Ted Harding wrote:
> > but, in the meanwhile, perhaps we need a revision of Ayn Rand's
> > "Virtue of Selfishness" and how it may or may not extend to
the
> > open-source community.
>
> Ayn Rand's concept of "selfishness" is of course not the
standard
> one (gratifying oneself in disregard for others), and can (if I
> have it right) well embrace ensuring that the self is well looked
> after while extending one's resulting strength, vigour and
> survival to the benefit of others. And I think this may be a good
> analogy of the way the Open Source community works.
Ayn Rand claimed to base her philosophical system on three
``axioms'': (1) Existence exists. (2) Conciousness is
concious. (3) [I can't --- thank God --- remember.]
When I was in graduate school, lo these many years ago, I had
a friend who was a very right-wing person from the South of
the U. S. and who might have been expected to have some
sympathy with Ayn Rand's views. This friend had a gift for
succinct and pithy aphorisms. He remarked: ``Anyone who can
say `Existence exists' with a straight face is either a fool
or a charlatan.''
cheers,
Rolf Turner
rolf at math.unb.ca
