Objectivism Archive

Ayn Rand and murderer William Edward Hickman

November 22, 2011 · Category: Individualism, Intellectual, Objectivism

A friend on Facebook lamented the fact that academics tend to equate libertarian thinking with Ayn Rand — "And it's never her ideas of anything like self-ownership or individuality that get cited either. It's always her batshit personality quirks," like "Her creepy admiration of William Edward Hickman, a serial killer." My reply: I've heard that something like 80% of serious libertarians originally came to these ideas via Ayn Rand's novels — though their intellectual development hardly stopped there, of course — so perhaps it's not surprising that many people, especially those who aren't familiar with the genre, associate her ideas with libertarianism. The ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

Book recommendation: “Hunter” by Robert Bidinotto

September 25, 2011 · Category: Atlasphere, Individualism, Intellectual, Objectivism, Reviews

I like inspirational novels with a significant moral message, such as Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Richard Bach's Jonathan Livingston Seagull. They hit us on multiple levels: supplying entertainment, giving intelligent food for thought, and providing inspiration and emotional fuel for facing the challenges of leading The Good Life. With that in mind, Robert Bidinotto's novel Hunter: A Thriller hit the spot. I found the writing crisp, the characters interesting, and the interplay of plot and theme to be tight and compelling. I was far more moved than I expected to be, particularly by the love relationship between Dylan Hunter and ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

Yasuhiko Genku Kimura: The virtues of enlightened selfishness

July 13, 2011 · Category: Integral, Intellectual, Objectivism

A writer I've never heard of before, named Yasuhiko Genku Kimura, has a very interesting article titled "The Virtues of Enlightened Selfishness" that begins: The human being has two wings, the wing of universality and the wing of individuality, with which to fly above the earth and to soar into the heavens. The wing of universality grows in the awareness of selflessness, while the wing of individuality grows through the creation of selfhood. In this seeming paradox lies the secret of human evolution and of human happiness. To be universal is to be inseparably one, in the oneness of which there ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

On the psychological impact of the Atlas Shrugged movie

April 19, 2011 · Category: Atlasphere, Current Events, Individualism, Intellectual, Objectivism

Brian Wright offers some insightful reflections after seeing the Atlas Shrugged movie. These pargaraphs caught my attention as particularly noteworthy: Tonight I find myself clarifying several of the key ideas that Ayn Rand developed that were expressed in the movie. Here are the four key ideas I see in ASM: Innovation and the joy of creation The importance of industrial production Egoism and reason vs. altruism, faith, and force The distinction between the productive class and the political class Each of these points emerges from time to time as the theme of Atlas Shrugged comes forward: That theme is "What happens to society when the 'men ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

Objectivists: Do we have an “unchosen obligation” to respect the rights of others?

February 10, 2011 · Category: Objectivism, Politics

I just submitted the following question on Peikoff.com. It's a question I've had for many years, and the answers I've gotten from various Objectivist thinkers have varied considerably. It seems like a pretty important question, particularly for a philosophy that aspires to be internally consistent: Ayn Rand taught that we have no unchosen obligations. She also taught that we must respect the rights of others. How does one resolve the apparent contradiction? Is it because rights constitute only a negative obligation? Or because we choose to live in society? Or something else? I hope Dr. Peikoff answers it. I would be interested ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

Transcript of my Reason.tv interview about Ayn Rand’s legacy

February 16, 2010 · Category: Buddhism, Individualism, Intellectual, Objectivism

My thanks to a user on braincrave.com for transcribing the parts of my August 2008 interview with Reason.tv that pertain to Ayn Rand's legacy. I'm pasting his transcription below (with a few light edits and corrections) for Mudita Journal readers interested to revisit some of the themes I explored in that interview. I definitely think her novels provide the best introduction to her ideas. They're easier, so they're more accessible to many people. They're best sellers over the last 40 to 50 years, so obviously they've appealed to many people. But also, they set her ideas in the context of the ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

“None of the cool kids like Ayn Rand anyway” and other sneers

February 9, 2010 · Category: Intellectual, Objectivism

Jeff Perren sent me a link to two recent articles about Ayn Rand -- "Ayn Rand: engineer of souls" by Anthony Daniels and "One or two thoughts about Ayn Rand" by Roger Kimball -- and asked for my thoughts. My reply: I found Daniels making some fair enough points, pro and con, but was stopped in my tracks when I got to this: "She entirely lacks the literary ability to convey anything admirable, or even minimally attractive, about her heroes, who are the kind of people one would not cross the road to meet, though one might well cross it to ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

On the significance of suffering

January 3, 2010 · Category: Buddhism, Intellectual, Objectivism

Peter's reply to The Invitation reminded me of a conversation he and I had several years ago, which had prompted me to write my post on Buddhism and Suffering. In that post, I concluded: So to me, the case for the significance of suffering, once we look at it closely, seems overwhelming. Does this mean we resign ourselves to suffering, or become taciturn? No, but it does suggest that there are whole areas of life that we may be blind to, and controlled by just the same, if we don’t consciously acknowledge their significance and respond to them appropriately. I find Buddhism helpful ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

Reason TV interviews Atlasphere founder Joshua Zader

November 9, 2009 · Category: Atlasphere, Buddhism, Individualism, Intellectual, Objectivism, Personal

The interview, titled "Dating in the Atlasphere," was actually conducted in August 2008, but they've waited a while to publish it as part of a long series of interviews about Ayn Rand's legacy. From Reason TV's summary: Joshua Zader's intellectual relationship with Ayn Rand began as it does for so many, during his college years. He then blazed a trail uniquely his own among Rand admirers by creating The Atlasphere—an online networking and dating site for the fans of Rand's novels with particular emphasis on The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Zader found inspiration in Rand's portrayals of independence and integrity, ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments

Nathaniel Branden is highly recommending the Lifebook program by Jon Butcher

October 23, 2009 · Category: Health, Intellectual, Objectivism

Nathaniel Branden sent the following message to members of his announcement list: It is my great pleasure to introduce to you a man and a program of stunning originality and practical results. The man is Jon Butcher and his program is Lifebook. Lifebook launches you into its world by inviting you to deeply examine 12 separate aspects of your life that, in reality, are not separate at all. In each category you are stimulated and inspired to clarify your beliefs, identify your goals and define what needs to be done to actualize them. You capture and document your thoughts and feelings along the ...

Posted by Joshua Zader · View Comments