Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
theobjectivestandard.com
Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
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Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#2Does it seem odd to anyone else to position Jobs as an Objectivist in line with Rand's ethics when he was avowedly a Buddhist? Not everyone who makes stuff and cares about quality control is an "ethical egoist," or whatever you call it.
Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#3It seems wrong to me that the post doesn't apparently attribute these quotes (and they are all from the same source) to Steve Jobs' Commencement Address at Stanford in 2005, or say anything about their context.
Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#4Does it seem odd to anyone else to position Jobs as an Objectivist in line with Rand's ethics when he was avowedly a Buddhist? Not everyone who makes stuff and cares about quality control is an "ethical egoist," or whatever you call it.
It does seem odd, especially since objectivists are about as second-handed as it gets. "Objectivism" is not a philosophy; it's a support group in New York for emotionally broken rich people.
Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#5It seems wrong to me that the post doesn't apparently attribute these quotes (and they are all from the same source) to Steve Jobs' Commencement Address at Stanford in 2005, or say anything about their context.
I agree. I would highly suggest pinging the author about that omission.
Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#6Steve Jobs was an interesting man who led an unusual and great life, and I have a lot of respect for him for what he's done, but I don't think his "philosophy of life" is very practical for average people. By his late 20s, he was at the point of never having to work again. He could work for fun. This doesn't take anything away from him; he worked very hard and produced excellent products. My point is that what worked for him doesn't work for most people. If you are a person like Steve Jobs in an average position, you're looking at a string of 6- to 12-month jobs and eventual unemployment once your CV looks like Ypres.
Once you're independently wealthy and don't have to work anymore, it's a really great idea to de-condition yourself from social climbing and people-pleasing and all the other idiocies that enter life when one has to manage others' perceptions of oneself. In fact, it's necessary to do that if you want to do anything great; otherwise, you'll be mired in mediocrity because that's what most people like and want. But if you're a normal person who has to pay the bills, to throw all of that social stupidity to the wind is putting the cart a bit before the horse.
If I have kids, I'm not going to tell them to "follow their dreams" or "do what you love, and everything else will take care of itself". We don't live in a good enough world for that. It's just not practical advice.
Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#7Does it seem odd to anyone else to position Jobs as an Objectivist in line with Rand's ethics when he was avowedly a Buddhist? Not everyone who makes stuff and cares about quality control is an "ethical egoist," or whatever you call it.
> Not everyone who makes stuff and cares about quality control is an "ethical egoist," or whatever you call it.
I agree. But, Steve Jobs was indeed an ethical egoist in words and in actions. I think this statement alone, supported by his entire life's work, testifies to his having been an "ethical egoist": “Don’t be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.” -Steve Jobs (2005 Stanford Commencement Address)
or this: "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle." -Steve Jobs, Stanford Address
I think that Craig Biddle's conclusions are correct - whether or not Jobs himself ever said he was or wasn't an Objectivist.
FYI, have you seen this interview with Woz: http://www.bloomberg.com/video/74391682/#ooid=8xMWJyMjoT9XMT... Around 9:00: "STEVE WOZNIAK: …And he did want to have a successful company, and he had a lot of ideas. He must’ve read some books that really were his guide in life, you know, and I think… Well, Atlas Shrugged might’ve been one of them that he mentioned back then. But they were his guides in life as to how you make a difference in the world. And it starts with a company. You build products and you gotta make your profit, and that allows you to invest the profit and then make better products that make more profit. I would say, how good a company is, it’s fair to measure it by its profitability."
I won't even begin to quote the Think Different(tm) commercial or Jobs' line of reasoning for why Apple did that entire campaign.
Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#8Does it seem odd to anyone else to position Jobs as an Objectivist in line with Rand's ethics when he was avowedly a Buddhist? Not everyone who makes stuff and cares about quality control is an "ethical egoist," or whatever you call it.
It does seem odd, especially since objectivists are about as second-handed as it gets. "Objectivism" is not a philosophy; it's a support group in New York for emotionally broken rich people.
What is a philosophy? What makes Objectivists second handers? You are pointing fingers and spouting hyperbole, without an iota of a substantive argument.
Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#9Does it seem odd to anyone else to position Jobs as an Objectivist in line with Rand's ethics when he was avowedly a Buddhist? Not everyone who makes stuff and cares about quality control is an "ethical egoist," or whatever you call it.
It does seem odd, especially since objectivists are about as second-handed as it gets. "Objectivism" is not a philosophy; it's a support group in New York for emotionally broken rich people.
Can you explain how objectivists are second-handed?
Re: Steve Jobs’ Philosophy of Life
#10Does it seem odd to anyone else to position Jobs as an Objectivist in line with Rand's ethics when he was avowedly a Buddhist? Not everyone who makes stuff and cares about quality control is an "ethical egoist," or whatever you call it.
I don't think the author tries to position Jobs as an objectivist.
The author merely points out that Jobs' creative capabilities and self-reliance serve as a shining example to objectivists.
(I am not an objectivist)