Two Philosophers

“If there is a philosophical Atlas who carries the whole of Western civilization on his shoulders,” Ayn Rand wrote, “it is Aristotle. He has been opposed, misinterpreted, misrepresented, and—like an axiom—used by his enemies in the very act of denying him. Whatever intellectual progress men have achieved rests on his achievements.” Such tributes to Aristotle in Rand’s writing have led many readers to study his works. And a number of these, including some of the contributors to this volume, would go on to become scholars of both Aristotle and Rand. It is fitting, then, that there should be an exploration of the relationship between their two philosophies. As the fourth volume in the Ayn Rand Society Philosophical Studies series, this collection originated in presentations at meetings of the Ayn Rand Society of the American Philosophical Association. It fosters a deeper appreciation for Ayn Rand’s place in the Aristotelian tradition and in the history of philosophy more generally.

Author Biography

James G. Lennox (Editor) James G. Lennox is professor emeritus of history and philosophy of science at the University of Pittsburgh. He has published widely on Aristotle, Charles Darwin, and evolutionary biology. His books include Aristotle: On the Parts of Animals I-IV, a translation and commentary in Oxford’s Clarendon Aristotle Series, Aristotle’s Philosophy of Biology in the Cambridge Studies in Philosophy and Biology Series, Aristotle on Inquiry, and many coedited volumes. Gregory Salmieri (Editor) Gregory Salmieri teaches philosophy at the University of Texas, Austin, where he is a senior scholar at the Salem Center for Policy. He is author of many articles on Rand’s philosophy and is coeditor (with Allan Gotthelf) of A Companion to Ayn Rand and (with Robert Mayhew) Foundations of a Free Society Reflections on Ayn Rand’s Political Philosophy.