Your value system can't be based on emotion, but on reason. Your emotions are a response to your environment, based on your values.

That was my response as well. I thought, "where have you been all my life?" I had been struggling with those concepts, and she had them so well prepared that I was able to see how much she had accomplished by the amount of trouble I'd gone through just getting to that point. That's why I love Ayn Rand.

Rand was all about the individual. And I can safely say that no two individuals will think alike on all issues. It is ok to disagree with Rand on certain topics without misunderstanding the difference between individualism and collectivism.

Good article. In Atlas Shrugged, towards the end, Rand writes; "...shot a bullet straight into the heart of a man who wanted to live but without the volition of consciousness." I think she used the word volition.

If I learned one thing from Rand's fiction (which I read when I was 15), it is that your own individual reasoning ability (and value system, based on your emotions) are to guide your own life, not the views of any other person or people.

Remember in Anthem, at the end she writes: It is MY eyes that give beauty to the world.

Wonderful article. Reading it, I am filled with enthusiasm.

Jan

That is what I thought when I first read AS. “Wow. Look at how beautifully she is expressing the things that I have thought.” I had believed that I (and my father) were the only ones who thought that way until I read some of her works.

Jan

Thanks Mike, I was not aware of that presentation by Rand. And I think we have all encountered both types, Rand as Religion and Rand as Teacher.
An anecdote here. About 1966 I was attending one of several taped lectures series from the Nathanial Brandon Institute. A stringer/reporter showed up to talk to those attending, working on an article that appeared (IIRC) in Saturday Evening Post. With the title (again IIRC) "The Angry Cult of Ayn Rand". Eventually she asked me what I thought about Ayn Rand. My response: "I find her a brilliant woman. She has come to many of the same conclusions that I have". That summed up the essence of Rand's philosophy, think for yourself! BTW, this went right over the reporters head, she didn't get it at all. But most of those around us broke into big smiles, they understood exactly what I had said.

A great post. Thanks, Mike. Many years ago, when Branden was still her #1 boy we formed a group we called The Ayn Rand Society. When she got wind of it, we were told in no uncertain terms to not use her name or the word Objectivism. What a blow! She slapped our hands. We were crushed. At least some of us were. They were the same type of persons as pointed out in the posting. The rest of us went on our merry way, learning and discussing. In my case, life got too busy and hectic to have any time to participate, and then I moved 3,000 miles away. There are certain basic premises and "rules" if you will, in Objectivism. They are to be used as standards by which you can judge actions, proposals and whether something is true or not. The difference is that unlike religion, if you fail to obey the tenets, you will not suffer hell, or retribution, except what you cause to happen to yourself.
The thing that's so neat (Ancient word) about the Rand diatribe is that most of us know some "Randoids" and it is clear that they have diverted themselves onto a dead end path. You (or I) might want to get them back if they are not concretized, and point out their problem to them. However, if you use this as a weapon against them without being on solid ground, you become them.

"Ayn Rand further emphasized the importance of independent judgement of all individuals--"
Yes! Yes! Yes!

Mike: That post is an outstanding one and should serve as a reminder to all.

Rand will some day be recognized as one of he greatest thinkers in history - with her words "immortalized."

She was however, subject to the same aspects of human nature as he rest of us. Though she could conceptualize and convey said conceptions on an almost unprecedented intellectual level, she encountered the same obstacles that each of us do when at times she behaved in a manner inconsistently with her words.

One example: A cardinal principle she advocated was to always strive to understand reality and act accordingly. Yet when engaging in "politics," she would invariably allow herself to become focused on metaphysics (God) instead of politics (individual rights). There are other examples as well.

Regardless, she was truly an incredible writer, teacher, intellect, and, from my personal experience, INSPIRATIONAL!

Great article. I think many people, including writers and other artists, are so influenced by Rand when they first read her that either consciously or subconsciously they try to imitate her. I know I did, back in my undergraduate days. It took a while to start writing in my own voice, including my own humor and irony, and I didn't achieve complete freedom until I started writing the financial, economic, and political pieces for the financial firm in which I was a partner. Those pieces were the forerunners of Straight Line Logic. In fiction, I didn't hit my stride until The Golden Pinnacle, my second novel. I will shamelessly borrow themes and philosophy from the Ayn Rand corpus. She was right about many things so why not use them in my writing? However, I am more interested in telling a story with strong themes, characters, plots and subplots, done in my own style, than I am in establishing "ultimate truth" down to first premises, which was her goal in Atlas Shrugged. I see no need to reinvent the philosophical wheel. I think some of my positions on current issues might not be hers, but I am comfortable with my own logical analysis while remaining open to further data and refutation. So while I acknowledge a huge debt to Ayn Rand, I have no desire to be an Ayn Rand clone. I've read enough from Ayn Rand wannabees to know it can't be done. From the article it is clear that Rand agrees.

Definitely. There's a difference between understanding someone's point of view and rejecting it on Objective principles and discarding a rational thought that clashes with your point of view out-of-hand. On the other hand, I still reject most of what those darn conservative sympathizers say ;)

Solid article. Well worth a read. Accurate, and telling.

How true, Mike. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the posting Mike. Needed something refreshing going into the week end. Answered some questions I've been having.