Leonard Peikoff · 512 pages
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“An individual can be hurt in countless ways by other men's irrationality, dishonesty, injustice. Above all, he can be disappointed, perhaps grievously, by the vices of a person he had once trusted or loved. But as long as his property is not expropriated and he remains unmolested physically, the damage he sustains is essentially spiritual, not physical; in such a case, the victim alone has the power and the responsibility of healing his wounds. He remains free: free to think, to learn from his experiences, to look elsewhere for human relationships; he remains free to start afresh and to pursue his happiness.”
― Leonard Peikoff, quote from Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
“Every argument for God and every attribute ascribed to Him rests on a false metaphysical premise. None can survive for a moment on a correct metaphysics....
Existence exists, and only existence exists. Existence is a primary: it is uncreated, indestructible, eternal. So if you are to postulate something beyond existence—some supernatural realm—you must do it by openly denying reason, dispensing with definitions, proofs, arguments, and saying flatly, “To Hell with argument, I have faith.” That, of course, is a willful rejection of reason.
Objectivism advocates reason as man’s sole means of knowledge, and therefore, for the reasons I have already given, it is atheist. It denies any supernatural dimension presented as a contradiction of nature, of existence. This applies not only to God, but also to every variant of the supernatural ever advocated or to be advocated. In other words, we accept reality, and that’s all.”
― Leonard Peikoff, quote from Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
“[There is] a widespread approach to ideas which Objectivism repudiates altogether: agnosticism. I mean this term in a sense which applies to the question of God, but to many other issues also, such as extra-sensory perception or the claim that the stars influence man’s destiny. In regard to all such claims, the agnostic is the type who says, “I can’t prove these claims are true, but you can’t prove they are false, so the only proper conclusion is: I don’t know; no one knows; no one can know one way or the other.”
The agnostic viewpoint poses as fair, impartial, and balanced. See how many fallacies you can find in it. Here are a few obvious ones: First, the agnostic allows the arbitrary into the realm of human cognition. He treats arbitrary claims as ideas proper to consider, discuss, evaluate—and then he regretfully says, “I don’t know,” instead of dismissing the arbitrary out of hand. Second, the onus-of-proof issue: the agnostic demands proof of a negative in a context where there is no evidence for the positive. “It’s up to you,” he says, “to prove that the fourth moon of Jupiter did not cause your sex life and that it was not a result of your previous incarnation as the Pharaoh of Egypt.” Third, the agnostic says, “Maybe these things will one day be proved.” In other words, he asserts possibilities or hypotheses with no jot of evidential basis.
The agnostic miscalculates. He thinks he is avoiding any position that will antagonize anybody. In fact, he is taking a position which is much more irrational than that of a man who takes a definite but mistaken stand on a given issue, because the agnostic treats arbitrary claims as meriting cognitive consideration and epistemological respect. He treats the arbitrary as on a par with the rational and evidentially supported. So he is the ultimate epistemological egalitarian: he equates the groundless and the proved. As such, he is an epistemological destroyer. The agnostic thinks that he is not taking any stand at all and therefore that he is safe, secure, invulnerable to attack. The fact is that his view is one of the falsest—and most cowardly—stands there can be.”
― Leonard Peikoff, quote from Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
“The man who waits for reality to write the truth inside his soul waits in vain.”
― Leonard Peikoff, quote from Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
“The artist is the closest man comes to being God.”
― Leonard Peikoff, quote from Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Leonard Peikoff
Born place: in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Born date October 15, 2018
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“The first Christians were eucharistic by nature: they gathered for “the breaking of the bread and the prayers.” They were formed by the Word of God, the “apostles’ teaching.” When they met as a Church, their worship culminated in “fellowship”—the Greek word is koinonia, communion. The Mass was the center of life for the disciples of Jesus, and so it has ever been. Even today, the Mass is where we experience the apostolic teaching and communion, the breaking of the bread and the prayers.”
― Scott Hahn, quote from Signs of Life: 40 Catholic Customs and Their Biblical Roots
“Don't confuse what you do with who you are...”
― Jonathan Auxier, quote from The Night Gardener
“Just across the bridge is the gigantic marketplace, the insatiable consumer machine that drives the violence here. North Americans smoke the dope, snort the coke, shoot the heroin, do the meth, and then have the nerve to point south (down, of course, on the map), and wag their fingers at the “Mexican drug problem” and Mexican corruption.”
― Don Winslow, quote from The Cartel
“You may have read or heard about the so-called positive thinkers of the West. They say
just the opposite -- they don't know what they are saying. They say, "When you breathe
out, throw out all your misery and negativity; and when you breathe in, breathe in joy,
positivity, happiness, cheerfulness."
Atisha's method is just the opposite: when you breathe in, breathe in all the misery and
suffering of all the beings of the world -- past, present and future. And when you breathe
out, breathe out all the joy that you have, all the blissfulness that you have, all the
benediction that you have. Breathe out, pour yourself into existence. This is the method
of compassion: drink in all the suffering and pour out all the blessings.
And you will be surprised if you do it. The moment you take all the sufferings of the
world inside you, they are no longer sufferings. The heart immediately transforms the
energy. The heart is a transforming force: drink in misery, and it is transformed into
blissfulness... then pour it out.
Once you have learned that your heart can do this magic, this miracle, you would like to
do it again and again. Try it. It is one of the most practical methods -- simple, and it
brings immediate results. Do it today, and see.
That is one of the approaches of Buddha and all his disciples. Atisha is one of his
disciples, in the same tradition, in the same line. Buddha says again and again to his
disciples, "IHI PASSIKO: come and see!" They are very scientific people. Buddhism is
the most scientific religion on the earth; hence, Buddhism is gaining more and more
ground in the world every day. As the world becomes more intelligent, Buddha will
become more and more important. It is bound to be so. As more and more people come to
know about science, Buddha will have great appeal, because he will convince the
scientific mind -- because he says, "Whatsoever I am saying can be practiced." And I
don't say to you, "Believe it," I say, "Experiment with it, experience it, and only then if
you feel it yourself, trust it. Otherwise there is no need to believe.”
― Osho, quote from The Book of Wisdom
“DUMBLEDORE: You ask me, of all people, how to protect a boy in terrible danger? We cannot protect the young from harm. Pain must and will come.
HARRY: So I’m supposed to stand and watch?
DUMBLEDORE: No. You’re supposed to teach him how to meet life.”
― John Tiffany, quote from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts I & II
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