E29 - Phaethon Succeeded

A Socialist Reads Atlas Shrugged

This episode begins by delving into aesthetics with an exploration of the question: what makes great art great? Dagny returns to her apartment and listens to the music of Richard Halley. Jonathan analyzes the description of Halley's Fourth Concerto and explores the idea that the experience of pain is worse for those who see no purpose in it. Jonathan mentions the philosopher Viktor Frankl as a philosopher who writes on the purpose of suffering (especially in his book Man's Search for Meaning). The biography of Richard Halley engages with the trope of the tortured artist and Rand ends up harshly critiquing that trope. Jonathan makes an analogy between the Greek myth of Phaethon and the teenager who wrecks their dad's car. On the question of changing trends and shifting tastes in art, Jonathan compares the experience of Richard Halley to the way that Shakespeare varied in popularity over the centuries. The intrusion of the headline about Francisco d'Anconia is presented as a violation of the ethos of Halley's Fourth Concerto.
My five themes to explore in this podcast's close read of Atlas Shrugged are:

1. What is human nature?
2. Straw-man arguments and their impact on the world Ayn Rand creates.
3. Dagny Taggart as a true hero.
4. How empathy can be de-legitimized.
5. What is Capitalism and what is wrong with it?

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Learn more about Jonathan Seyfried at their website, https://jonathanseyfried.art
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The intro/outro music was composed by John Sib.
The podcast theme image was created by Karina Bial

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