▲ 74
The One Argument Ayn Rand Couldn’t Win

soupsoup:

syntheticpubes:

William James once argued that every philosophic system sets out to conceal, first of all, the philosopher’s own temperament: that pre-rational bundle of preferences that urges him to hop on whatever logic-train seems to be already heading in his general direction. This creates, as James put it, “a certain insincerity in our philosophic discussions: the potentest of all our premises is never mentioned … What the system pretends to be is a picture of the great universe of God. What it is—and oh so flagrantly!—is the revelation of how intensely odd the personal flavor of some fellow creature is.”
After reading the details of Rand’s early life, I find it hard to think of Objectivism as very objective at all—it looks more like a rational program retrofitted to a lifelong temperament, a fantasy world created to cancel the nightmare of a terrifying childhood. This is the comedy, the tragedy, and the power of Rand: She built a glorious imaginary empire on that nuclear-grade temperament, then devoted every ounce of her will and intelligence to proving it was all pure reason.

Although I disagree with Objectivism as a reasonable way to live, Atlas Shrugged is one of the most important books I’ve ever read. For me, it brought into sharp relief the brand of Skinnerian behaviorism that colors the way I see the world.

I would legitimately love to have a long discussion with a Randian Objectivist. Any takers?

  1. rafer reblogged this from mikehudack and added:
    Rafer sez: Her philosophy also moved from pro-rich to anti-poor after the death of her husband. I suspect causation.
  2. klaatu reblogged this from soupsoup
  3. stacyturner reblogged this from syntheticpubes
  4. coyotesqrl reblogged this from hammerito and added:
    Ayn Rand was a failed screenwriter. She couldn’t win a fucking argument with the dude who wrote Troll 2.
  5. crookedindifference reblogged this from hammerito and added:
    FUCK YES. although we seem to have the same opinion so it would benefit to have a counterpoint.
  6. mopostal reblogged this from soupsoup and added:
    I think this SyntheticPubes fellow may be on to something.
  7. jacknagel reblogged this from soupsoup and added:
    The majority of her [Rand] philosophy is revolting, but her story is just so incredibly fascinating.
  8. abeshafi reblogged this from mikehudack
  9. soupsoup reblogged this from syntheticpubes and added:
    William James once argued that every philosophic system sets out...conceal, first of all,...
  10. feelingsaregross reblogged this from mikehudack
  11. mikehudack reblogged this from atencio
  12. atencio reblogged this from syntheticpubes and added:
    buy Sam Anderson a drink
  13. beautyinthefilth reblogged this from syntheticpubes
  14. peckinpah reblogged this from syntheticpubes and added:
    Her life story/psychological underpinnings seem about as blatant as her fictional works. I’m hardly surprised.
  15. ceefang reblogged this from syntheticpubes
  16. whenyourise reblogged this from syntheticpubes
  17. ekstasis reblogged this from syntheticpubes and added:
    “Tell me what a man finds sexually attractive,” Rand wrote, “and I will tell you his entire philosophy of life.”
-
Thursday, 29th October