CRITICAL ESSAYS ON AYN RAND'S WE THE LIVING (2024), 2024
This essay, on Ayn Rand's "We the Living," titled "How Communism Destroys People's Lives," develo... more This essay, on Ayn Rand's "We the Living," titled "How Communism Destroys People's Lives," developed from a distance learning course, on the book, given by Andrew Bernstein in February of 2023.
My essay is particularly relevant, I believe, to the current war between the Ukrainians and a resurgent Russian empire. Because it shows, in the universe of "We the Living," not only how starvation was used as a weapon against Ukrainian peasants--- in order to build up Soviet Industry on their bones---but also how they get revenge. Since, in the book, Ukrainian peasants burn communists alive because their crops are stolen by a Soviet state that is autocratic like Putin's Russia. Another parallel between "We the Living's" Red State and Vladimir Putin's Russian Federation is that both attacked Ukraine, in some sense, for their natural resources. Thus, my essay identifies why the Ukrainians are fighting so hard to preserve their independence.
ABSTRACT
This essay show readers how the Soviet government, in Ayn Rand's "We the Living," destroys people’s lives by: nationalizing their businesses and bank accounts and breaking into and emptying their safe deposit boxes; stealing the food of Ukrainian peasants and farmers while starving them to death on purpose; imposing unwelcome roommates on residents of Saint Petersburg and proscribing how much space they can live in; causing the city's population to die from diseases, like Typhus, Scurvy, and Glanders, because Communists cannot keep the city and countryside clean; restricting an individual's freedom of movement, especially when traveling from the city to the countryside (or vice versa) in order to limit the exodus of Ukrainian peasants fleeing to the cities; proscribing what thoughts people should have through propaganda films, posters, and slogans; undermining a parent's right to raise their children by creating various youth groups, like the Pioneers, for example, or the Komsomol, for instance, which teaches youths about the correct thoughts of the party; bombarding children with the ABC's of world Communism in every school so they become good State citizens; forcing people to become criminals (i.e. speculators) in order to survive; deliberately inflating people's rubles so they are forced to sell-off, or trade, their cherished possessions so they can live; producing shoddy manufactured Soviet goods that do not really fulfill the function they were designed for; making Russian citizens waste their lives by waiting in endless lines for everything; purging disillusioned people from their studies, the army, or the Communist party, thereby ending their careers, possibly their lives; interning people in work camps, like the gulag archipelago, so that the State can build Soviet Industry on people's corpses; firing people for not volunteering for social activities -- for not paying taxes for social programs -- for not memorizing obscure Communist economic statistics, like the production of Soviet oil wells near Baku; firing objective journalists who do not support the State, thus eliminating the free press as a freethinking entity; destroying symbols of a belief system opposed to its own (Christianity; paganism; aristocracy) because they uphold, in some way, the worth of the individual; arresting, torturing, and executing neighborhood priests, nuns, monks, and bishops, so that a person is not free to believe what they want to believe; creating a climate of paranoia amongst the populous by causing everyone to report on everyone else for some form of alleged reward; denying people the right to face a meaningful justice system based on objective rules and procedures; and more.
Organizes all of the information in Ayn Rand's "We the Living." Such as the Major and Minor Chara... more Organizes all of the information in Ayn Rand's "We the Living." Such as the Major and Minor Characters; AR's Treatment of Nature; the Consequences of Communism over the Lives of the book's Characters; Music in the Book (i.e. Song of Broken Glass; John Gray; The Internationale, etc.); Soldiers, Sailors, Trams, Trains, & Cabs in the novel; as well as outside research, from books and documentaries, like "The Black Book of Communism," for example, or the Soviet Story, for instance.
Explanation of How You May Benefit From This Brief Reference Guide
Appeal to Dr. Peikoff to Let ... more Explanation of How You May Benefit From This Brief Reference Guide
Appeal to Dr. Peikoff to Let Me Publish The Full Version
Though, originally, I wrote a complete Fountainhead Reference Guide that delivered on my introduction’s promises, sadly, I cannot share it with you, right now, because I cannot secure copyright permission, presently. However, I can share with you a condensed version of my study primer, which elucidates The Fountainhead by doing seven things. First, it clarifies the novel by summarizing, in one sentence, the essence of the book’s 154 characters. Second, it explains their beings in 91 analytical sections. Third, it visualizes the book’s buildings by defining 39 architectural words. Fourth, it explains how I learned about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, what I have done to support it, and why I should be trusted. Fifth, it tables Ayn Rand’s fiction-and-non-fiction in a chart, so you understand her intellectual output. Sixth, it illustrates, in a spreadsheet, how objectivist intellectuals have applied Ayn Rand’s philosophy to different fields of thought, so you understand how her viewpoints apply to modernity. Seventh, it enumerates works I have read, highlighted, and studied to understand The Fountainhead, so you comprehend the scholarship I will use to compose my forthcoming Fountainhead Analyzed Essay Book. Though, this information clarifies The Fountainhead, supports Objectivism, and explains my next book clearly, unfortunately, I cannot cast full-light on The Fountainhead currently, since Dr. Peikoff (the copyright owner) “does not review unsolicited manuscripts.” Nor does he “engage in philosophical work anymore, [since] he is now fully retired.” Ergo, I cannot send him my book, since he will neither look at nor evaluate it. Clearly, Dr. Peikoff has a right to not view unsolicited manuscripts; for he is a busy man who lacks time to ponder his daily philosophic mail. I understand that. He also has the right to disengage from philosophy altogether, since, at age 85, he has already defended Objectivism ably, by explaining AR’s philosophy for over 65 years. His sustained efforts, as a result, to support Objectivism, by writing books, delivering talks, and teaching classes, has won Dr. Peikoff the right to enjoy his life’s twilight, doing whatever he likes. For, great men, like him, who have fought and won the good fight, by being brave, intelligent, and moral, deserve to enjoy their sunset years. Even though Dr. Peikoff is right to focus on his own goals – not what I want of him – I think my Reference Guide aligns with his secondary goals by logically codifying a book he loves. As such, maybe Dr. Peikoff can either allow me to publish my full Reference Guide as is, or ask someone to edit it first so it may be published later. In truth, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to provide feedback, despite his possibly negative comments, because I’d like him to tell me, in his own words, what he thinks about my book, even if he thinks it is hopelessly flawed, beyond repair. If, in other words, Dr. Peikoff engaged with this Fountainhead project in some way, I am confident that we would all benefit. Thus, I’d like him to make himself reachable, so he can help all of us – including himself maybe – understand The Fountainhead better. All he has to do is contact me. Incidentally, since Dr. Peikoff spent decades of his life studying, analyzing, writing and speaking about The Fountainhead, I think he will like a Reference Guide that illuminates the book clearly. Especially if he wants to create a broader cultural climate that is friendlier to Ayn Rand. In my view, the more people learn of and read my full Fountainhead Reference Guide the more likely they will be to at least engage with Ayn Rand --- maybe, even like her. For my goal in writing this Fountainhead Reference Guide is to generate a certain degree of respect for AR in certain circles – where she has not been liked until now. To explain, many people condemn Ayn Rand and The Fountainhead because they do not understand her or her book. Rather, they just repeat what they have heard others say. But if they read my full Fountainhead Reference Guide, perhaps this would change. Maybe, my book would help students clear up their own confusions about AR and her book, thereby coming to appreciate and value the novel from an accurate perspective. Especially, since my study guide analyzes the Fountainhead in a neutral manner, by organizing the novel's facts in an easily understandable format that dispels popular myths about the book. Also, some people may give my Fountainhead Reference Guide a fair hearing once they learn that its’ author -- me -- is a neutral party with no axe to grind. For I am not affiliated with – nor loyal to – any organization, institution, or thought movement, whatsoever, including Objectivism. This sort of intellectual independence renders me a neutral truth-seeker – who is less likely to antagonize certain people who hate Objectivist polemics. Said differently, my mental neutrality renders me a dispassionate truth seeker who is worth being heard, since I do not make arbitrary attacks against people for supporting contrary positions. Rather, I logically clarify my ideas in a non-threatening manner, so people generously receive my thoughts. Thus, to clear-up widespread misapprehensions about The Fountainhead, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to allow me to self-publish (or formally publish) my entire Reference Guide, since I think it induces clarity in pupils’ minds by enabling scholars to go over-and-over the novel’s facts again-and-again. So that when they write their term-papers they can look-up facts they know exist, without pouring over the book, like I did, for 18 months. Further, if someone wrote a Reference Guide that conveyed my basic values, I would not care who wrote it, why they wrote it, nor what people said about this person. Just the reverse. I would judge the book by its inherent worth only. Regardless of what others thought. To elaborate, if Dr. Peikoff uses his own objective judgment (which he does) to judge for himself what to do (which he does) instead of yielding to the subjective opinions of others (which he does not) I am confident that he will either grant me instant permission to publish. To help clarify Ayn Rand’s moral code. Or require me to refine my book, so he can allow later publication. Or deny me permission outright, with solid reasoning why. Ergo, to help him decide, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to take a brief moment, from his retirement, to read some of my materials, so he can decide what to do. Then, he can return to loving his wife, loving his family, traveling the world, or whatever else he likes. He has earned that. I know this request is a lot to ask of Dr. Peikoff at this stage in his life. Maybe I am wrong, but I think Dr. Peikoff could just assign someone to help me get my Reference Guide into proper shape, if he wants. After all he has an army of Objectivists who he can delegate the practical work to. All he has to do is to devise a solid strategy for working with me on this book. So that, together, we can bolster the movement, jointly. Alternatively, if Dr. Peikoff does not want to support my book because he does not know what will come of it yet, he can let me publish it discretely, by telling Penguin to authorize publication, without using his name. That way he can authorize a Reference Guide – that mostly aligns with Objectivist virtues and values – without explicitly sanctioning it. That said, casting daylight on my Reference Guide does not mean Dr. Peikoff approves of, condones, or vouches for my book completely. What it does mean is that he values my study guide – on some level – insofar as it enables pupils to concertize their understanding of The Fountainhead, succinctly, so they support their Objectivist views ably – with facts, evidence, and logical inference. In my view, Dr. Peikoff should allow me to support Objectivism by letting me publish my full-book, so his acolytes, “who do still engage in philosophic work” understand the Fountainhead better. In sum, since my Fountainhead Reference Guide will enable objectivism to shine more directly, sparkle more brightly, and illuminate everything more clearly, it should be published. So that it breathes new life into Objectivism, by casting factual sunlight on The Fountainhead. Until it is fully published, though—which may never happen—this condensed Fountainhead Reference Guide is all I can offer. Sorry.
About the Book
This Reference Guide takes the form of a Fountainhead Encyclopedia with several... more About the Book
This Reference Guide takes the form of a Fountainhead Encyclopedia with several independent sections: a complete character dictionary; a dictionary of relationships between characters; a lexicon of the book’s buildings and media outlets; a catalogue of the novel’s various groups and associations; a timeline of the book’s events; a classification of Ayn Rand’s symbols; and a directory of the Fountainhead’s locations. Besides organizing most of the Fountainhead’s facts logically, this Reference Guide also provides a table of Ayn Rand’s fiction & nonfiction, a spreadsheet of works by Objectivist Intellectuals, and a glossary of architectural terms. It also analyzes some of the book’s themes with reference to plot-specifics. So that Fountainhead scholars can cite neutral book facts to support their intellectual – hopefully objectivist – positions.
About the Author
Emre Gurgen wrote this Fountainhead Reference Guide after taking a seminar on the Philosophy of Objectivism in 2009 with The Ayn Rand Institute’s Chief Philosophy Officer Dr. Onkar Ghate. This distance learning course prompted Mr. Gurgen to independently study Ayn Rand’s philosophy for ten years. During this time he learned about Objectivism by not only reading and re-reading all of AR's fiction and nonfiction but he also studied 81 books, lectures, and essays written by proven Objectivist Intellectuals. After studying Objectivism for a decade, Mr. Gurgen wrote this Fountainhead Reference Guide to learn how Ayn Rand’s philosophy is dramatized by The Fountainhead’s plot-theme. Accordingly, Mr. Gurgen spent 17 months – i.e. thousands of hours – first color coding The Fountainhead. Then writing this Reference Guide. So that he can eventually write an accurate Fountainhead Analyzed essay book, the lead essay of which will be titled Howard Roark the Life Giver. Hopefully, after Mr. Gurgen earns the trust of his fellow objectivists he will merit The Ayn Rand Institute’s sanction together with the approval of Objectivist Intellectual(s) – especially Dr. Andrew Bernstein – both for this Reference Guide and for his forthcoming Essay Book, too.
Abstract: Essentially, this essay on the Renaissance shows readers, in 14 ways, how Cervantes by... more Abstract: Essentially, this essay on the Renaissance shows readers, in 14 ways, how Cervantes bypasses the ideas-and-practices of medievalism in the “Quijote,” replacing Middle Age thinking with modern civilized thought. First, I hypothesize that Cervantes moves readers away from the medieval practice of state-sponsored Church censorship, where men’s minds were stilled and their tongues were silenced, by restrictive authorities who imposed their own view of social morality—often at the point of a sword—to show readers how Cervantes transitioned Medieval society to Modern civilization by supporting principles of a free society (i.e. freedom of thought-and-speech). In line with this viewpoint, I reason that Cervantes show readers that privatized art-markets, through the invention of the printing-press, enabled artists to reach, and enlighten, the general public, directly. Second, I argue that Cervantes revives the ideas advanced by ancient Greek philosophers, like Aristotle, or Great Church thinkers, like Thomas Aquinas, to generate a sense-of-life governed by rational classic concepts. Third, I prove that Cervantes led to modernity by showing his readers the value of universal education, which he illustrates by populating the “Quijote” with learned figures from all social ranks. Fourth, I argue that Cervantes marks the smooth transition from medieval-to-modern thought by not only supporting Renaissance axioms of literary esthetics—i.e. a sense of proportion, symmetry, beauty, and perfection in writing—but also by satirizing medieval fiction, where ridiculous knight errants, perform unbelievable actions, in absurd tales of preposterous chivalry. Fifth, I infer that Cervantes supports modern-day realistic fiction over olden-day medieval literature by not only showing life-like people taking believable actions, with logical consequences, in believable spaces, but, most importantly, by having the Cannon of Toledo pontificate on the qualities of literary realism. Sixth, I reason that Cervantes shows his readers the scientific spirit of the new times that were coming by having many of his characters make concrete astronomical observations. Seventh, I prove that Cervantes instills in his readers the modern day spirit of individualism—i.e. primary focus on oneself and secondary focus on like-minded others—by having Don Quixote take properly selfish actions. Eighth, I conclude that Cervantes shifts society away from an earlier-and-worse savage condition to a latter-and-better civilized viewpoint by expressing the modern day spirit of a gentlemen: a person who is not only polite and self-controlled in his thoughts and actions but who, most importantly, is motivated by peace, not war. This is why, in my view, Cervantes transitions a warrior nobility based on fighting-and-aggression to a court society based on diplomacy and peace. Ninth, I illustrate how Cervantes notes the emergence of the modern Spanish justice system by integrating the emergence of a system of laws and judicial procedures governed by professionals and procedures, not ruled by arbitrary edicts, or capricious whims, issued by megalomaniacal dictators. Tenth, I infer that Cervantes moves readers away from a medieval, hierarchical, social system based on religious-and-political control, to a secular nation-state defined by the separation of church-and-state. Said differently, by elevating modern day vernacular—i.e. everyday words people use with their friends and among their generation—over clerical Latin, I reason that Cervantes removes the clergy’s language system from general discourse. Eleventh, Cervantes, I infer, also instills in his readers the modern-day spirit of intense hero worship by chronicling, and praising, singular achievements of great men from our classical past, like Augustus Caesar, for example, thus encouraging modern day readers to not only be brave in their souls but intrepid in their actions, as well. Twelfth, I reason that another modern-day concept Cervantes brings to light is the idea of social mobility, or, the concept that intelligent commoners can become gentrified by disciplined smart-and-hard work exercised over an appropriate period of time. To elaborate this concept, I reason that Don Quixote writes many letters and delivers many speeches to Sancho Panza, before, during, and after his governorship of Barataria, supporting concepts of modern-day social mobility, where people tended to achieve a fitting social rank more through their moral principles, ethical actions, intellectual abilities, and practical skills, then through unearned social rank because of their bloodline, lineage, and/or inheritance. Thirteenth, by harkening back to the golden Spanish age of the pastoral eclogue, I infer that Cervantes, as Dr. Echevarria said, shows that there is “an inherent optimism in the Renaissance because it is hoped that the revival of the classical past will reanimate the present and bring back a golden age.” Fourteenth, I reason that Cervantes shows readers how the modern-day spirit of moderate Christianity was a civilizing influence in the “Quijote,” since it pacified people’s baser violent urges. In all these ways, and more, I theorize that Cervantes skips medieval thought altogether, replacing the ideas-and-practices linked to the cruel Middle Ages with the values of kind modernity instead. −A life-sensation consonant with modern day republican democracy.
This article expresses how free-market capitalism produces peace in Don Quixote while its absence... more This article expresses how free-market capitalism produces peace in Don Quixote while its absence induces violence. Specifically, it shows readers that the novel’s government motivates gore when it extorts the Moriscos’s private property but that it also creates peace when it allows its’ characters to inherit. That a feudal Mercedes causes conflict in the book while a modern salary does not. That when contracts are honored Don Quixote’s characters are calm but when contracts are breached its’ characters are violent. That figures in Don Quixote who work for a living are tranquil while those who do not work fight. And, lastly, that when financial disputes are decided by law courts peace ensues but when they are not violence happens.
CRITICAL ESSAYS ON AYN RAND'S WE THE LIVING (2024), 2024
This essay, on Ayn Rand's "We the Living," titled "How Communism Destroys People's Lives," develo... more This essay, on Ayn Rand's "We the Living," titled "How Communism Destroys People's Lives," developed from a distance learning course, on the book, given by Andrew Bernstein in February of 2023.
My essay is particularly relevant, I believe, to the current war between the Ukrainians and a resurgent Russian empire. Because it shows, in the universe of "We the Living," not only how starvation was used as a weapon against Ukrainian peasants--- in order to build up Soviet Industry on their bones---but also how they get revenge. Since, in the book, Ukrainian peasants burn communists alive because their crops are stolen by a Soviet state that is autocratic like Putin's Russia. Another parallel between "We the Living's" Red State and Vladimir Putin's Russian Federation is that both attacked Ukraine, in some sense, for their natural resources. Thus, my essay identifies why the Ukrainians are fighting so hard to preserve their independence.
ABSTRACT
This essay show readers how the Soviet government, in Ayn Rand's "We the Living," destroys people’s lives by: nationalizing their businesses and bank accounts and breaking into and emptying their safe deposit boxes; stealing the food of Ukrainian peasants and farmers while starving them to death on purpose; imposing unwelcome roommates on residents of Saint Petersburg and proscribing how much space they can live in; causing the city's population to die from diseases, like Typhus, Scurvy, and Glanders, because Communists cannot keep the city and countryside clean; restricting an individual's freedom of movement, especially when traveling from the city to the countryside (or vice versa) in order to limit the exodus of Ukrainian peasants fleeing to the cities; proscribing what thoughts people should have through propaganda films, posters, and slogans; undermining a parent's right to raise their children by creating various youth groups, like the Pioneers, for example, or the Komsomol, for instance, which teaches youths about the correct thoughts of the party; bombarding children with the ABC's of world Communism in every school so they become good State citizens; forcing people to become criminals (i.e. speculators) in order to survive; deliberately inflating people's rubles so they are forced to sell-off, or trade, their cherished possessions so they can live; producing shoddy manufactured Soviet goods that do not really fulfill the function they were designed for; making Russian citizens waste their lives by waiting in endless lines for everything; purging disillusioned people from their studies, the army, or the Communist party, thereby ending their careers, possibly their lives; interning people in work camps, like the gulag archipelago, so that the State can build Soviet Industry on people's corpses; firing people for not volunteering for social activities -- for not paying taxes for social programs -- for not memorizing obscure Communist economic statistics, like the production of Soviet oil wells near Baku; firing objective journalists who do not support the State, thus eliminating the free press as a freethinking entity; destroying symbols of a belief system opposed to its own (Christianity; paganism; aristocracy) because they uphold, in some way, the worth of the individual; arresting, torturing, and executing neighborhood priests, nuns, monks, and bishops, so that a person is not free to believe what they want to believe; creating a climate of paranoia amongst the populous by causing everyone to report on everyone else for some form of alleged reward; denying people the right to face a meaningful justice system based on objective rules and procedures; and more.
Organizes all of the information in Ayn Rand's "We the Living." Such as the Major and Minor Chara... more Organizes all of the information in Ayn Rand's "We the Living." Such as the Major and Minor Characters; AR's Treatment of Nature; the Consequences of Communism over the Lives of the book's Characters; Music in the Book (i.e. Song of Broken Glass; John Gray; The Internationale, etc.); Soldiers, Sailors, Trams, Trains, & Cabs in the novel; as well as outside research, from books and documentaries, like "The Black Book of Communism," for example, or the Soviet Story, for instance.
Explanation of How You May Benefit From This Brief Reference Guide
Appeal to Dr. Peikoff to Let ... more Explanation of How You May Benefit From This Brief Reference Guide
Appeal to Dr. Peikoff to Let Me Publish The Full Version
Though, originally, I wrote a complete Fountainhead Reference Guide that delivered on my introduction’s promises, sadly, I cannot share it with you, right now, because I cannot secure copyright permission, presently. However, I can share with you a condensed version of my study primer, which elucidates The Fountainhead by doing seven things. First, it clarifies the novel by summarizing, in one sentence, the essence of the book’s 154 characters. Second, it explains their beings in 91 analytical sections. Third, it visualizes the book’s buildings by defining 39 architectural words. Fourth, it explains how I learned about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, what I have done to support it, and why I should be trusted. Fifth, it tables Ayn Rand’s fiction-and-non-fiction in a chart, so you understand her intellectual output. Sixth, it illustrates, in a spreadsheet, how objectivist intellectuals have applied Ayn Rand’s philosophy to different fields of thought, so you understand how her viewpoints apply to modernity. Seventh, it enumerates works I have read, highlighted, and studied to understand The Fountainhead, so you comprehend the scholarship I will use to compose my forthcoming Fountainhead Analyzed Essay Book. Though, this information clarifies The Fountainhead, supports Objectivism, and explains my next book clearly, unfortunately, I cannot cast full-light on The Fountainhead currently, since Dr. Peikoff (the copyright owner) “does not review unsolicited manuscripts.” Nor does he “engage in philosophical work anymore, [since] he is now fully retired.” Ergo, I cannot send him my book, since he will neither look at nor evaluate it. Clearly, Dr. Peikoff has a right to not view unsolicited manuscripts; for he is a busy man who lacks time to ponder his daily philosophic mail. I understand that. He also has the right to disengage from philosophy altogether, since, at age 85, he has already defended Objectivism ably, by explaining AR’s philosophy for over 65 years. His sustained efforts, as a result, to support Objectivism, by writing books, delivering talks, and teaching classes, has won Dr. Peikoff the right to enjoy his life’s twilight, doing whatever he likes. For, great men, like him, who have fought and won the good fight, by being brave, intelligent, and moral, deserve to enjoy their sunset years. Even though Dr. Peikoff is right to focus on his own goals – not what I want of him – I think my Reference Guide aligns with his secondary goals by logically codifying a book he loves. As such, maybe Dr. Peikoff can either allow me to publish my full Reference Guide as is, or ask someone to edit it first so it may be published later. In truth, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to provide feedback, despite his possibly negative comments, because I’d like him to tell me, in his own words, what he thinks about my book, even if he thinks it is hopelessly flawed, beyond repair. If, in other words, Dr. Peikoff engaged with this Fountainhead project in some way, I am confident that we would all benefit. Thus, I’d like him to make himself reachable, so he can help all of us – including himself maybe – understand The Fountainhead better. All he has to do is contact me. Incidentally, since Dr. Peikoff spent decades of his life studying, analyzing, writing and speaking about The Fountainhead, I think he will like a Reference Guide that illuminates the book clearly. Especially if he wants to create a broader cultural climate that is friendlier to Ayn Rand. In my view, the more people learn of and read my full Fountainhead Reference Guide the more likely they will be to at least engage with Ayn Rand --- maybe, even like her. For my goal in writing this Fountainhead Reference Guide is to generate a certain degree of respect for AR in certain circles – where she has not been liked until now. To explain, many people condemn Ayn Rand and The Fountainhead because they do not understand her or her book. Rather, they just repeat what they have heard others say. But if they read my full Fountainhead Reference Guide, perhaps this would change. Maybe, my book would help students clear up their own confusions about AR and her book, thereby coming to appreciate and value the novel from an accurate perspective. Especially, since my study guide analyzes the Fountainhead in a neutral manner, by organizing the novel's facts in an easily understandable format that dispels popular myths about the book. Also, some people may give my Fountainhead Reference Guide a fair hearing once they learn that its’ author -- me -- is a neutral party with no axe to grind. For I am not affiliated with – nor loyal to – any organization, institution, or thought movement, whatsoever, including Objectivism. This sort of intellectual independence renders me a neutral truth-seeker – who is less likely to antagonize certain people who hate Objectivist polemics. Said differently, my mental neutrality renders me a dispassionate truth seeker who is worth being heard, since I do not make arbitrary attacks against people for supporting contrary positions. Rather, I logically clarify my ideas in a non-threatening manner, so people generously receive my thoughts. Thus, to clear-up widespread misapprehensions about The Fountainhead, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to allow me to self-publish (or formally publish) my entire Reference Guide, since I think it induces clarity in pupils’ minds by enabling scholars to go over-and-over the novel’s facts again-and-again. So that when they write their term-papers they can look-up facts they know exist, without pouring over the book, like I did, for 18 months. Further, if someone wrote a Reference Guide that conveyed my basic values, I would not care who wrote it, why they wrote it, nor what people said about this person. Just the reverse. I would judge the book by its inherent worth only. Regardless of what others thought. To elaborate, if Dr. Peikoff uses his own objective judgment (which he does) to judge for himself what to do (which he does) instead of yielding to the subjective opinions of others (which he does not) I am confident that he will either grant me instant permission to publish. To help clarify Ayn Rand’s moral code. Or require me to refine my book, so he can allow later publication. Or deny me permission outright, with solid reasoning why. Ergo, to help him decide, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to take a brief moment, from his retirement, to read some of my materials, so he can decide what to do. Then, he can return to loving his wife, loving his family, traveling the world, or whatever else he likes. He has earned that. I know this request is a lot to ask of Dr. Peikoff at this stage in his life. Maybe I am wrong, but I think Dr. Peikoff could just assign someone to help me get my Reference Guide into proper shape, if he wants. After all he has an army of Objectivists who he can delegate the practical work to. All he has to do is to devise a solid strategy for working with me on this book. So that, together, we can bolster the movement, jointly. Alternatively, if Dr. Peikoff does not want to support my book because he does not know what will come of it yet, he can let me publish it discretely, by telling Penguin to authorize publication, without using his name. That way he can authorize a Reference Guide – that mostly aligns with Objectivist virtues and values – without explicitly sanctioning it. That said, casting daylight on my Reference Guide does not mean Dr. Peikoff approves of, condones, or vouches for my book completely. What it does mean is that he values my study guide – on some level – insofar as it enables pupils to concertize their understanding of The Fountainhead, succinctly, so they support their Objectivist views ably – with facts, evidence, and logical inference. In my view, Dr. Peikoff should allow me to support Objectivism by letting me publish my full-book, so his acolytes, “who do still engage in philosophic work” understand the Fountainhead better. In sum, since my Fountainhead Reference Guide will enable objectivism to shine more directly, sparkle more brightly, and illuminate everything more clearly, it should be published. So that it breathes new life into Objectivism, by casting factual sunlight on The Fountainhead. Until it is fully published, though—which may never happen—this condensed Fountainhead Reference Guide is all I can offer. Sorry.
About the Book
This Reference Guide takes the form of a Fountainhead Encyclopedia with several... more About the Book
This Reference Guide takes the form of a Fountainhead Encyclopedia with several independent sections: a complete character dictionary; a dictionary of relationships between characters; a lexicon of the book’s buildings and media outlets; a catalogue of the novel’s various groups and associations; a timeline of the book’s events; a classification of Ayn Rand’s symbols; and a directory of the Fountainhead’s locations. Besides organizing most of the Fountainhead’s facts logically, this Reference Guide also provides a table of Ayn Rand’s fiction & nonfiction, a spreadsheet of works by Objectivist Intellectuals, and a glossary of architectural terms. It also analyzes some of the book’s themes with reference to plot-specifics. So that Fountainhead scholars can cite neutral book facts to support their intellectual – hopefully objectivist – positions.
About the Author
Emre Gurgen wrote this Fountainhead Reference Guide after taking a seminar on the Philosophy of Objectivism in 2009 with The Ayn Rand Institute’s Chief Philosophy Officer Dr. Onkar Ghate. This distance learning course prompted Mr. Gurgen to independently study Ayn Rand’s philosophy for ten years. During this time he learned about Objectivism by not only reading and re-reading all of AR's fiction and nonfiction but he also studied 81 books, lectures, and essays written by proven Objectivist Intellectuals. After studying Objectivism for a decade, Mr. Gurgen wrote this Fountainhead Reference Guide to learn how Ayn Rand’s philosophy is dramatized by The Fountainhead’s plot-theme. Accordingly, Mr. Gurgen spent 17 months – i.e. thousands of hours – first color coding The Fountainhead. Then writing this Reference Guide. So that he can eventually write an accurate Fountainhead Analyzed essay book, the lead essay of which will be titled Howard Roark the Life Giver. Hopefully, after Mr. Gurgen earns the trust of his fellow objectivists he will merit The Ayn Rand Institute’s sanction together with the approval of Objectivist Intellectual(s) – especially Dr. Andrew Bernstein – both for this Reference Guide and for his forthcoming Essay Book, too.
Abstract: Essentially, this essay on the Renaissance shows readers, in 14 ways, how Cervantes by... more Abstract: Essentially, this essay on the Renaissance shows readers, in 14 ways, how Cervantes bypasses the ideas-and-practices of medievalism in the “Quijote,” replacing Middle Age thinking with modern civilized thought. First, I hypothesize that Cervantes moves readers away from the medieval practice of state-sponsored Church censorship, where men’s minds were stilled and their tongues were silenced, by restrictive authorities who imposed their own view of social morality—often at the point of a sword—to show readers how Cervantes transitioned Medieval society to Modern civilization by supporting principles of a free society (i.e. freedom of thought-and-speech). In line with this viewpoint, I reason that Cervantes show readers that privatized art-markets, through the invention of the printing-press, enabled artists to reach, and enlighten, the general public, directly. Second, I argue that Cervantes revives the ideas advanced by ancient Greek philosophers, like Aristotle, or Great Church thinkers, like Thomas Aquinas, to generate a sense-of-life governed by rational classic concepts. Third, I prove that Cervantes led to modernity by showing his readers the value of universal education, which he illustrates by populating the “Quijote” with learned figures from all social ranks. Fourth, I argue that Cervantes marks the smooth transition from medieval-to-modern thought by not only supporting Renaissance axioms of literary esthetics—i.e. a sense of proportion, symmetry, beauty, and perfection in writing—but also by satirizing medieval fiction, where ridiculous knight errants, perform unbelievable actions, in absurd tales of preposterous chivalry. Fifth, I infer that Cervantes supports modern-day realistic fiction over olden-day medieval literature by not only showing life-like people taking believable actions, with logical consequences, in believable spaces, but, most importantly, by having the Cannon of Toledo pontificate on the qualities of literary realism. Sixth, I reason that Cervantes shows his readers the scientific spirit of the new times that were coming by having many of his characters make concrete astronomical observations. Seventh, I prove that Cervantes instills in his readers the modern day spirit of individualism—i.e. primary focus on oneself and secondary focus on like-minded others—by having Don Quixote take properly selfish actions. Eighth, I conclude that Cervantes shifts society away from an earlier-and-worse savage condition to a latter-and-better civilized viewpoint by expressing the modern day spirit of a gentlemen: a person who is not only polite and self-controlled in his thoughts and actions but who, most importantly, is motivated by peace, not war. This is why, in my view, Cervantes transitions a warrior nobility based on fighting-and-aggression to a court society based on diplomacy and peace. Ninth, I illustrate how Cervantes notes the emergence of the modern Spanish justice system by integrating the emergence of a system of laws and judicial procedures governed by professionals and procedures, not ruled by arbitrary edicts, or capricious whims, issued by megalomaniacal dictators. Tenth, I infer that Cervantes moves readers away from a medieval, hierarchical, social system based on religious-and-political control, to a secular nation-state defined by the separation of church-and-state. Said differently, by elevating modern day vernacular—i.e. everyday words people use with their friends and among their generation—over clerical Latin, I reason that Cervantes removes the clergy’s language system from general discourse. Eleventh, Cervantes, I infer, also instills in his readers the modern-day spirit of intense hero worship by chronicling, and praising, singular achievements of great men from our classical past, like Augustus Caesar, for example, thus encouraging modern day readers to not only be brave in their souls but intrepid in their actions, as well. Twelfth, I reason that another modern-day concept Cervantes brings to light is the idea of social mobility, or, the concept that intelligent commoners can become gentrified by disciplined smart-and-hard work exercised over an appropriate period of time. To elaborate this concept, I reason that Don Quixote writes many letters and delivers many speeches to Sancho Panza, before, during, and after his governorship of Barataria, supporting concepts of modern-day social mobility, where people tended to achieve a fitting social rank more through their moral principles, ethical actions, intellectual abilities, and practical skills, then through unearned social rank because of their bloodline, lineage, and/or inheritance. Thirteenth, by harkening back to the golden Spanish age of the pastoral eclogue, I infer that Cervantes, as Dr. Echevarria said, shows that there is “an inherent optimism in the Renaissance because it is hoped that the revival of the classical past will reanimate the present and bring back a golden age.” Fourteenth, I reason that Cervantes shows readers how the modern-day spirit of moderate Christianity was a civilizing influence in the “Quijote,” since it pacified people’s baser violent urges. In all these ways, and more, I theorize that Cervantes skips medieval thought altogether, replacing the ideas-and-practices linked to the cruel Middle Ages with the values of kind modernity instead. −A life-sensation consonant with modern day republican democracy.
This article expresses how free-market capitalism produces peace in Don Quixote while its absence... more This article expresses how free-market capitalism produces peace in Don Quixote while its absence induces violence. Specifically, it shows readers that the novel’s government motivates gore when it extorts the Moriscos’s private property but that it also creates peace when it allows its’ characters to inherit. That a feudal Mercedes causes conflict in the book while a modern salary does not. That when contracts are honored Don Quixote’s characters are calm but when contracts are breached its’ characters are violent. That figures in Don Quixote who work for a living are tranquil while those who do not work fight. And, lastly, that when financial disputes are decided by law courts peace ensues but when they are not violence happens.
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My essay is particularly relevant, I believe, to the current war between the Ukrainians and a resurgent Russian empire. Because it shows, in the universe of "We the Living," not only how starvation was used as a weapon against Ukrainian peasants--- in order to build up Soviet Industry on their bones---but also how they get revenge. Since, in the book, Ukrainian peasants burn communists alive because their crops are stolen by a Soviet state that is autocratic like Putin's Russia. Another parallel between "We the Living's" Red State and Vladimir Putin's Russian Federation is that both attacked Ukraine, in some sense, for their natural resources. Thus, my essay identifies why the Ukrainians are fighting so hard to preserve their independence.
ABSTRACT
This essay show readers how the Soviet government, in Ayn Rand's "We the Living," destroys people’s lives by: nationalizing their businesses and bank accounts and breaking into and emptying their safe deposit boxes; stealing the food of Ukrainian peasants and farmers while starving them to death on purpose; imposing unwelcome roommates on residents of Saint Petersburg and proscribing how much space they can live in; causing the city's population to die from diseases, like Typhus, Scurvy, and Glanders, because Communists cannot keep the city and countryside clean; restricting an individual's freedom of movement, especially when traveling from the city to the countryside (or vice versa) in order to limit the exodus of Ukrainian peasants fleeing to the cities; proscribing what thoughts people should have through propaganda films, posters, and slogans; undermining a parent's right to raise their children by creating various youth groups, like the Pioneers, for example, or the Komsomol, for instance, which teaches youths about the correct thoughts of the party; bombarding children with the ABC's of world Communism in every school so they become good State citizens; forcing people to become criminals (i.e. speculators) in order to survive; deliberately inflating people's rubles so they are forced to sell-off, or trade, their cherished possessions so they can live; producing shoddy manufactured Soviet goods that do not really fulfill the function they were designed for; making Russian citizens waste their lives by waiting in endless lines for everything; purging disillusioned people from their studies, the army, or the Communist party, thereby ending their careers, possibly their lives; interning people in work camps, like the gulag archipelago, so that the State can build Soviet Industry on people's corpses; firing people for not volunteering for social activities -- for not paying taxes for social programs -- for not memorizing obscure Communist economic statistics, like the production of Soviet oil wells near Baku; firing objective journalists who do not support the State, thus eliminating the free press as a freethinking entity; destroying symbols of a belief system opposed to its own (Christianity; paganism; aristocracy) because they uphold, in some way, the worth of the individual; arresting, torturing, and executing neighborhood priests, nuns, monks, and bishops, so that a person is not free to believe what they want to believe; creating a climate of paranoia amongst the populous by causing everyone to report on everyone else for some form of alleged reward; denying people the right to face a meaningful justice system based on objective rules and procedures; and more.
Appeal to Dr. Peikoff to Let Me Publish The Full Version
Though, originally, I wrote a complete Fountainhead Reference Guide that delivered on my introduction’s promises, sadly, I cannot share it with you, right now, because I cannot secure copyright permission, presently.
However, I can share with you a condensed version of my study primer, which elucidates The Fountainhead by doing seven things. First, it clarifies the novel by summarizing, in one sentence, the essence of the book’s 154 characters. Second, it explains their beings in 91 analytical sections. Third, it visualizes the book’s buildings by defining 39 architectural words. Fourth, it explains how I learned about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, what I have done to support it, and why I should be trusted. Fifth, it tables Ayn Rand’s fiction-and-non-fiction in a chart, so you understand her intellectual output. Sixth, it illustrates, in a spreadsheet, how objectivist intellectuals have applied Ayn Rand’s philosophy to different fields of thought, so you understand how her viewpoints apply to modernity. Seventh, it enumerates works I have read, highlighted, and studied to understand The Fountainhead, so you comprehend the scholarship I will use to compose my forthcoming Fountainhead Analyzed Essay Book.
Though, this information clarifies The Fountainhead, supports Objectivism, and explains my next book clearly, unfortunately, I cannot cast full-light on The Fountainhead currently, since Dr. Peikoff (the copyright owner) “does not review unsolicited manuscripts.” Nor does he “engage in philosophical work anymore, [since] he is now fully retired.” Ergo, I cannot send him my book, since he will neither look at nor evaluate it.
Clearly, Dr. Peikoff has a right to not view unsolicited manuscripts; for he is a busy man who lacks time to ponder his daily philosophic mail. I understand that. He also has the right to disengage from philosophy altogether, since, at age 85, he has already defended Objectivism ably, by explaining AR’s philosophy for over 65 years. His sustained efforts, as a result, to support Objectivism, by writing books, delivering talks, and teaching classes, has won Dr. Peikoff the right to enjoy his life’s twilight, doing whatever he likes. For, great men, like him, who have fought and won the good fight, by being brave, intelligent, and moral, deserve to enjoy their sunset years.
Even though Dr. Peikoff is right to focus on his own goals – not what I want of him – I think my Reference Guide aligns with his secondary goals by logically codifying a book he loves. As such, maybe Dr. Peikoff can either allow me to publish my full Reference Guide as is, or ask someone to edit it first so it may be published later.
In truth, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to provide feedback, despite his possibly negative comments, because I’d like him to tell me, in his own words, what he thinks about my book, even if he thinks it is hopelessly flawed, beyond repair. If, in other words, Dr. Peikoff engaged with this Fountainhead project in some way, I am confident that we would all benefit. Thus, I’d like him to make himself reachable, so he can help all of us – including himself maybe – understand The Fountainhead better. All he has to do is contact me.
Incidentally, since Dr. Peikoff spent decades of his life studying, analyzing, writing and speaking about The Fountainhead, I think he will like a Reference Guide that illuminates the book clearly. Especially if he wants to create a broader cultural climate that is friendlier to Ayn Rand. In my view, the more people learn of and read my full Fountainhead Reference Guide the more likely they will be to at least engage with Ayn Rand --- maybe, even like her. For my goal in writing this Fountainhead Reference Guide is to generate a certain degree of respect for AR in certain circles – where she has not been liked until now.
To explain, many people condemn Ayn Rand and The Fountainhead because they do not understand her or her book. Rather, they just repeat what they have heard others say. But if they read my full Fountainhead Reference Guide, perhaps this would change. Maybe, my book would help students clear up their own confusions about AR and her book, thereby coming to appreciate and value the novel from an accurate perspective. Especially, since my study guide analyzes the Fountainhead in a neutral manner, by organizing the novel's facts in an easily understandable format that dispels popular myths about the book.
Also, some people may give my Fountainhead Reference Guide a fair hearing once they learn that its’ author -- me -- is a neutral party with no axe to grind. For I am not affiliated with – nor loyal to – any organization, institution, or thought movement, whatsoever, including Objectivism. This sort of intellectual independence renders me a neutral truth-seeker – who is less likely to antagonize certain people who hate Objectivist polemics. Said differently, my mental neutrality renders me a dispassionate truth seeker who is worth being heard, since I do not make arbitrary attacks against people for supporting contrary positions. Rather, I logically clarify my ideas in a non-threatening manner, so people generously receive my thoughts.
Thus, to clear-up widespread misapprehensions about The Fountainhead, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to allow me to self-publish (or formally publish) my entire Reference Guide, since I think it induces clarity in pupils’ minds by enabling scholars to go over-and-over the novel’s facts again-and-again. So that when they write their term-papers they can look-up facts they know exist, without pouring over the book, like I did, for 18 months.
Further, if someone wrote a Reference Guide that conveyed my basic values, I would not care who wrote it, why they wrote it, nor what people said about this person. Just the reverse. I would judge the book by its inherent worth only. Regardless of what others thought.
To elaborate, if Dr. Peikoff uses his own objective judgment (which he does) to judge for himself what to do (which he does) instead of yielding to the subjective opinions of others (which he does not) I am confident that he will either grant me instant permission to publish. To help clarify Ayn Rand’s moral code. Or require me to refine my book, so he can allow later publication. Or deny me permission outright, with solid reasoning why.
Ergo, to help him decide, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to take a brief moment, from his retirement, to read some of my materials, so he can decide what to do. Then, he can return to loving his wife, loving his family, traveling the world, or whatever else he likes. He has earned that.
I know this request is a lot to ask of Dr. Peikoff at this stage in his life. Maybe I am wrong, but I think Dr. Peikoff could just assign someone to help me get my Reference Guide into proper shape, if he wants. After all he has an army of Objectivists who he can delegate the practical work to. All he has to do is to devise a solid strategy for working with me on this book. So that, together, we can bolster the movement, jointly.
Alternatively, if Dr. Peikoff does not want to support my book because he does not know what will come of it yet, he can let me publish it discretely, by telling Penguin to authorize publication, without using his name. That way he can authorize a Reference Guide – that mostly aligns with Objectivist virtues and values – without explicitly sanctioning it.
That said, casting daylight on my Reference Guide does not mean Dr. Peikoff approves of, condones, or vouches for my book completely. What it does mean is that he values my study guide – on some level – insofar as it enables pupils to concertize their understanding of The Fountainhead, succinctly, so they support their Objectivist views ably – with facts, evidence, and logical inference.
In my view, Dr. Peikoff should allow me to support Objectivism by letting me publish my full-book, so his acolytes, “who do still engage in philosophic work” understand the Fountainhead better.
In sum, since my Fountainhead Reference Guide will enable objectivism to shine more directly, sparkle more brightly, and illuminate everything more clearly, it should be published. So that it breathes new life into Objectivism, by casting factual sunlight on The Fountainhead.
Until it is fully published, though—which may never happen—this condensed Fountainhead Reference Guide is all I can offer. Sorry.
This Reference Guide takes the form of a Fountainhead Encyclopedia with several independent sections: a complete character dictionary; a dictionary of relationships between characters; a lexicon of the book’s buildings and media outlets; a catalogue of the novel’s various groups and associations; a timeline of the book’s events; a classification of Ayn Rand’s symbols; and a directory of the Fountainhead’s locations.
Besides organizing most of the Fountainhead’s facts logically, this Reference Guide also provides a table of Ayn Rand’s fiction & nonfiction, a spreadsheet of works by Objectivist Intellectuals, and a glossary of architectural terms. It also analyzes some of the book’s themes with reference to plot-specifics. So that Fountainhead scholars can cite neutral book facts to support their intellectual – hopefully objectivist – positions.
About the Author
Emre Gurgen wrote this Fountainhead Reference Guide after taking a seminar on the Philosophy of Objectivism in 2009 with The Ayn Rand Institute’s Chief Philosophy Officer Dr. Onkar Ghate. This distance learning course prompted Mr. Gurgen to independently study Ayn Rand’s philosophy for ten years. During this time he learned about Objectivism by not only reading and re-reading all of AR's fiction and nonfiction but he also studied 81 books, lectures, and essays written by proven Objectivist Intellectuals. After studying Objectivism for a decade, Mr. Gurgen wrote this Fountainhead Reference Guide to learn how Ayn Rand’s philosophy is dramatized by The Fountainhead’s plot-theme. Accordingly, Mr. Gurgen spent 17 months – i.e. thousands of hours – first color coding The Fountainhead. Then writing this Reference Guide. So that he can eventually write an accurate Fountainhead Analyzed essay book, the lead essay of which will be titled Howard Roark the Life Giver. Hopefully, after Mr. Gurgen earns the trust of his fellow objectivists he will merit The Ayn Rand Institute’s sanction together with the approval of Objectivist Intellectual(s) – especially Dr. Andrew Bernstein – both for this Reference Guide and for his forthcoming Essay Book, too.
Papers
Journal Articles
My essay is particularly relevant, I believe, to the current war between the Ukrainians and a resurgent Russian empire. Because it shows, in the universe of "We the Living," not only how starvation was used as a weapon against Ukrainian peasants--- in order to build up Soviet Industry on their bones---but also how they get revenge. Since, in the book, Ukrainian peasants burn communists alive because their crops are stolen by a Soviet state that is autocratic like Putin's Russia. Another parallel between "We the Living's" Red State and Vladimir Putin's Russian Federation is that both attacked Ukraine, in some sense, for their natural resources. Thus, my essay identifies why the Ukrainians are fighting so hard to preserve their independence.
ABSTRACT
This essay show readers how the Soviet government, in Ayn Rand's "We the Living," destroys people’s lives by: nationalizing their businesses and bank accounts and breaking into and emptying their safe deposit boxes; stealing the food of Ukrainian peasants and farmers while starving them to death on purpose; imposing unwelcome roommates on residents of Saint Petersburg and proscribing how much space they can live in; causing the city's population to die from diseases, like Typhus, Scurvy, and Glanders, because Communists cannot keep the city and countryside clean; restricting an individual's freedom of movement, especially when traveling from the city to the countryside (or vice versa) in order to limit the exodus of Ukrainian peasants fleeing to the cities; proscribing what thoughts people should have through propaganda films, posters, and slogans; undermining a parent's right to raise their children by creating various youth groups, like the Pioneers, for example, or the Komsomol, for instance, which teaches youths about the correct thoughts of the party; bombarding children with the ABC's of world Communism in every school so they become good State citizens; forcing people to become criminals (i.e. speculators) in order to survive; deliberately inflating people's rubles so they are forced to sell-off, or trade, their cherished possessions so they can live; producing shoddy manufactured Soviet goods that do not really fulfill the function they were designed for; making Russian citizens waste their lives by waiting in endless lines for everything; purging disillusioned people from their studies, the army, or the Communist party, thereby ending their careers, possibly their lives; interning people in work camps, like the gulag archipelago, so that the State can build Soviet Industry on people's corpses; firing people for not volunteering for social activities -- for not paying taxes for social programs -- for not memorizing obscure Communist economic statistics, like the production of Soviet oil wells near Baku; firing objective journalists who do not support the State, thus eliminating the free press as a freethinking entity; destroying symbols of a belief system opposed to its own (Christianity; paganism; aristocracy) because they uphold, in some way, the worth of the individual; arresting, torturing, and executing neighborhood priests, nuns, monks, and bishops, so that a person is not free to believe what they want to believe; creating a climate of paranoia amongst the populous by causing everyone to report on everyone else for some form of alleged reward; denying people the right to face a meaningful justice system based on objective rules and procedures; and more.
Appeal to Dr. Peikoff to Let Me Publish The Full Version
Though, originally, I wrote a complete Fountainhead Reference Guide that delivered on my introduction’s promises, sadly, I cannot share it with you, right now, because I cannot secure copyright permission, presently.
However, I can share with you a condensed version of my study primer, which elucidates The Fountainhead by doing seven things. First, it clarifies the novel by summarizing, in one sentence, the essence of the book’s 154 characters. Second, it explains their beings in 91 analytical sections. Third, it visualizes the book’s buildings by defining 39 architectural words. Fourth, it explains how I learned about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, what I have done to support it, and why I should be trusted. Fifth, it tables Ayn Rand’s fiction-and-non-fiction in a chart, so you understand her intellectual output. Sixth, it illustrates, in a spreadsheet, how objectivist intellectuals have applied Ayn Rand’s philosophy to different fields of thought, so you understand how her viewpoints apply to modernity. Seventh, it enumerates works I have read, highlighted, and studied to understand The Fountainhead, so you comprehend the scholarship I will use to compose my forthcoming Fountainhead Analyzed Essay Book.
Though, this information clarifies The Fountainhead, supports Objectivism, and explains my next book clearly, unfortunately, I cannot cast full-light on The Fountainhead currently, since Dr. Peikoff (the copyright owner) “does not review unsolicited manuscripts.” Nor does he “engage in philosophical work anymore, [since] he is now fully retired.” Ergo, I cannot send him my book, since he will neither look at nor evaluate it.
Clearly, Dr. Peikoff has a right to not view unsolicited manuscripts; for he is a busy man who lacks time to ponder his daily philosophic mail. I understand that. He also has the right to disengage from philosophy altogether, since, at age 85, he has already defended Objectivism ably, by explaining AR’s philosophy for over 65 years. His sustained efforts, as a result, to support Objectivism, by writing books, delivering talks, and teaching classes, has won Dr. Peikoff the right to enjoy his life’s twilight, doing whatever he likes. For, great men, like him, who have fought and won the good fight, by being brave, intelligent, and moral, deserve to enjoy their sunset years.
Even though Dr. Peikoff is right to focus on his own goals – not what I want of him – I think my Reference Guide aligns with his secondary goals by logically codifying a book he loves. As such, maybe Dr. Peikoff can either allow me to publish my full Reference Guide as is, or ask someone to edit it first so it may be published later.
In truth, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to provide feedback, despite his possibly negative comments, because I’d like him to tell me, in his own words, what he thinks about my book, even if he thinks it is hopelessly flawed, beyond repair. If, in other words, Dr. Peikoff engaged with this Fountainhead project in some way, I am confident that we would all benefit. Thus, I’d like him to make himself reachable, so he can help all of us – including himself maybe – understand The Fountainhead better. All he has to do is contact me.
Incidentally, since Dr. Peikoff spent decades of his life studying, analyzing, writing and speaking about The Fountainhead, I think he will like a Reference Guide that illuminates the book clearly. Especially if he wants to create a broader cultural climate that is friendlier to Ayn Rand. In my view, the more people learn of and read my full Fountainhead Reference Guide the more likely they will be to at least engage with Ayn Rand --- maybe, even like her. For my goal in writing this Fountainhead Reference Guide is to generate a certain degree of respect for AR in certain circles – where she has not been liked until now.
To explain, many people condemn Ayn Rand and The Fountainhead because they do not understand her or her book. Rather, they just repeat what they have heard others say. But if they read my full Fountainhead Reference Guide, perhaps this would change. Maybe, my book would help students clear up their own confusions about AR and her book, thereby coming to appreciate and value the novel from an accurate perspective. Especially, since my study guide analyzes the Fountainhead in a neutral manner, by organizing the novel's facts in an easily understandable format that dispels popular myths about the book.
Also, some people may give my Fountainhead Reference Guide a fair hearing once they learn that its’ author -- me -- is a neutral party with no axe to grind. For I am not affiliated with – nor loyal to – any organization, institution, or thought movement, whatsoever, including Objectivism. This sort of intellectual independence renders me a neutral truth-seeker – who is less likely to antagonize certain people who hate Objectivist polemics. Said differently, my mental neutrality renders me a dispassionate truth seeker who is worth being heard, since I do not make arbitrary attacks against people for supporting contrary positions. Rather, I logically clarify my ideas in a non-threatening manner, so people generously receive my thoughts.
Thus, to clear-up widespread misapprehensions about The Fountainhead, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to allow me to self-publish (or formally publish) my entire Reference Guide, since I think it induces clarity in pupils’ minds by enabling scholars to go over-and-over the novel’s facts again-and-again. So that when they write their term-papers they can look-up facts they know exist, without pouring over the book, like I did, for 18 months.
Further, if someone wrote a Reference Guide that conveyed my basic values, I would not care who wrote it, why they wrote it, nor what people said about this person. Just the reverse. I would judge the book by its inherent worth only. Regardless of what others thought.
To elaborate, if Dr. Peikoff uses his own objective judgment (which he does) to judge for himself what to do (which he does) instead of yielding to the subjective opinions of others (which he does not) I am confident that he will either grant me instant permission to publish. To help clarify Ayn Rand’s moral code. Or require me to refine my book, so he can allow later publication. Or deny me permission outright, with solid reasoning why.
Ergo, to help him decide, I’d like Dr. Peikoff to take a brief moment, from his retirement, to read some of my materials, so he can decide what to do. Then, he can return to loving his wife, loving his family, traveling the world, or whatever else he likes. He has earned that.
I know this request is a lot to ask of Dr. Peikoff at this stage in his life. Maybe I am wrong, but I think Dr. Peikoff could just assign someone to help me get my Reference Guide into proper shape, if he wants. After all he has an army of Objectivists who he can delegate the practical work to. All he has to do is to devise a solid strategy for working with me on this book. So that, together, we can bolster the movement, jointly.
Alternatively, if Dr. Peikoff does not want to support my book because he does not know what will come of it yet, he can let me publish it discretely, by telling Penguin to authorize publication, without using his name. That way he can authorize a Reference Guide – that mostly aligns with Objectivist virtues and values – without explicitly sanctioning it.
That said, casting daylight on my Reference Guide does not mean Dr. Peikoff approves of, condones, or vouches for my book completely. What it does mean is that he values my study guide – on some level – insofar as it enables pupils to concertize their understanding of The Fountainhead, succinctly, so they support their Objectivist views ably – with facts, evidence, and logical inference.
In my view, Dr. Peikoff should allow me to support Objectivism by letting me publish my full-book, so his acolytes, “who do still engage in philosophic work” understand the Fountainhead better.
In sum, since my Fountainhead Reference Guide will enable objectivism to shine more directly, sparkle more brightly, and illuminate everything more clearly, it should be published. So that it breathes new life into Objectivism, by casting factual sunlight on The Fountainhead.
Until it is fully published, though—which may never happen—this condensed Fountainhead Reference Guide is all I can offer. Sorry.
This Reference Guide takes the form of a Fountainhead Encyclopedia with several independent sections: a complete character dictionary; a dictionary of relationships between characters; a lexicon of the book’s buildings and media outlets; a catalogue of the novel’s various groups and associations; a timeline of the book’s events; a classification of Ayn Rand’s symbols; and a directory of the Fountainhead’s locations.
Besides organizing most of the Fountainhead’s facts logically, this Reference Guide also provides a table of Ayn Rand’s fiction & nonfiction, a spreadsheet of works by Objectivist Intellectuals, and a glossary of architectural terms. It also analyzes some of the book’s themes with reference to plot-specifics. So that Fountainhead scholars can cite neutral book facts to support their intellectual – hopefully objectivist – positions.
About the Author
Emre Gurgen wrote this Fountainhead Reference Guide after taking a seminar on the Philosophy of Objectivism in 2009 with The Ayn Rand Institute’s Chief Philosophy Officer Dr. Onkar Ghate. This distance learning course prompted Mr. Gurgen to independently study Ayn Rand’s philosophy for ten years. During this time he learned about Objectivism by not only reading and re-reading all of AR's fiction and nonfiction but he also studied 81 books, lectures, and essays written by proven Objectivist Intellectuals. After studying Objectivism for a decade, Mr. Gurgen wrote this Fountainhead Reference Guide to learn how Ayn Rand’s philosophy is dramatized by The Fountainhead’s plot-theme. Accordingly, Mr. Gurgen spent 17 months – i.e. thousands of hours – first color coding The Fountainhead. Then writing this Reference Guide. So that he can eventually write an accurate Fountainhead Analyzed essay book, the lead essay of which will be titled Howard Roark the Life Giver. Hopefully, after Mr. Gurgen earns the trust of his fellow objectivists he will merit The Ayn Rand Institute’s sanction together with the approval of Objectivist Intellectual(s) – especially Dr. Andrew Bernstein – both for this Reference Guide and for his forthcoming Essay Book, too.