Objectivists and Astrology

The (psuedo)science of astrology assesses the make-up of each individual from their date, place and time of birth. However this may be seen as intrinsicist as it assumes your chara is moulded from birth. Do Objectivists however have any truck that astrology can provide insights into an individuals personality and motivations, or do you all see it as a load of bollocks? Have any of you had astrology charts done?

Post 1

Friday, January 24, 2003 - 6:30am

I think that astrology does little more than provide a set of archetypes to which one can compare oneself. I suppose that comparing oneself to the archetype for a given star sign can act as a springboard for introspection, to question oneself about one's personality. Other than that, it's a load of bollocks, albeit a slightly amusing load of bollocks.

Post 2

Friday, January 24, 2003 - 10:02pm

MRDA, have you any scientifically verifiable evidence to offer concerning the validity of astrology?

Post 3

Monday, January 27, 2003 - 1:35am

Yes MDRA, astrology is a load of bollocks.

There was a big kerfuffle here in NZ a couple of years back when a lady rang a pay number for her horoscope and accidentally keyed in the wrong starsign. She listened to the predictions and then rang back for her own, and was most upset to get exactly the same prediction. I laughed when she went to the media to say she'd been ripped off, and I still laugh about it now.

One of the gifts my baby son got when he was born was a framed poster with his name and date of birth on it. It predicts what type of person he will become and what his likes and dislikes and career etc will be. I guess to some extent his reading it (when he can read that is!) may shape his character along those lines a little bit (as in 'Oh it says here I like the colour blue and the number seven' sort of thing) but unfortunately for the gift-giver the poster has been consigned to the closet and there it will stay. He can develop his own character.

To say that one's character is affected by where Jupiter was and what phase the moon was in is ridiculous. Unless of course you can do what MJC asked and provide some scientifically verifiable evidence....

I won't hold my breath.

-tony

Post 4

Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 5:56am

I used to think this way when I was your age. Now that I am 22, I think I have outgrown that stuff. I also have been studying a little pyschology lately, and I would say, from your actions (putting that rubbish in the cupboard) that you have le subconcsious desire to actually get the child to believe it, one day. If it were me I would do something absolutely permanent, like throw it in the incinerator and burn it. What else would you do with such crap ?
(^___________________________^)

Post 5

Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 12:18pm

I am not talking about horoscopes now. Horoscopes are the biggest scam going. I also don't believe X star sign and Y star sign makes a perfect match, etc, or that you can find your 'soul mate'.

However, I have seen some things that purport to tell you a little about yourself according to your date of birth, and they seem to hold some truth, at least enough for me to hold some hope that there is some truth in it, and that science will discover it in the future.

At the moment, however, I would say don't bother unless you plan to research it. 99% of it is a hoax.

An even bigger scam is numerology.

Post 6

Thursday, January 22, 2004 - 12:46pm

Actually, just about anything of that sort can be used as --- what is the term? not "oracle", but....
For example, if I'm stuck for an idea on my writing, or the answer to a given question, it's often helpful to (for instance), open to a random page in ATLAS SHRUGGED (or even the bible), and pick a random sentence. I'm not saying that this is a substitute for reason, far from it, but it IS a way to get yourself "unstuck", in situations where your thought process needs some prompting.

Post 7

Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 2:06pm