Dec. 2, 2007 Meeting: "The Metaphysical versus the Man-made"

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What:"The Metaphysical Versus the Man-Made" in Philosophy: Who Needs It


Please print out these questions:

1) What is the basic metaphysical issue that lies at the root of any system of philosophy? Describe each of the two alternatives involved in this basic metaphysical issue. Give an example of each. Which viewpoint does Ayn Rand champion?


2) What is the source of the reversal involved in the primacy of consciousness viewpoint? Does the ability to grasp the distinction necessary for the primacy of existence viewpoint come to man automatically?


3) Can the universe, as a whole, come into or go out of existence according to Ayn Rand? If, according to Ayn Rand’s philosophy, the universe as a whole always existed and always will exist, then doesn’t this contradict the findings of scientists, especially given the “big bang” theory of the universe?


4) What does it mean to Ayn Rand to say that man is capable of “creation”? What is the “best and briefest identification of man’s power in regard to nature”? Who originally formulated this idea?


5) What law governs all the countless forms, motions, combinations, and dissolutions of elements within the universe –from a floating speck of dust to the formation of a galaxy to the emergence of life? What does Ayn Rand describe as “the metaphysically given”. Is the law of identity what philosopher John Locke meant when he spoke of “the law of nature” (See John Locke, Second Treatise of Government, Chapter II, Of the State of Nature, Section 6.)?

6) How does man “discover and accept the metaphysically given”?


7) What is Ayn Rand’s position with regard to the human mind and the Law of Identity, that is to say, does she regard the human mind as subject to the Law of Identity? Does Ayn Rand’s view regarding the human mind and the law of identity mean that she believed that the human mind does not possess the faculty of volition?


8) Although man’s “…faculty of volition as such is not a contradiction of nature…” how does it open “…the way for a host of contradictions…”? What must be accepted because it cannot be changed? What must never be “…accepted uncritically…”?


9) Given Ayn Rand’s views on the metaphysical and the man-made, did she believe that “40 million Frenchmen can’t be wrong”? Why or why not? Does this mean that one should always disagree with the majority?


10) Did Ayn Rand think that the “metaphysically given” could be true or false? Given the answer to the first part of this question, what did Ayn Rand define “truth” as?


11) What example does Ayn Rand give in the essay to show the difference between the metaphysically given and the man-made? How about this example: a person takes an action that causes an unintended series of causal events to take place that eventually leads to the death of a person he doesn’t know and isn’t aware of in some far-off distant place ; is this the metaphysically given or the man-made, some combination of the two, or something completely different? (Similar to the butterfly flaps its wings in North America, which is a contributing cause to a typhoon in China, but substitute the butterfly with a person clapping his hands.)


12) What do concepts like “chance” and “contingency” refer to for Ayn Rand? According to Ayn Rand’s definition of “chance” what does it mean to say that the results of rolling dice are subject to “chance”? Is it possible for a person to predict with certainty what the die roll result would be according to Ayn Rand’s philosophy?


13) What did Ayn Rand mean by a “package deal”? What is an example of package deal?


14) Distinguish a “man-made” fact from a “metaphysically given fact”.


15) In what two respects does the faculty of volition give man a special status? What does Ayn Rand mean when she says “Nothing can force a man to think.” (pg. 31)? How does one “change” other men given what has been said so far?

16) What does Ayn Rand view as the psychological or emotional consequence of someone who does not have any “…knowledge of the nature or the functioning of a human consciousness…” (pg. 29, 2nd full para down).


17) Given her views on “the metaphysical versus the man made”, did Ayn Rand believe in the idea of “innate endowment”, i.e., the belief that some people have an inner talent or skill that they are born with?


18) What is “rewriting reality”? What are some of the examples Ayn Rand gives of “rewriting reality”? Give your own example of rewriting reality.


19) At the beginning of “The Metaphysical versus The Man-Made”, Ayn Rand quotes from theologian Reinhold Niebuhr: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.”

Placing this quote in a rational context, what does Ayn Rand regard as “accepting the things I cannot change”? What does Ayn Rand say the part “to change the things I can” means? What does Ayn Rand regard as “knowing the difference”? With regard to man, what does “to accept” mean and what does “to change” mean?