Atlas Shrugged as a Philosophical Novel David Kelley and William Thomas Summer Seminar 2006

Reason versus anti-reason William Thomas Atlas Shrugged As A Philosophical Novel Lecture III

Outline I. The Principle: Reason is the source of productive achievement Contradiction and non-contradiction II. Plot implementation: the mystery story format of apparent contradictions III. Characterization: John Galt versus JamesTaggart, Hugh Akston vs. the irrational intellectuals IV. Clearest Statement of the theme: Galt’s speech V. Buried riches: rational emotions

Reason "Man cannot survive except by gaining knowledge, and reason is his only means to gain it. Reason is the faculty that perceives, identifies and integrates the material provided by his senses. The task of his senses is to give him the evidence of existence, but the task of identifying it belongs to his reason, his senses tell him only that something is, but what it is must be learned by his mind.” — “This is John Galt Speaking,” Atlas Shrugged, p. 933

Production and Reason Production is the means by which human beings maintain their survival:  By creating food, shelter, medicine, etc.  By creating knowledge and technologies that raise the standard of living  By creating art works, counseling techniques, philosophies, and other vital spiritual goods Production is only possible through the use of reason:  To identify valuable things in the world  To connect cause and effect  To envision an alternative to what is given in perception.

Anti-Reason  “Mystics of spirit” Hold that the highest truths cannot be known by reason. Logic is mundane: we must rely on faith and intuition to guide us. (In fact, they act on their emotions.)  “Mystics of muscle” Hold that logic and reason are incoherent: we must rely on feeling and instinct to guide us (In fact, they act on their emotions) “For centuries, the mystics of spirit have proclaimed that faith is superior to reason, but have not dared deny the existence of reason. Their heirs and products, the mystics of muscle, have completed their job and achieved their dream: they proclaim that everything is faith, and call it a revolt against believing.” — “This is John Galt Speaking,” Atlas Shrugged, p. 958

Contradiction and Non-Contradiction “ Logic is the art of non-contradictory identification. A contradiction cannot exist... To arrive at a contradiction is to confess an error in one’s thinking. ” — Atlas Shrugged, p. 933 Canons of Logic: Identity A is A Non-Contradiction A is not non-A Excluded Middle Either A or non-A

A is A "Are you seeking to know what is wrong with the world? All the disasters that have wrecked your world, came from your leaders' attempt to evade the fact that A is A. All the secret evil you dread to face within you and all the pain you have ever endured, came from your own attempt to evade the fact that A is A. The purpose of those who taught you to evade it, was to make you forget that Man is Man. — “This is John Galt Speaking,” Atlas Shrugged, p. 933

Some Contradictions in Atlas Shrugged  Part 1: Dagny Taggart is thought passion-less and unfeminine Great producers are disappearing Francisco D’Anconia: Industrialist or fribble? San Sebastian mines: Known to be rich, but worthless. Hank Rearden: Loves his mills, not his wife. The leading intellectuals produce dreck. The John Galt Line achieves nothing. A revolutionary motor lies in an abandoned factory.  Part 2: Dagny searches for an inventor and a destroyer. A notorious pirate is courteous and principled. Increased government controls yield economic chaos.  Part 3: Dagny agrees with the Strike intellectually, but cannot give up Taggart Transcontinental emotionally. An ivory-tower intellectual tries to seize power by force of arms. The government wants to force Galt to rule.

Reason and Anti-Reason: Characterization  John Galt  Dagny Taggart vs. James Taggart  Hugh Akston vs. Robert Stadler  Simon Pritchett, etc.  Cuffy Meigs, etc.

Reason in Galt’s Speech  "'We know that we know nothing,' they chatter, blanking out the fact that they are claiming knowledge—'There are not absolutes,' they chatter, blanking out the fact that they are uttering an absolute—'You cannot prove that you exist or that you're conscious,' they chatter, blanking out the fact that proof presupposes existence, consciousness and a complex chain of knowledge: the existence of something to know, of a consciousness able to know it, and of a knowledge that has learned to distinguish between such concepts as the proved and the unproved.”

Outline I. The Principle: Reason is the source of productive achievement Contradiction and non-contradiction II. Plot implementation: the mystery story format of apparent contradictions III. Characterization: John Galt versus JamesTaggart, Hugh Akston vs. the irrational intellectuals IV. Clearest Statement of the theme: Galt’s speech V. Buried riches: rational emotions