Grecco Roman influences
Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2012 8:23 pm
As ancient history is an interest of mine, I thought I'd begin a thread to explore any Greekyness within Atlas Shrugged.
The title was the first thing of note. Atlas, a Titan who sided against Zeus.
From Iapetos + a trim-ankled oceanid nymph named Clymene = Atlas and brothers Prometheus, Menoitios, and Epimetheus
Who is Atlas? From Hesiod: "Atlas, under strong constraint, holds up the broad sky with his head and tireless hands, standing at the ends of the earth, away by the clear voiced Hesperides, for Zeus the resourceful assigned him this lot."
Although his original function was to hold the sky from uniting with the earth, today he's seen as being responsible for holding up the earth itself. Originally standing at the ends of the earth, he's now thought of as standing under the earth and carrying the weight of it on his shoulders. His service and punishment have changed.
From reading Rand's book, it becomes apparent that she knew and read Aristotle and very possibly Homer. I don't know if she read Hesiod's Theogony but if she did the idea of Atlas in her title may differ slightly than the Atlas that is currently pictured on most of her reprints.
This got me thinking of what the title actually meant. If Atlas was known by Rand as the true Atlas - the one that was responsible for separating the heavens from the earth - then it could mean quite a number of things relating to those who belong to heaven and those who belong to the earth. Rand has not used the true Atlas. She has used a different Atlas but shouldn't be criticized for it too much. Atlas was seen carrying the globe as early as the 2nd Century. What it does say is that she did not use the true Atlas, the Atlas from Hesiod (late 8th century b.c.) and may not have read his work.
The book is chopped up into 3 different sections.
Non-Contradiction, Either-Or, and A is A taken from Aristotle's Metaphysics
Non- Contradiction: The breakdown of this philosophy is that the same thing condition cannot exist and not exist at the same time. Time is very important here.
Either-Or (Law of exclude the middle): which states that there cannot be an intermediate between contradictories, but of one subject we must either affirm or deny any one predicate.
A is A (Law of Identity): Whatever is, is. A thing cannot be one thing and be another simultaneously. Reality is knowable and definable.
Although Rand admits, "The only philosophical debt I can acknowledge is to Aristotle." She also says, "I must emphatically disagree with a great many parts of his philosophy."
She doesn't need to say this explicitly as she as fought against them in her novel. She agrees strongly with Aristotle's laws of logic but most likely disagrees with him about his politics, virtuosity of craft/tradesman, reward for work, and his view on women.
Incitatus
Incitatus is mentioned. This was Caligula's horse. The one he supposedly wished to make into a Consul. The reference is about Cheryl. She is a simple, wretched horse made into something she should never be allowed to become and causes the same distaste among the aristocracy as Caligula and Incitatus did among the Senate.
[ my notes for later
Atlantis
Rand's rant about greek assessment of Tradesman/Craftsman]
The title was the first thing of note. Atlas, a Titan who sided against Zeus.
From Iapetos + a trim-ankled oceanid nymph named Clymene = Atlas and brothers Prometheus, Menoitios, and Epimetheus
Who is Atlas? From Hesiod: "Atlas, under strong constraint, holds up the broad sky with his head and tireless hands, standing at the ends of the earth, away by the clear voiced Hesperides, for Zeus the resourceful assigned him this lot."
Although his original function was to hold the sky from uniting with the earth, today he's seen as being responsible for holding up the earth itself. Originally standing at the ends of the earth, he's now thought of as standing under the earth and carrying the weight of it on his shoulders. His service and punishment have changed.
From reading Rand's book, it becomes apparent that she knew and read Aristotle and very possibly Homer. I don't know if she read Hesiod's Theogony but if she did the idea of Atlas in her title may differ slightly than the Atlas that is currently pictured on most of her reprints.
This got me thinking of what the title actually meant. If Atlas was known by Rand as the true Atlas - the one that was responsible for separating the heavens from the earth - then it could mean quite a number of things relating to those who belong to heaven and those who belong to the earth. Rand has not used the true Atlas. She has used a different Atlas but shouldn't be criticized for it too much. Atlas was seen carrying the globe as early as the 2nd Century. What it does say is that she did not use the true Atlas, the Atlas from Hesiod (late 8th century b.c.) and may not have read his work.
The book is chopped up into 3 different sections.
Non-Contradiction, Either-Or, and A is A taken from Aristotle's Metaphysics
Non- Contradiction: The breakdown of this philosophy is that the same thing condition cannot exist and not exist at the same time. Time is very important here.
Either-Or (Law of exclude the middle): which states that there cannot be an intermediate between contradictories, but of one subject we must either affirm or deny any one predicate.
A is A (Law of Identity): Whatever is, is. A thing cannot be one thing and be another simultaneously. Reality is knowable and definable.
Although Rand admits, "The only philosophical debt I can acknowledge is to Aristotle." She also says, "I must emphatically disagree with a great many parts of his philosophy."
She doesn't need to say this explicitly as she as fought against them in her novel. She agrees strongly with Aristotle's laws of logic but most likely disagrees with him about his politics, virtuosity of craft/tradesman, reward for work, and his view on women.
Incitatus
Incitatus is mentioned. This was Caligula's horse. The one he supposedly wished to make into a Consul. The reference is about Cheryl. She is a simple, wretched horse made into something she should never be allowed to become and causes the same distaste among the aristocracy as Caligula and Incitatus did among the Senate.
[ my notes for later
Atlantis
Rand's rant about greek assessment of Tradesman/Craftsman]