The DIM Hypothesis: Why the Lights of the West Are Going Out

This brilliantly conceived and organized book is based on a lecture course given by Dr. Leonard Peikoff in 1976, entitled "The Philosophy of Objectivism." The lectures were attended by Ayn Rand, who helped prepare them and also joined Peikoff in answering questions. Ayn Rand said of these lectures: "Until or unless I write a comprehensive treatise on my philosophy, Dr. Peikoff's course is the only authorized presentation of the entire theoretical structure of Objectivism--that is, the only one that I know of my own knowledge to be fully accurate."

Dr. Peikoff, Rand's designated heir and foremost interpreter, reveals the abstract fundamentals of Objectivism and its practical applications in the everyday world. He covers every branch of philosophy recognized by Rand and every philosophic topic she regarded as important--from certainty to money, from logic to art, from measurement to sex. Illustrated with quotes from her published works, complete with an abundance of new material that Ayn Rand offered only in private conversations with Peikoff, these clear, cogent chapters illuminate Objectivism--and its creator--with startling clarity. Now the millions of readers who have been transformed by Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead will discover the full philosophical system underlying Ayn Rand's stories about life "as it might be and ought to be."

 

In this far-reaching study, Peikoff identifies the three methods people use to integrate concrete data into a whole, as when connecting diverse experiments by a scientific theory, or separate laws into a Constitution, or single events into a story. The first method, in which data is integrated through rational means, he calls Integration. The second, which employs non-rational means, he calls Misintegration. The third is Disintegration—which is nihilism, the desire to tear things apart.

 

In The DIM Hypothesis Peikoff demonstrates the power of these three methods in shaping the West, by using the categories to examine the culturally representative fields of literature, physics, education, and politics. His analysis illustrates how the historical trends in each field have been dominated by one of these three categories, not only today but during the whole progression of Western culture from its beginning in Ancient Greece.

 

Extrapolating from the historical pattern he identifies, Peikoff concludes by explaining why the lights of the West are going out—and predicts the most likely future for the United States.

Ayn Rand chose Leonard Peikoff to be her successor as the spokesman for Objectivism. And in this brilliantly reasoned, thought-provoking work we learn why, as he demonstrates how far America has been detoured from its original path and led down the same road that Germany followed to Nazism. Self-sacrifice, Oriental mysticism, racial ?truth,? the public good, doing one?s duty--these are among the seductive catch-phrases that Leonard Peikoff dissects, examining the kind of philosophy they symbolize, the type of thinking that lured Germany to its doom and that he says is now prevalent in the United States. Here is a frightening look at where America may be heading, a clarion call for all who are concerned about preserving our right to individual freedom.

Leonard Peikoff is universally recognized as the pre-eminent Rand scholar writing today. He worked closely with Ayn Rand for 30 years and was designated by her as her intellectual heir and heir to her estate. He has taught philosophy at Hunter College, Long Island University, and New York University, and hosted the national radio talk show "Philosophy: Who Needs It."

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1: Reality

Existence, Consciousness, and Identity as the Basic Axioms

Causality as a Corollary of Identity

Existence as Possessing Primacy over Consciousness

The Metaphysically Given as Absolute

Idealism and Materialism as the Rejection of Basic Axioms

Chapter 2: Sense Perception and Volition

The Senses as Necessarily Valid

Sensory Qualities as Real

Consciousness as Possessing Identity

The Perceptual Level as the Given

The Primary Choice as the Choice to Focus or Not

Human Actions, Mental and Physical, as Both Caused and Free

Volition as Axiomatic

Chapter 3: Concept-Formation

Differentiation and Integration as the Means to a Unit-Perspective

Concept-Formation as a Mathematical Process

Concepts of Consciousness as Involving Measurement-Omission

Definition as the Final Step in Concept-Formation

Concepts as Devices to Achieve Unit-Economy

Chapter 4: Objectivity

Concepts as Objective

Objectivity as Volitional Adherence to Reality by the Method of Logic

Knowledge as Contextual

Knowledge as Hierarchical

Intrinsicism and Subjectivism as the Two Forms of Rejecting Objectivity

Chapter 5: Reason

Emotions as a Product of Ideas

Reason as Man's Only Means of Knowledge

The Arbitrary as Neither True nor False

Certainty as Contextual

Mysticism and Skepticism as Denials of Reason

Chapter 6: Man

Living Organisms as Goal-Directed and Conditional

Reason as Man's Basic Means of Survival

Reason as an Attribute of the Individual

Chapter 7: The Good

"Life" as the Essential Root of "Value"

Man's Life as the Standard of Moral Value

Rationality as the Primary Virtue

The Individual as the Proper Beneficiary of His Own Moral Action

Values as Objective

Chapter 8: Virtue

Independence as a Primary Orientation to Reality, Not to Other Men

Integrity as Loyalty to Rational Principles

Honesty as the Rejection of Unreality

Justice as Rationality in the Evaluation of Men

Productiveness as the Adjustment of Nature to Man

Pride as Moral Ambitiousness

The Initiation of Physical Force as Evil

Chapter 9: Happiness

Virtue as Practical

Happiness as the Normal Condition of Man

Sex as Metaphysical

Chapter 10: Government

Individual Rights as Absolutes

Government as an Agency to Protect Rights

Statism as the Politics of Unreason

Chapter 11: Capitalism

Capitalism as the Only Moral Social System

Capitalism as the System of Objectivity

Opposition to Capitalism as Dependent on Bad Epistemology

Chapter 12: Art

Art as a Concretization of Metaphysics

Romantic Literature as Illustrating the Role of Philosophy in Art

Esthetic Value as Objective

Epilogue: The Duel Between Plato and Aristotle

References

Index