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Since discovering Ayn Rand's philosophy a few years ago, I find myself voraciously consuming and constantly striving to understand every aspect of her ideas. I get great pleasure in suddenly comprehending something that I have struggled to grasp. It feels like a hobby of sorts, but with much wider applications. Is this productive work if I use this knowledge to enhance my life and improve my ability to think conceptually? |
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Yes, it certainly is productive work if one uses one's knowledge to enhance one's life and improve one's ability to think conceptually, as the question stipulates. The only reason for any doubt that I can see is the vagueness of the term "use." The question offers little guidance as to how one would do that. But if one can do it and actually does it, then I say excellent! And I hope it will continue to develop over time, with increasing productive achievements to show for all the effort. It may even, in time, become developed enough to displace whatever one is currently doing for a living, or to allow one's current professional work to grow and develop together with one's knowledge of Objectivism into an outstanding, highly integrated career that never would have been possible without mastering Objectivist ideas. Even if one only pursues Objectivist learning in one's spare time, it's still a highly valuable use of one's time and energy, even if it doesn't serve as one's main productive work for financial support. It usually can't be one's main productive work in the beginning, anyway, while one is still learning and mastering the fundamentals, unless one is still a young student supported by parents or scholarships, etc. |
