Book Review: The Fountainhead

Title: The Fountainhead
Author: Ayn Rand
Publisher:  Plume; CENTENNIAL EDITION edition (November 1, 1994)

Genre: Philosophical fiction

The Fountainhead (Cliffs Notes)

Front Cover: The Fountainhead

 The Fountainhead is the philosophy of Objectivism argued in the form of a fiction novel. It is the doctrine that reality exists separate from consciousness. Reality is that which we can sense. We can sense our creation of an object, but we cannot sense the idea of creation. It is not real until it is created and when created, it is. The philosophy is a strong proponent of capitalism, private property and minimal outward influence from regulations and rules. Man can only truly live life through the means of action and the fruition of his interests and skills.  Selfishness is the noblest of virtues and altruism is slavery.

The Story: A great architect of genius  is unwelcome in his school, his profession, and in society.  The newspapers and men of influence despise and ridicule him.  Despite the movement by the majority to subvert the world to mediocrity by destroying this man and his progressive style, he creates for the sake of knowing that he created.  Money, fame, the desire to be accepted mean nothing to him.  He lives to create his ideas.  Some recognize the greatness of the structures designed and buck the outrage of the influential and powerful mediocrity.  Without verbal argument, the great architect continues to build and allow his work to speak.  Some make it their prime goal to destroy this man and his ideals.

If man is free to do as he pleases, there are many men who lose control of their power.  "They (rulers of men) exist entirely through the persons of others. Their goal is in their subjects, in the activity of enslaving. They are as dependent as the beggar, the social worker and the bandit. The form of dependence does not matter."  Strong regulations and powerful governments create little progress and few things that propel the world forward.

Ayn Rand and objectivism have truth in some areas, but are gravely lacking in others.     Humans are reputable for their inequalities.  Many cannot stand on their own merits.  Do we leave them to suffer?  There is very little hope in man.  Where did man receive the ability to reason and create?  Where is God?  If, as objectivisim states, man is god, we are all doomed.

Some have compared the fictional architect in this book to the real life Frank Lloyd Wright.

Other Ayn Rand Book Reviews:  Atlas Shrugged

Hunger Games

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press

Genre: Young Adult Novel

The Appalachian Mountains have been home to a free spirited people; a people defying the societies that have attempted to govern them.  The trappers, the pioneers, the bootleggers, the rebels, hillbillies, mountain men, and bluegrass have all called her home.  It is only appropriate that the under estimated heroine of this popular novel lives her young life as a huntress hidden among the green slopes of the dense Blue Ridge Mountains.

At some point in the future and after several unspecified world disasters, twelve districts are ruled by  the Capitol at District One set in the Rocky Mountains.  As an annual authoritative reminder a game is conducted.  The districts each unwillingly provide tribute of one girl and one boy between the age of 12 and 18 to the Capital as a participant in the ‘Hunger Games.’  The children are released into a climate controlled arena.  A winner is declared when only one still lives.  This is the story of one particular game.

Short, fast, simple, entertaining.  The book reads quick.  A collection of many different themes, the story could be symbolic of an array of ideas, eras, governments, or even an opinion of what is yet to be.

Book Review: 1421 The Year China Discovered America

Title: 1421 The Year China Discovered America
Author: Gavin Menzies
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Genre: World History

Chinese Junk compared to the Santa Maria

After 30 long years of war, Chinese forces succeeded in ousting the Mongol Empire in 1387 leading into the Ming Dynasty.  The early Ming Dynasty was a period of growth, expansion, and prosperity. Coupled with the Chinese knowledge of navigation, astronomy, shipbuilding, and written language, the Chinese built the greatest, wealthiest, most advanced Kingdom on earth. With this wealth and abundance came the ability to build and support a exploratory seafaring fleet.

The ships were built of teak.  In order to provide the wood, teak forests were decimated for hundreds of miles in each direction from Beijing. There were nearly 2,000 ships in all. The greatest of these ships could hold 3 months worth of food and travel 4,500 miles without stopping. The larger ships were built with compartments in the bowels. These compartments could be filled with water where trained dolphins provided the men with fresh fish. With a rich, peaceful, powerful Kingdom supporting it, this fleet divided into four expeditions, setting sail in early 1421.

These four fleets set out for four different parts of the world.  Captain Hong Bao, set sail for and explored the continent of Africa and the Atlantic side of South America, sailing thru what is now known as the Strait of Magellan. Captain Zhou Man explored Australia and the Pacific side of North and South America. Captain Zhou Wen explored the North Pole, Greenland, and the Atlantic coast of North America. And Captain Yang Qing traveled India, the Indian Ocean side of Africa, and the Middle East. During their epic expedition, China fell into a destructive civil war.

In May of 1421, disaster struck in the form of lightening.  Much of Beijing burned.  Believing it was divine disapproval of imperialist expansion and decimation of the forests, China's Ruler Zhu Di took his own life. Following was a dark and war ridden period of struggle. The explorers and their fleets returned to a land that was unrecognizable to them. Their voyage was not celebrated and documented.

The thesis of this book seems far stretched. Gavin cites a lot of evidence: Chinese DNA among Native Americans and Africans, Asiatic animals and fauna spread across the continents, unidentified wreckage strewn across the globe, mysterious rock memorials along coasts of each great land mass, and even documentation of European explorers. However, all evidence cited is not always evidence proven. There is a lot of dissent directed at the evidence provided. The possibility of such an undertaking is not impossible.

Book Review: Convenant and Election

Title: Covenant and Election in the Reformed Tradition
Author: David Englesma
Publisher: Reformed Free Publishing Association
Genre: Religious

Among other things, it appears that this book is written in response to an issue that is rearing itself within the modern church world. "The federal vision is the avowed development of the covenant doctrine that teaches that the covenant is graciously made by God in Christ with all the physical offspring of believers alike, but is dependent for its continuance with a child and for its fulfillment in the salvation of a child upon the works of the child." (page 2)

Covenant and election are doctrines that have their roots in the Bible. The covenant being the promise that God has made with his elect. And election being God's actions of having "chosen us in him [our Lord Jesus Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him." (Ephesians 1:4) This unconditional covenant is governed by election. These truths are defined and upheld in the Baptism Form of the Dutch Reformed churches and the Canons of Dordt; both of which are upheld by Scripture.

Many theologians have distorted the scriptural teachings of covenant and election. This book wades thru the teachings of others and picks apart their errors. It also defends the stance of John Calvin.

For the importance and depth of the doctrine discussed, the book is a surprisingly easy and quick read. It gives the reader a sharp understanding of God's promise to His elect and uses Scripture and the teachings of wise and godly men. In this book Englesma justly criticizes erroneous stances, but it seems, in at least one case, that the criticized beliefs are not properly defined making the denunciation easier to point out.

Hike Review: Sheep Hole Mountain

Location: Twentynine Palms, CA
Distance: 4 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Elevation change: 2200 feet
Time of year best to hike: Fall to Spring
Recommended maps: Dale Lake, CA USGS Topo Map
Video: Summit Attempt

Trail-Head: From Twentynine Palms, the trail-head is about 25 miles east on Amboy Road. As Amboy road turns north between Sheep Hole Mountain and the Bullion Mountains, there will be several dirt roads leaving the paved road to the east. The trail-head that used in this case was the dirt road at the top of this pass that leads to an easy to identify Microwave tower. The short dirt road that leads east from the paved road that leads to the microwave tower is passable to all vehicles. This tower is the trail-head. See the video linked at bottom of the summary for a view of the tower.

Summary: From the trail-head, set out directly east up the gradual desert floor. A fairly deep wash interrupts this trek at the base of the mountain. Follow the draw to the mouth of the rocky canyon from which the wash and the ascent begins. The trail quickly vanishes and scrambling begins. It is a grueling 1.5 miles of class two rock climbing to the top.

From what I have been told the view from the top is amazing. The desert air is very clear. The colors are vibrant. The contrast between desert and sky is stark. Unfortunately, I did not finish the hike. My dogs accompanied me on this hike. We got a mile into the scrambles and as we climbed, the rocks were getting bigger, more jagged, and the grade was becoming too steep for the dogs. They wanted to push on, but the best way to avoid disaster is good judgement. It is difficult for me to say this, but...I did not complete this summit. A video of my attempt is posted here: Sheep Hole Mountain Summit Attempt.

Leviathan Book II: Of Common Wealth

Title: Leviathan
Author: Thomas Hobbes
Publisher: Public Domain Books
Genre: Philosophy

Our natural man seeks power of many different forms.  This desire precedes conflict and contention even combat.  Arise the need for laws (contracts) that protects man from man.  Laws are upheld by a common power (common wealth).  The head of the common wealth must have sovereign power and wield its power through fear of punishment.  This fear must be powerful enough to instill peace amongst the people.  Excerpts from Job 41:10-33 describe the Leviathan as such, "none is so fierce that stir him up...his teeth are terrible round about...his scales are his pride...out of his mouth go burning lamps...in his neck remaineth strength...his heart is firm as stone...when he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breaking they purify themselves...upon earth there is not his like, who is made without fear."

The primary reason for the creation of a common wealth is peace.  Peace is achieved through restrictions.  Our desire for peace is more powerful then our desire for liberty.

Leviathan Book I: Of Man

Title: Leviathan
Author: Thomas Hobbes
Publisher: Public Domain Books
Genre: Philosophy

Our knowledge and experiences in this world originate from our senses.  External bodies colliding with our senses creates images, tastes, smells, pressures, sounds, etc.   The residual effect is our decaying sense or imagination.  Understanding and thought is the succession of one imagination in line with another line of imagination.  Speech is the transformation of mental discourse into verbal discourse.  Reason is inviting our experiences into our thought processes.

To reason is to be subject to our senses.  True individual reason cannot exist.  Senses and thought processes are different by each individual beholding.  True certainty based on individual reason cannot exist.  There must be an agreed upon definition of each word in order for reason to become somewhat homogeneous.  Science is putting lines of reason together and cannot be possible without well defined words.

The arrangement of the book is a philosophical stepping stone.  The first part leads into the second and the second bases its arguments and conclusions on the ideas of the first part and so on.  However, after science, appetites (good) and aversions (bad) are the motions that take place within us that create endeavor or action.  Some are born with us others are gained from experience.  Proceeding our actions is deliberation and our so called will.  Passion and fear are rooted in appetites and aversions.  To have no passion is to be dead; to have weak passion is to be dull; to have passions indifferent is to be irresolute; to have passions abound is to be mad. The same can be said for fear.  From our passions and fears arises the pursuit of  our desires and the avoidance of our fears.  Pursuit and avoidance are actions that will inevitably lead to conflict; placing men against each other.  In this system there is no liberty.  Contracts must be created in order to allow some sort of liberty without fear.

Hobbes believes to be able to have a philosophical method, the human nature must be understood.  His reasoning, deduced from sensual experiences, I am sure, is the reason the first part of his argument is dedicated to defining human nature and the human thought process. The second part, Of the Common-Wealth, will be a show of protecting man from himself.