Epistemology

You my anticipate that the point I'm leading up to is that the difference, if there is one, is a matter of "what is the basis of knowledge." Ayn Rand and Gurdjieff both had a lot to say about this. I intend to explore the record on this as we continue.

As a good philosopher you probably recognize that the basis of knowledge is sensation followed by perception, organized by conception. So what are the essential differences between Objectivist Epistemology and Gurdjieff's knowledge? What are the Mystical Parallels. Perhaps Mystical is a misnomer?

First of all Gurdjieff insists on a wider scope of sensation that Ayn Rand acknowledges....

In The Beginning, the Body.

"Howard Roark laughed.
...
He felt his shoulder blades drawn tight together, the curve of is neck, and the weight of the blood in his hands." ("The Fountainhead", first page.)

Then the other descriptions: lying on the grass after a day in the quarry, the drink of cold water, floating in the sea close to Gail Wynand's yacht.

"The Fountainhead" is rooted in the embodied experience!

Then we have "In Search of the Miraculous" page 146, 2nd paragraph: "mental photographs" that include sensations, postures, tones of voice, facial expressions. All the elements of the embodied experience, self-remembering.

I'm torn between listing more examples and posting this as is. For a Gurdjieffian nothing more is needed, but an Objectivist would want more clues.

Initial Setup

For a long time, maybe 15 years or so, I've wanted to write a book about the parallels between the writings of Ayn Rand and the writings of G.I. Gurdjieff as found in his books and as reported by Ouspenski.

I will probably never write the book, but I want to get the ideas of these parallels out to interested people, hence this blog.

I'll try to document my ideas with references but I won't let the lack of easily accessible reference material stop me from writing from my memory of what I read, perhaps 10, 20 or 30 years ago.

Comments are welcome. I'll refrain from wiseacreing in this blog and if I catch myself I'll clean it up. If I don't, the wise will be warned.