Two Philosophers : Aristotle and Ayn Rand

“If there is a philosophical Atlas who carries the whole of Western civilization on his shoulders,” Ayn Rand wrote, “it is Aristotle. Whatever intellectual progress men have achieved rests on his achievements.” Such tributes to Aristotle in Rand’s writing have led many readers to study his works.

“If there is a philosophical Atlas who carries the whole of Western civilization on his shoulders,” Ayn Rand wrote, “it is Aristotle. He has been opposed, misinterpreted, misrepresented, and—like an axiom—used by his enemies in the very act of denying him. Whatever intellectual progress men have achieved rests on his achievements.” Such tributes to Aristotle in Rand’s writing have led many readers to study his works. And a number of these, including some of the contributors to this volume, would go on to become scholars of both Aristotle and Rand. It is fitting, then, that there should be an exploration of the relationship between their two philosophies. As the fourth volume in the Ayn Rand Society Philosophical Studies series, this collection originated in presentations at meetings of the Ayn Rand Society of the American Philosophical Association. It fosters a deeper appreciation for Ayn Rand’s place in the Aristotelian tradition and in the history of philosophy more generally.