Philosophy of Mind Quotes by Ayn Rand

To achieve, you need thought

— Ayn Rand

Men who reject the responsibility of thought and reason can only exist as parasites on the thinking of others.

— Ayn Rand

“Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's value.”

— Ayn Rand

“A thinking child cannot conform. Thought does not bow to authority.”

— Ayn Rand

I guard my treasures: my thoughts, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom.

— Ayn Rand

The conservatives want to rule man's consciousness; the liberals, his body.

— Ayn Rand

“I guard my treasures: my thought, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of these is freedom.”

— Ayn Rand

There are no evil thoughts except one; the refusal to think.

— Ayn Rand

Action without thought is mindlessness, and thought without action is hypocritical.

— Ayn Rand

Man needs knowledge in order to survive, and only reason can achieve it; men who reject the responsibility of thought and reason,…

— Ayn Rand

Man's basic vice, the source of all his evils, is the act of unfocusing his mind, the suspension of his consciousness, which…

— Ayn Rand

“Any refusal to recognize reality, for any reason whatever, has disastrous consequences. There are no evil thoughts except one: the refusal to…

— Ayn Rand

“If nothing exists, there can be no consciousness, a consciousness with nothing to be conscious of is a contradiction in terms. A…

— Ayn Rand

That which you call your soul or spirit is your consciousness, and that which you call 'free will' is your mind's freedom…

— Ayn Rand

Any refusal to recognize reality, for any reason whatever, has disastrous consequences. There are no evil thoughts except one: the refusal to…

— Ayn Rand

She sat leaning back in her chair, looking ahead, knowing that he was as aware of her as she was of him.…

— Ayn Rand

Just as man's physical existence was liberated when he grasped that 'nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed', so his consciousness will…

— Ayn Rand

“But since the work of man's mind is not automatic, his values, like all his premises, are product either of his thinking…

— Ayn Rand

“He tried to avoid these thoughts. He had to stand on guard against his own feeling—as if some part of him had…

— Ayn Rand

One can study what exists and how consciousness functions; but one cannot analyze (or “prove”) existence as such, or consciousness as such.…

— Ayn Rand

“Man’s mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him,…

— Ayn Rand

“The world of the future. The world I want. A world of obedience and of unity. A world where the thought of…

— Ayn Rand

Man cannot survive except through his mind. He comes on earth unarmed. His brain is his only weapon. Animals obtain food by…

— Ayn Rand

“He would think of it later, he thought; one moves step by step and one must keep moving. For the moment, with…

— Ayn Rand

“what's the most horrible experience you can imagine? To me—it's being left, unarmed, in a sealed cell with a drooling beast of…

— Ayn Rand

“When the fact that one is a total nonentity who’s done nothing more outstanding than eating, sleeping, and chatting with neighbors becomes…

— ayn rand

“The style of a soul. Do you remember the famous philosopher who spoke of the style of a civilization? He called it…

— Ayn Rand

“Independence is the recognition of the fact that yours is the responsibility of judgment and nothing can help you escape it—that no…

— Ayn Rand

She fell asleep, lying there, her hand clasping his. Her last awareness, before she surrendered the responsibility of consciousness, was the sense…

— Ayn Rand

To interpose the threat of physical destruction between a man and his perception of reality, is to negate and paralyze his means…

— Ayn Rand

But the mind is an attribute of the individual. There is no such thing as a collective brain. There is no such…

— Ayn Rand

“A man’s method of using his consciousness determines his method of survival. The three contestants are Attila, the Witch Doctor and the…

— Ayn Rand

“That, precisely, is the deadliness of second-handers. They have no concern for facts, ideas, work. They're concerned only with people. They don't…

— Ayn Rand

Independence is the recognition of the fact that yours is the responsibility of judgment and nothing can help you escape it-that no…

— Ayn Rand