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Deontologists believe that something is "good" because of it's "end value"; basically the end justifies the means. That is certainly not what I believe. For example, building a militia consisting of willing able men to fight the English for independence is moral, even though the...

Petyr - I really fail to see why you disagree with me. Especially if you're in the army.

Fighting for an idea where you could be killed is considered moral. That is my point.

Let me preface my reply by saying that my application has been turned down due to differences in our ideas. This thread has been interesting. I've come to better understand why I felt uncomfortable about Roark blowing up his building. I still stand by my opinion that a great idea is worth more than ...

So we run into a great question about real property vs. intellectual property. Good observation. We can surmise that Rand believes creative intellectual property is worth more than the physical aspect of that property. Petyr stated that (any?) life is worth more than an inanimate object. Let me als...

Btw, do you realize the importance of blowing up the building in relation to Dominique?

No, enlighten me. It has been many years since my reading.

I must disagree with your evaluation here. Why do you think the trial could work?

If the trial doesn't work out, he blows up his building. Actually, that's an excellent ending in my opinion.

Roark's error was definitely not evasion - he's logical. His assumption that legal recourse would fail was faulty. So error of knowledge is perhaps closer, but lack of knowledge is probably more accurate. But that doesn't make Roark immoral. Petyr - you must admit that if Roark took his case to cour...

Roark said so himself that he thought he had a chance after blowing up the building and that he didn't have a chance if he choose a legal path instead of a bomb.

Roark was wrong to have thought that. If he had a similar jury to the one that set him free, I would say he had a good chance of winning.

No, Roark didn't know, but Rand did. She knew there was still hope in that jury. Why didn't she make Roark try harder? That's a rhetorical question - I wanted Roark to try harder. The Fountainhead is Rand's story. But it doesn't stop me from not wanting Roark to blowup his building - his reasoning w...

If all was truly lost in Roark's world the jury would have convicted him instead. They didn't - they set him free.

It would have been satisfying to see Roark fight to outmaneuver, and defeat his enemies then win back his building... somehow. Not as thought provoking though.

Seems like we're veering off towards metaphysics. Let me get back on track. What was done against Roark was wrong, but him blowing up the building was disturbing - it felt wrong. Part of that wrongness is due to his reason to rather destroy it than see it in the possession of looters - this reason i...

As for oblique references, I would have thought that if you read Atlas that Rand doesn't really do oblique. I only thought that for a while, and the reason I brought it up was because of my over analysis of Roark's actions. I read Atlas Shrugged after Fountainhead, and a collection of Rand's though...

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance was a best seller, though I should point out that Atlas Shrugged is much more popular (at least according to amazon.com best seller ratings) - so please no snarky comments about best sellers and socialism. Anyway, I found his second book Lila much more inter...

I wonder if by reading Rand, you felt that the extremism of her characters was indicative of how one should live. No, certainly not - at least not literally. I thought blowing up a building as Roark did in Fountainhead was wrong. I think I understand what Rand was trying to symbolize by his action,...

Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance was Pirsig's first book, which gave him recognition. In the preamble he notes that it isn't very informative of zen or of motorcycle maintenance either. It does however cover an interesting and thoughtful journey, full of problems and issues, and a marvellou...

Hello everyone. Here's what I'd submitted, which made it past preliminary screening. I've also recently submitted the longer questionnaire - it's been a while since I've experienced this kind of anticipation. 1) What are your unique characteristics that set you apart from most people? (your views, a...