Community College of Denver: History
[Adapted from Wikipedia] and Malaspina Great Books
Ayn Rand (February 2, 1905 - March 6, 1982) was a popular and
controversial American philosopher and novelist, most famous for her
philosophy of Objectivism. She was born Alyssa (or Alice) Rosenbaum in St.
Petersburg, Russia. She studied philosophy and history at the University
of Petrograd. In 1925, she was permitted by the Soviet government to leave
the USSR briefly to visit her relatives in America. Although she was only
allowed a brief visit, she was resolute never to return to Russia. When
she arrived in America, at the age of 21, she stayed with relatives in
Chicago for 6 months before moving to Hollywood to become a screenwriter.
She changed her name to Ayn Rand, suspecting that, if her anti-socialist
views became famous in America, her family back in Russia might be
persecuted by the Soviet government. She met an actor, Frank O'Connor, by
tripping him on purpose, and they married in 1929. Initially, Rand
struggled in Hollywood, and was forced to take odd jobs to pay her rent.
Her first success came with the sale of her screenplay Red Pawn in
1932 to Universal Studios. Rand released The Night of January 16th,
a play, in 1934, and published two commercially unsuccessful novels, We
The Living (1936), and Anthem (1938). Rand's first major
success came with the best-selling novel, The Fountainhead (1943),
which was taken from publisher to publisher, collecting rejection slips as
it went before it was picked up by the Bobbs-Merrill Company publishing
house. The royalties and movie rights from this book made Rand famous and
financially secure.
In 1947, as a "friendly witness" in the House Committee on
Un-American Activities, Rand testified against the activities of communist
propagandists in Hollywood. Rand's testimony involved analysis of the 1943
film Song to Russia, which grossly misrepresented the socioeconomic
conditions in the Soviet Union. The film presented Russia as an amazing
paradise of comfort, beauty and plenty for everybody, when in reality the
conditions of the average Russian peasant farmer were appalling.
Apparently this 1943 film was intentional wartime propaganda, to keep the
US public happy in their allegiance with Russia. When asked later about
her feelings on the HUAC hearings, she described the hearings as
"futile". In 1951 Rand met the young psychology student
Nathaniel Branden, who had read her book The Fountainhead at the
age of 14. Branden, now 18, enjoyed discussing Rand's emerging Objectivist
philosophy with her. Branden's relationship with Rand eventually took on
romantic aspects, though they were both married at the time. Rand
published her "magnum opus", Atlas Shrugged in 1957. This
also became a best seller. According to a joint survey conducted in 1991
by the Library of Congress and the Book of the Month Club, Atlas
Shrugged is recognised as the "second most influential book for
Americans today", after The Bible by numerous authors. The
same survey also listed Atlas Shrugged as the second of "25
books that have most shaped readers lives", after The Adventures
of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain. Along with Branden, Rand launched
the Objectivist movement to promote her philosophy, which she termed Objectivism.
Throughout the 60's and 70's, Rand developed and promoted her Objectivist
philosophy through non-fiction works, including: For the New
Intellectual (1961); The Virtue of Selfishness (1964) - essays
by Branden and Rand; Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (1966) - essays
by Branden, Alan Greenspan, Robert Hessen, and Rand; The Romantic
Manifesto (1969); The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution
(1971); Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (1979). Rand broke
with Branden in 1968. Ayn Rand died on March 6th, 1982. Leonard Piekoff
was named by Ayn Rand as her "intellectual heir" - to be the
face of Objectivism. Her choice of heir is a matter of some controversy.
Objectivism
Objectivism (capitalized) is the name chosen by Ayn Rand for her
philosophy. Some of the main Objectivist tenets are:
I. Objective reality
Reality is what it is, independent of our beliefs or desires. No two facts
of reality can contradict each other- this is an important test of truth.
Everything that exists has a specific identity and a specific nature that
determines how it acts. Nature is to be explained in terms of nature,
without reference to the supernatural. Everything that occurs has a
material cause, and everything that exists has a material basis.
II. Reason
The mind apprehends reality through a process of reasoning. Reasoning is
the art of building from perceptions to concepts and propositions. In this
way, beliefs are built up from the evidence. Reasoning, or logic, follows
certain, non-arbitrary rules which must be adhered to if we wish to reach
valid conclusions. These rules include non-contradictory identification
and grouping by essentials. By applying the rules of logic consistently,
we can hope to achieve objectively valid knowledge about reality.
III. Morality
If we wish to survive we must act in certain ways. Moral behavior is that
which tends to promote our survival. Immoral behavior is that which tends
to promote our destruction. Where survival is not at issue, moral behavior
will tend to promote security and happiness, immoral behavior insecurity
and unhappiness. There are different levels of value. The higher values
are those which make the lesser values possible. At the higher levels of
value there is a community of interests among all rational, civilized
human beings. The question of self versus others is irrelevant, in that
one's self-interest and the interests of others are in fundamental
harmony. The rational pursuit of one's interests promotes the interests of
others, while the good of others promotes one's own good. As a practical
matter, the good of all is best served when individuals pursue their own
legitimate interests as they each see fit.
IV. Politics
If self versus others is an irrelevant issue, so too is the question of
the individual versus society. The individual good and the social good are
in harmony. A society is healthy to the extent that individuals are free
to pursue their goals. This freedom is the fundamental social value. It
requires that human relationships of all forms be voluntary. Mutual
consent is the defining characteristic of a free society. People are
unfree to the extent that they are forced to do what they would not choose
for themselves. As all governmental action is based on using force to this
end, it is necessary to limit the scope of government action as much as
possible, leaving the scope of individual freedom as broad as possible.
Politically, people can exercise their rights however they please, so long
as they do not encroach upon the rights of others. Socially, people can
choose to what extent they will abide by cultural norms. Economically,
people are free to produce and exchange as they see fit, in the spirit of
capitalism.