Ayn Rand, in "The Fountainhead", argues that men never actually seek their own happiness. Illustrating her individualistic view, she states that all standards, efforts, goals and ambitions are set up by society, not the individual. Ayn Rand is proposing an extremist viewpoint o the topic of individual freedom. This statement can be qualified as true, but has several setbacks.
To an extent, our goals are set up by society. According to society, we must go through school, go to college, find a job, and carry on the job until we retire. To an extent this is the lifestyle most men must follow in order to survive. If we don't have a well-paying job, then we can't thrive, let alone survive in today's society.
However, there are notable exceptions to this rule. I have a friend who has a life goal of going into space one day. She plans on majoring in aerospace engineering, and working for NASA. Realistically, it is possible for her to accomplish these goals, considering they flow with society's demands. However, her desire to become an astronaut started when she was a mere kid, before society's expectations could morph her. And even though she currently has a grudge against me, I can still see that she means to stay away from society's expectations of life.
In all, while society sets up the standards for how we should live life, we still have much choice in what we desire, versus what society desires.
No comments:
Post a Comment