Jennifer Burns

I mean, I philosophically agree with Solzhenitsyn for sure. I do think some ideas pull on the good side and some ideas pull on the bad side. Like, absolutely. And I think that's probably why people dislike Rand so much is they feel like she's giving license to the bad side. And she's saying it's okay to be selfish and it's okay. You know, they feel like she's unloosing the dark forces. Yeah.

I mean, I philosophically agree with Solzhenitsyn for sure. I do think some ideas pull on the good side and some ideas pull on the bad side. Like, absolutely. And I think that's probably why people dislike Rand so much is they feel like she's giving license to the bad side. And she's saying it's okay to be selfish and it's okay. You know, they feel like she's unloosing the dark forces. Yeah.

I mean, I philosophically agree with Solzhenitsyn for sure. I do think some ideas pull on the good side and some ideas pull on the bad side. Like, absolutely. And I think that's probably why people dislike Rand so much is they feel like she's giving license to the bad side. And she's saying it's okay to be selfish and it's okay. You know, they feel like she's unloosing the dark forces. Yeah.

And in some cases that may be true, but she's also unloosing some of the light forces in terms of reflecting on yourself and trying to be true. But definitely there are ideas that are dangerous to play with and there are ideas that I think give license to the darker sides of human nature. But I think you can see that in the historical record. So I think that it's possible to show that

And in some cases that may be true, but she's also unloosing some of the light forces in terms of reflecting on yourself and trying to be true. But definitely there are ideas that are dangerous to play with and there are ideas that I think give license to the darker sides of human nature. But I think you can see that in the historical record. So I think that it's possible to show that

And in some cases that may be true, but she's also unloosing some of the light forces in terms of reflecting on yourself and trying to be true. But definitely there are ideas that are dangerous to play with and there are ideas that I think give license to the darker sides of human nature. But I think you can see that in the historical record. So I think that it's possible to show that

And obviously there's some places, you know, like Germany, they think the ideas are so dangerous they can't be allowed to circulate. And in some contexts that may absolutely be true.

And obviously there's some places, you know, like Germany, they think the ideas are so dangerous they can't be allowed to circulate. And in some contexts that may absolutely be true.

And obviously there's some places, you know, like Germany, they think the ideas are so dangerous they can't be allowed to circulate. And in some contexts that may absolutely be true.

Yeah, I mean, I think in a lot of cases, I think it's true. You know, Keynes has this famous quote, like, you know, most men are slaves of some defunct economist, you know?

Yeah, I mean, I think in a lot of cases, I think it's true. You know, Keynes has this famous quote, like, you know, most men are slaves of some defunct economist, you know?

Yeah, I mean, I think in a lot of cases, I think it's true. You know, Keynes has this famous quote, like, you know, most men are slaves of some defunct economist, you know?

So I do think that, like, it's really hard to have an original thought. You know, we are social creatures. We encounter the same situations again and again. And so it's really hard. You're born into these traditions of thinking and being and knowing, and most people are never going to question them, and most people are never going to become aware of them.

So I do think that, like, it's really hard to have an original thought. You know, we are social creatures. We encounter the same situations again and again. And so it's really hard. You're born into these traditions of thinking and being and knowing, and most people are never going to question them, and most people are never going to become aware of them.

So I do think that, like, it's really hard to have an original thought. You know, we are social creatures. We encounter the same situations again and again. And so it's really hard. You're born into these traditions of thinking and being and knowing, and most people are never going to question them, and most people are never going to become aware of them.

So again, that's some of the work of what I do as an intellectual historian. It's like, let's become aware. Let's realize that you're carrying a map that's orienting you to the world in a certain way, right? And so... I think you have to work really, really hard to have an original idea. And even then, it's not a completely original idea.

So again, that's some of the work of what I do as an intellectual historian. It's like, let's become aware. Let's realize that you're carrying a map that's orienting you to the world in a certain way, right? And so... I think you have to work really, really hard to have an original idea. And even then, it's not a completely original idea.

So again, that's some of the work of what I do as an intellectual historian. It's like, let's become aware. Let's realize that you're carrying a map that's orienting you to the world in a certain way, right? And so... I think you have to work really, really hard to have an original idea. And even then, it's not a completely original idea.

It's a reworking and a reassembling of ideas others have had. So I definitely think it's possible to create autonomy in the realm of ideas and to be an autonomous consumer of ideas. But I think on balance, most people are not. And that's fine. They want to have experiences. They want to do other things with their life, you know.

It's a reworking and a reassembling of ideas others have had. So I definitely think it's possible to create autonomy in the realm of ideas and to be an autonomous consumer of ideas. But I think on balance, most people are not. And that's fine. They want to have experiences. They want to do other things with their life, you know.