6 Comments
User's avatar
Tomaz Cavalieri's avatar

Excellent article. It brought me back to some of the core principles of Objectivism and, after a few years of trying to live by these ideas, reminded me of what resonated so strongly with me when I first encountered Ayn Rand’s philosophy. Check your premises. Always.

Heolstor's avatar

Do you believe that the choice to live is pre-moral and doesn't have a correct option? Do you agree with Rand that suicide is sometimes justified? For me those are deal-breakers that turn Objectivist ethics into yet another form of subjectivist nonsense.

goinby's avatar

Objectivism’s absolutes liberate, not chain, because they demand your reason, not faith or authority.

Reality is. Grasp it yourself, or perish.

That’s freedom.

Remy's avatar

Thanks for this enlightening article. Alas, you do not consider one aspect of the question which, in my mind, has antagonized many people over the years: not the ideas themselves, but the people. Here I am referring to the bigotry of some Objectivists regarding any criticism of Rand’s ideas, or the notion that Objectivism is a closed system. By ostracizing people who deviate from the established line, they act exactly like religious zealots.

Greg Hadaller's avatar

Having a poor math teacher or mean students in your math class in no way reflects on the correctness or usefulness of calculus.

Jonathan Townley's avatar

Also, Objectivism *is* a closed system. Just sayin'...