Objectivism
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Objectivism was Ayn Rand's attempt at introducing religious elements previously missing from atheism, viz., an inability to define any non-self-serving epistemology and a violent idiocy on the part of believers. It was called Objectivism because, as Rand was the single smartest person in the history of the world, anything she said had to be objective.
It is not a school of philosophy with wide acceptance within academia; in fact, many academics consider it rather juvenile.[1] It is nevertheless very popular, and informs the beliefs of a great many libertarians and assorted whackjobs. Although it shares some beliefs with conservatism, it has not had much influence on that branch of politics due to its radical, anti-traditional nature; see, for example, Whittaker Chambers's criticisms of Atlas Shrugged.[2]
Objectivism has some life outside Rand's shadow; while its largest faction is represented by the Ayn Rand Institute, led by Rand's pet chihuahua intellectual heir Leonard Peikoff, an "open" faction exists outside Rand's circle, led by David Kelley and his group, The Atlas Society. The debate over how much of Objectivism is dependent on Rand's writings and how far it can go beyond that is a fierce one that has engendered numerous purges and bitter catfights over the years.
Contents |
[edit] Philosophy
Rand summed up her philosophy with the following principles:
- Metaphysics: Objective Reality
- Epistemology: Reason
- Ethics: Self-interest
- Politics: Capitalism
[edit] Metaphysics
| “ | To exist is to be something, as distinguished from the nothing of nonexistence. | ” |
| —Galt Speech, Atlas Shrugged | ||
As a philosophy, Objectivism addresses the nature of reality, although not in a terribly original way.
Objectivism holds that reality is separate from human consciousness. No matter what a person might want to believe, a thing in reality will always be what it is with no room for subjectivity regarding its nature. The idea is supposedly based on the law of identity, A is A, which Rand ripped off of Aristotle — the only one of her rip-offs that she acknowledged.
[edit] Epistemology
| “ | Treat as potential killers those specimens of insolent depravity who make demands upon you, announcing that they have and seek no reasons, proclaiming, as a license, that they 'just feel it' — or those who reject an irrefutable argument by saying: 'It's only logic,' which means: 'It's only reality.' | ” |
| —Galt Speech, Atlas Shrugged | ||
Enough said.
[edit] Ethics
| “ | I swear — by my life and my love of it — that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine. | ” |
| —Atlas Shrugged | ||
| “ | There is one word that is forbidden in this valley: the word 'give.' | ” |
| —Ibid. | ||
Objectivism holds, basically, that everyone should live by their own effort, neither accepting gifts from others nor giving them, as both actions are considered moral weaknesses.
Therefore, Objectivism holds that all forms of altruism are irrational and immoral, even if they are done voluntarily. For example, they consider Mother Teresa immoral (just like Christopher Hitchens does, although for different reasons).
It should be noted that Objectivism's system of morals shares many similarities with an older moral philosophy, ethical egoism.
The closest known relative to Objectivism is the Sith Code, which also sees giving to and loving other human beings as irrational. Mercy and humility is also frowned upon.
[edit] Politics
| “ | The source of property rights is the law of causality. | ” |
| —Galt Speech, Atlas Shrugged | ||
| “ | The only proper functions of a government are: the police, to protect you from criminals; the army, to protect you from foreign invaders; and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud by others, to settle disputes by rational rules, according to objective law. But a government that initiates the employment of force against men who had forced no one, the employment of armed compulsion against disarmed victims, is a nightmare infernal machine designed to annihilate morality. | ” |
| —Ibid. | ||
Objectivism holds that free-market capitalism is superior to any other economic system, partially because it holds property rights to be grounded in reason, and partially because capitalism is held to be the only system in which it is possible for laws to be objective (because there is only one law allowed, viz., "Don't Mess With My Property").
[edit] Strange definitions
Objectivists commonly take a word, change its meaning to fit their needs, and then complain that no one else is using their definitions. This has often led to confusion in debates, as neither side knew that they were both speaking two different languages.
Some commonly warped words include:
- Altruism: The Objectivist definition is "...that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value."[3] When translated from Jargonese, Rand is attempting to say that "altruism" is acting like a doormat and only working for others without consideration of one's own needs. Naturally, few people actually have such a view on life; even fewer do who actually practice altruism. In Oldspeak, altruism is simply acting to benefit humanity.
- Mercy: Leonard Peikoff defined mercy as "unearned forgiveness". This basically means that if your enemy is on the battlefield, unarmed, and begging for mercy, it would be immoral to let him live.More detail.
[edit] Wacky positions
Many Objectivists, at least during Ayn Rand's lifetime, held that cigarette smoking is a moral obligation.[4]
Objectivism's views on art and music tend to reflect Rand's own personal tastes, constructing a philosophical basis in which the art and music Rand liked is moral, while anything else is not. One wonders what some of them think of Rush (the band), whose drummer Neil Peart wrote lyrics inspired by Rand, but whose music was clearly not of the type approved by the ever-so-rational Miss Rand?
[edit] See also
- Neo-Tech, one of Objectivism's loony-fringe offshoots.
- The videogame Bioshock, whose setting is an Objectivist "utopia" gone horribly wrong.
[edit] External links
- Objectivism forums on Rational Wiki - apparently they don't like us either.
[edit] References
- ↑ But this might be an example of psychological projection, as many academics also have a problem understanding the importance of matching socks.
- ↑ http://www.nationalreview.com/flashback/flashback200501050715.asp
- ↑ Altruism, aynrandlexicon.com
- ↑ http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard23.html
