Objectivism: Ayn Rand’s Personal Philosophy

These notes are taken from The Reader’s Guide to the Writings and Philosophy of Ayn Rand found at the end of Centennial Editions of Anthem.

Ayn Rand provides a nutshell version of Objectivism by describing four aspects of it:

 Metaphysics the philosophy of what constitutes REALITY (How do we know what reality is?)  Epistemology the philosophy of knowledge (How do we know what we know?)  Ethics the philosophy of how we determine what is right vs. wrong, fair vs. unfair  Politics the philosophy of how we govern groups of people

Objectivism holds the following ideas: Metaphysics Objective Reality Epistemology Reason Ethics Self-Interest Politics Capitalism

A further exploration of the ideas: Metaphysics Objective Reality Rand agrees with Naturalism in that reality is observable and measurable. There is one reality. She disagrees with Modernism in that Modernists believe in Subjective Reality, the idea that humans CREATE reality through their perceptions. Rand says that our only ability is to perceive reality, not create it. “facts are facts” This believe precludes (makes impossible) a belief in the supernatural. Epistemology Reason Rand agrees with the Enlightenment that we should use reason to achieve our goals. She holds that reason is man’s highest virtue. Other ways of “knowing what we know” is through faith, tradition, and intuition, none of which she would deem valid methods of “knowing.” Ethics Self-Interest Rand believes wholly in acting upon one’s self-interest. No one should sacrifice himself for others or sacrifice others for himself. This idea would preclude any altruistic acts. She would think Mother Teresa foolish for spending her life in the service of others. Politics Capitalism Rand believes that capitalism is the only form of government that is free from violence. In a capitalist society, people can work as hard as they need to to get what they need. In other forms of government, one’s work ethic or talent has no bearing upon how successful one can be financially, which leads people to use violence to acquire what they need. With laissez-faire capitalism, man has no limits imposed upon his success, like the price caps of socialism, and the absence of property rights of communism. Art Romantic Realism Rand is a Romantic in that her heroes portray man “as he COULD/SHOULD be,” and she is a Realist in that she places her heroes in the contemporary world to deal with the real problems of today’s world (That would be the “today” of the 1930’s/40’s.). Government Libertarian-ish Rand was a libertarian before it had a name. She believes that the ONLY purpose of government should be to protect people’s right to property: A police force and military capable of defending men against those who would hurt them in order to take their possessions.

Rand lived through the Russian Bolshevik Revolution, and her experiences with communism led her to develop her unique philosophy. Her experiences with communism and her atheism inform her idea that man in an end in himself, not a means to anyone else’s end (i.e. living to glorify a deity or to help/provide for others).