Centenary of Ayn Rand's Birth (2/2/1905) - Highly Influential Thinker and Author of "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged"

Ayn Rands philosophy of reason and freedom has inspired thousands, and a Library of Congress survey found "Atlas Shrugged" to be the second most influential book on peoples lives. "Atlas Shrugged" was recently voted into the top 100 favourite books in the ABC survey. Prominent Australians influenced by Ayn Rand include Greg Lindsay, founder of The Centre for Independent Studies and John Dawson, author of "Washout." And in America Fed Reserve chief Alan Greenspan was an avid reader of Ayn Rand.

(PRWEB) February 1, 2005 -- Ayn Rand was born 100 years ago, but her philosophy of reason and freedom continues to inspire thousands. A Library of Congress survey found her novel Atlas Shrugged to be the second most influential book on peoples lives. In the recent ABC survey of Australias favourite books, Atlas Shrugged was voted into the top 100. Her novels and non-fiction works continue to sell at the rate of 500,000 per year.

Ayn Rand was born in Russia on 2nd February 1905. At the age of 8, she wrote her first story, and at 9 she decided to become a writer, inspired by a heroic childrens story. At school and university, she discovered two figures who she would always admire: Victor Hugo, and Aristotle. After attending university, she left the Soviet Union in 1926 for America, and embarked on a career of screenwriter, playwright, novelist and philosopher. Her best known novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged were published in 1943 and 1957.

During the sixties and seventies, Ayn Rand published and edited the periodicals The Objectivist Newsletter, The Objectivist, and The Ayn Rand Letter. Many of these articles were later published in her non-fiction works: The Virtue of Selfishness, her theory of rational self interest; Capitalism, The Moral Ideal; and The Romantic Manifesto, covering her aesthetics. She once described her system of thought, Objectivism, in these words My philosophy is in essence the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."

The film of Ayn Rands novel, The Fountainhead, has screened several times on Australian television, and last Sunday week Fox Classics treated its viewers to Love Letters, for which she wrote the screenplay. Bill Collins, who introduced Love Letters, called Ayn Rand one of the greatest women of the twentieth century, and the most brilliant thinker. Her ideas have influenced and inspired other prominent Australians, including John Dawson, author of Washout, and Greg Lindsay, the founder and executive director of the Centre for Independent Studies, a free market think tank whose papers are studied by politicians and academics. And in America, the Federal Reserve chief, Alan Greenspan, was an avid reader of Ayn Rand.

As a philosopher, Ayn Rand solved many of the problems that have plagued centuries of philosophers, including the 'problem of universals concerning the nature of concepts (refer to her Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology), and the 'is-ought problem, or how to objectively validate a code of ethics (see The Virtue of Selfishness). Long ignored by academia, her work is now gradually being recognised, with fellowships for the study of Objectivism established in American universities.

Those who would like to learn more about this remarkable thinker and inspiring novelist can visit www.aynrand.org, and read her non-fiction works and Dr Leonard Peikoffs, Objectivism, the Philosophy of Ayn Rand. They can also find delight in the heroic characters and intriguing plots of her novels The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged.

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