discovery of the next important principle of metaphysics, the one that is the main subject of the present section: the law of causality.

The law of causality is an abstract principle;

In adult, philosophic terms, we refer to this fact as the "primacy of existence," a principle that is fundamental to the metaphysics of Objectivism.

the "primacy of consciousness." This is the principle that consciousness is the primary metaphysical factor.

The primacy of existence is not an independent principle. It is an elaboration, a further corollary, of the basic axioms.

Proof presupposes the principle that facts are not "malleable."

The Objectivist view of existence culminates in the principle that no alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

Implicit in the foregoing is a principle essential to the validation of the senses and, indeed, to all of epistemology. I mean Ayn Rand's crucial principle that consciousness has identity.

Identity is not the disqualifier of consciousness, but its precondition. This is the base from which epistemology must proceed; it is the principle by reference to which all standards of cognition must be defined.

The principle of volition is a philosophic axiom, with all the features this involves.

The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured;

The principle is: the relevant measurements must exist in some quantity, but may exist in any quantity.

In this sense, in the form of an epistemological standing order, the concept may be said to retain all the characteristics of its referents and to omit all the measurements (these last within an appropriate range).

In her treatise, Miss Rand covers all the main kinds of concepts, including concepts of motion, relationships, and materials. In each case, she explains how the principle of measurement-omission applies.

The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

Man too can deal with only a limited number of units. [Crow]

The principle of unit-economy

These rules can be condensed into one general principle: thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

The law of contradiction is the fundamental principle defining the method of reality-based thought, whatever its forms or complexities.

Human knowledge on every level is relational.

The principle is that knowledge follows a necessary order.

[The principle of] Rand's Razor is addressed to anyone who enters the field of philosophy. It states: name your primaries.

In order to concretize the Objectivist principle that such claims cannot be cognitively processed, I want to elaborate here on a venerable rule of logic: the rule that the onus of proof is on him who asserts the positive, and that one must not attempt to prove a negative.

The principle of mind-body integration

the principle of life as the standard of value

A "[[principle]]" is a general truth on which other truths depend.

User:Dream weaver

2011-12-08T01:07:04Z

Dream weaver:

Parmenides in ancient Greece formulated the principle: what is, is. Or, in Ayn Rand's words: existence exists.

In particular, the grasp of "entity," in conjunction with the closely following grasp of "identity," makes possible the discovery of the next important principle of metaphysics, the one that is the main subject of the present section: the law of causality.

The law of causality is an abstract principle;

In adult, philosophic terms, we refer to this fact as the "primacy of existence," a principle that is fundamental to the metaphysics of Objectivism.

the "primacy of consciousness." This is the principle that consciousness is the primary metaphysical factor.

The primacy of existence is not an independent principle. It is an elaboration, a further corollary, of the basic axioms.

Proof presupposes the principle that facts are not "malleable."

The Objectivist view of existence culminates in the principle that no alternative to a fact of reality is possible or imaginable.

Implicit in the foregoing is a principle essential to the validation of the senses and, indeed, to all of epistemology. I mean Ayn Rand's crucial principle that consciousness has identity.

Identity is not the disqualifier of consciousness, but its precondition. This is the base from which epistemology must proceed; it is the principle by reference to which all standards of cognition must be defined.

The principle of volition is a philosophic axiom, with all the features this involves.

The faculty of reason is the faculty of volition.

The unit must be appropriate to the attribute being measured;

The principle is: the relevant measurements must exist in some quantity, but may exist in any quantity.

In this sense, in the form of an epistemological standing order, the concept may be said to retain all the characteristics of its referents and to omit all the measurements (these last within an appropriate range).

In her treatise, Miss Rand covers all the main kinds of concepts, including concepts of motion, relationships, and materials. In each case, she explains how the principle of measurement-omission applies.

The definitional principle is: wherever possible, an essential characteristic must be a fundamental.

Man too can deal with only a limited number of units. [Crow]

The principle of unit-economy

These rules can be condensed into one general principle: thinking, to be valid, must adhere to reality.

"Existence is Identity; Consciousness is Identification."

The law of contradiction is the fundamental principle defining the method of reality-based thought, whatever its forms or complexities.

Human knowledge on every level is relational.

The principle is that knowledge follows a necessary order.

[The principle of] Rand's Razor is addressed to anyone who enters the field of philosophy. It states: name your primaries.

In order to concretize the Objectivist principle that such claims cannot be cognitively processed, I want to elaborate here on a venerable rule of logic: the rule that the onus of proof is on him who asserts the positive, and that one must not attempt to prove a negative.

The principle of mind-body integration

the principle of life as the standard of value

A "principle" is a general truth on which other truths depend.

User:Dream weaver

2011-12-08T00:45:09Z

Dream weaver: Created page with "Parmenides in ancient Greece formulated the principle: what is, is. Or, in Ayn Rand's words: existence exists."

Parmenides in ancient Greece formulated the principle: what is, is. Or, in Ayn Rand's words: existence exists.

Book Recommendations

2011-08-25T23:42:54Z

Dream weaver:

Book Recommendations

2011-08-25T23:36:58Z

Dream weaver:

== Non-Fiction ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| The Logical Leap || Harriman, David || 5 ||
|-
| Evidence of the Senses || Kelley, David || 4 ||
|-
| Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand || Peikoff, Leonard || 5 ||
|-
| Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Romantic Manifesto ||Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Virtue of Selfishness || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-class="sortbottom"
|}
== History ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| A History of Western Philosophy || Jones, W. T. || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-
| Why I am not a Muslim || Warroq, Ibn || 5 || Dream_Weaver
|-class="sortbottom"
|}
== Fiction ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| Atlas Shrugged || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Fountianhead ||Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-
| The Night of January 16th || Rand, Ayn || 5 ||
|-class="sortbottom"
|}
== Poetry ==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Title !! Author !! Rating !! Contributor
|-
| title || author || rating || contributor
|-class="sortbottom"
|}

Book Recommendations

2011-08-25T23:35:28Z

Dream weaver:

Concept

2011-08-25T22:44:23Z

Dream weaver:

A concept is a mental integration of a set of two or more [[existents]], which share the same characteristics. This has the effect of pulling together many existents under one mental unit rather than dealing with many existents individually. While any one existent is composed of many characteristics, concepts abstract away only some of the specific properties of concrete examples. Man [[concept formation|creates concepts]] by understanding relationships of similarity and difference observed between existents; the [[unit]] is the Objectivist "bridge between metaphysics and epistemology" (ITOE p. 7). The essential fact which needs to be grasped in creating and acquiring concepts is that every existent has an identity (a nature).

Similarities and differences in an existent's nature, which man perceives, form the basis for assigning the existent to a particular concept. Similarities in terms of [[commensurable characteristics]] are the basis for the definition of a concepts, and since concepts stand for two or more concretes, it must be possible to differentiate one concrete from another one which is subsumed under the same concept: see [[measurement omission]].

A [[concept]] is just such a classification: a mental "integration" of at least two existents that share a common attribute or set of attributes (perhaps in different measures or degrees), each of which is for this purpose regarded as a unit of the concept. Once a concept is formed, it is given a specific definition and assigned a word; thereafter, it can be treated almost as a perceptual object, containing (or otherwise linking to) a wealth of implicit knowledge that need not be held explicitly in consciousness.

These concepts are formed by means of "[[measurement omission]]". Concepts are formed by isolating specific attributes of two or more similar concretes(such as tables, to use Rand's example), and omitting the particular measurements involved. The concept of table, therefore, is formed by isolating the attributes(Rand's "Conceptual Common Denominators") that constitute "table-ness"----ie, support(s) and a flat surface upon which items may be placed----and omitting the specific measurements involved; height, weight, color, number of supports, diameter of surface, etc. Once a concept is formed, it is defined by identifying its "essential" characteristic(s); that is, the characteristic or characteristics on which, within the context in which the concept is being formed, the most other characteristics depend.

The reference to "context" here is crucial. Since every concept is formed in a specific context, every definition is therefore contextual. If concepts are properly formed, then even though additional knowledge may require changes to one's definitions, one's later definitions will not contradict one's earlier ones.

What is the role of reason in this process? Reason consists in forming concepts through the use of logic, what Objectivism defines as "the art of noncontradictory identification".

Objectivism denies that the proposition is the fundamental unit of knowledge, arguing instead that concepts themselves constitute the building blocks of knowledge. So, in their way, do percepts, which consist of the knowledge that something exists. Concepts, however, consist of knowledge of what exists.

== Concepts of (perceptual) entities ''(nouns, pronouns)'' ==
Concepts of perceptual entities are the first type of concepts we learn.

== Concepts of attributes or characteristics ''(adjectives)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of attributes or characteristics (of entities) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of motion ''(verbs)'' ==
Before we can develop concepts of motion (of an entity) we must first have ''concepts of entities'' with which to work.

== Concepts of characteristics of motion ''(adverbs)'' ==
The concepts of characteristics of motion permit more distinguish between two or more instances of similar motions.

== Concepts of materials ==
Concepts of materials are formed by observing differences in the constituent materials of entities.

== Concepts of colors ==
Concepts of colors would be a subdivision within ''concepts of attributes or characteristics''.

== Concepts of relationships ''(prepositions)'' ==
Concepts of relationships describe spatial or temporal relationships among existents.

== Concepts of consciousness ==
Concepts of consciousness deal with the various actions of consciousness abstracting the action from the content which the action pertains to.

== Concepts of relationships amoung thoughts ''(conjunctions)'' ==
These concepts are a subdivision within ''concepts of consciousness''.

== Concepts pertaining to the ''products'' of psychological processes ==

== Concepts of method ==
Concepts of method are formed by retaining the distinguishing characteristics of the purposive course of action and of its goal, while omitting the particular measurements of both.

The fundamental ''concept of method'', upon which all other ''concepts of method'' depend, is ''[[logic]]''.

== Concepts of measurement ==
A concept of measurement is a subdivision within ''concepts of method''.

== See also ==
*[[Concept-Formation]]
*[[Epistemology]]

{{E_Nav}}

[[Category:Epistemology]]

Concept-Formation

2011-08-24T22:56:28Z

Dream weaver: Redirected page to Concept formation

#REDIRECT [[Concept formation]]