Let's talk about Ayn Rand

[acri1]

Ayn Rand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)

Let's get it.

So a lot of people, especially on the political right, practically worship her. Plenty of people decide to be libertarians after reading "Atlas Shrugged" and whatnot.

Now, admittedly I'm not an expert on Objectivism, but from what I've read of her philosophy, she kind of seems like...a pretty awful person. But maybe I'm misjudging. From what I understand the idea is pretty much that selfishness is a virtue and humans have no ethical obligation to help each other.

So...anybody here have a strong opinion about her and her philosophy one way or the other? I'd be particularly interested in people that identify as conservative/libertarian.

 

[The Real]

Ayn Rand - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivism_(Ayn_Rand)

Let's get it.

So a lot of people, especially on the political right, practically worship her. Plenty of people decide to be libertarians after reading "Atlas Shrugged" and whatnot.

Now, admittedly I'm not an expert on Objectivism, but from what I've read of her philosophy, she kind of seems like...a pretty awful person. But maybe I'm misjudging. From what I understand the idea is pretty much that selfishness is a virtue and humans have no ethical obligation to help each other.

So...anybody here have a strong opinion about her and her philosophy one way or the other? I'd be particularly interested in people that identify as conservative/libertarian.

I despise Rand's writings, so I'm going to have to let loose a bit here.

Not only was she an awful person, she was also poorly regarded by all the major philosophers of her day. There isn't a single great thinker who ever endorsed her in any coordinate of the political-philosophical grid.

In addition, all her ridiculous comparisons of herself to great thinkers were unwarranted. For example, she used to compare herself to Nietzsche, saying things like "he beat me to all my ideas," except Nietzschean individualism and Randian individualism are nothing alike. Nietzsche hated capitalism and the indulgence of selfish desire, reactionary vanity, and did not endorse rationality or objectivity as part of his individualism. The same disconnect holds true for the other great thinkers whose lineages she pretended to inhabit.

The real reason she is so popular, imo, is that she gives people who are narcissistic but ignorant and/or stupid (a large swath of the American populace) a feeling of vicarious elitism that is completely unearned but easy to access, since her writing lacks substance.

Here's a decent list of serious literature that completely destroys "Objectivism," with links provided wherever possible.

Critique of "The Objectivist Ethics" by Michael Huemer

Ayn Rand as a Moral and Political Philosopher by Jan Narveson (this one is actually a Libertarian critique of Rand)

On the Randian Argument by Robert Nozick

Objectivism and the Corruption of Rationality: A Critique of Ayn Rand’s Epistemology by John Scott Ryan

Garbage and Gravitas by Corey Robin

The Sociology of the Ayn Rand Cult by Murray Rothbard (he's not so great a thinker himself, but why not)

Egoism vs Rights by Robert Bass

Life and the Theory of Value: The Randian Argument Reconsidered by Charles King,

The Fundamental Moral Elements of Rand's Theory of Rights by Eric Mack

Charity Toward None: An Analysis of Ayn Rand's Philosophy by William F. O'Neill

 

[Dusty Bake Activate]

A horrible, horrible person who authored a philosophy that makes a virtue out of being a sociopath. She even spoke admirably of serial killers.

 

[Robbie3000]

The homie Vic was right. Dems should highlight Ryan's adimiration for this wench. MSNBC has already started this process.

 

[zerozero]

I've started to get a bit suspicious at the knee jerk hate about her that the political arenas I'm sympathetic to always display.. I will need to look a bit more into her life & work

though I saw an insane youtube clip about her saying the west had a right to Mideast oil because it didn't exist until the west made technology for it and 'rights are not involved in these primitive societies' which made me

 

[Robbie3000]

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