The Ayn Rand Lexicon: This mini-encyclopedia of Objectivism is compiled from Ayn Rand’s statements on some 400 topics in philosophy, economics, psychology and history. The rejection of reason is the source of an individual’s evil and of history’s many centuries of stagnation, retrogression and oppression. It is not a license “to do as he pleases” and it is not applicable to the altruists’ image of a “selfish” brute nor to any man motivated by irrational emotions, feelings, urges, wishes or whims. All rights reserved. By enshrining individual rights as its foundational principle, laissez-faire capitalism systematically protects the individual’s ability to live by reason. “It is an enormous and glorious power — and it is the only meaning of the concept ‘creative.’”. The source of man’s rights is not divine law or congressional law, but the law of identity. Facts are facts, independent of any consciousness. Rand’s moral society is a society of independent individuals whorespect each other’s natural rights to life, liberty, andproperty, and who trade value for value, materially and spiritually.They live, in her words, by “the trader principle”.Individual (natural) rights and the trader principle are both dictatedby the fact that, as rational, independent beings, we need to thinkand act for our “proper survival” (1961b: 31). His senses do not tell him automatically what is good for him or evil, what will benefit his life or endanger it, what goals he should pursue and what means will achieve them, what values his life depends on, what course of action it requires.”, This is what the science of ethics studies — and what Objectivism offers. Ayn Rand, best known for her defenses of Objectivism and Capitalism, was an unapologetic opponent of everything she considered to be mystical or supernatural—including all types of religion and all forms of theism. Only art can do this. Who Was Ayn Rand? Explore it for yourself. To quote a famous line from The Fountainhead: “To say ‘I love you’ one must know first how to say the ‘I.’”, Life requires production. Ayn Rand (/ aɪ n /; born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum; February 2, [O.S. Anyone familiar with Rand’s work will also recognize the Atlas figure in our logo. But our capacity for thought gives us the ability to understand reality and the choice to use this knowledge to create the new and the life-sustaining. There is a world independent of our minds to which our thinking must correspond if our ideas are to be true and therefore of practical use in living our lives, pursuing our values, and protecting our rights.Thus, Objectivism rejects the idea that reality is ultimately determined by personal opinion or social convention or “divine decre… There is no such thing as a collective thought. I am not primarily an advocate of capitalism, but of egoism; and I am not primarily an advocate of egoism, but of reason. Reason doesn’t work automatically. Those who deny individual rights cannot claim to be … To grasp the axiom that existence exists, means to grasp the fact that nature, i.e., the universe as a whole, cannot be created or annihilated, that it cannot come into or go out of existence. The essential advice of Rand’s philosophy is: embrace reason as an absolute. This is the Law of Identity: A is A. Aren’t people already too selfish? January 20] 1905 – March 6, 1982) was a Russian-American writer and philosopher. Learn more about Rand… To understand Rand’s new morality, therefore, you must explore both her novels and nonfiction, which these links will help you to do. She argues that the ultimate moral value, for each human individual, is his or her own well-being. Author Ayn Rand was born into a Russian Jewish family, but she was a staunch atheist who spoke openly about her views on religion. Rand’s advocacy of laissez-faire capitalism is a consequence of her deeper philosophical views. Ayn Rand and her Objectivist philosophy represent the polar opposite of the Catholic Church. Recently the gold standard has been resurrected as a hot topic of conversation. Both Rand's fiction and nonfiction have served to promote her worldview, known as objectivism. — AYN RAND, “Brief Summary,” The Objectivist. But his right to do so is derived from his nature as man and from the function of moral values in human life — and, therefore, is applicable only in the context of a rational, objectively demonstrated and validated code of moral principles which define and determine his actual self-interest. Leonard Peikoff, a professional philosopher and Rand's designated intellectual heir, later gave it a more formal structure. Rand first made her name as a novelist, publishing We the Living (1936), The Fountainhead (1943), and her magnum opusAtlas Shrugged(1957). January 20] 1905 – March 6, 1982) was a Russian-American writer and philosopher. She is perhaps best-known for her seminal work of fiction Atlas Shrugged, the characters of which embody in word and action Rand’s own branch of philosophy known as Objectivism. If one wishes to uphold individual rights, one must realize that capitalism is the only system that can uphold and protect them. Question: What does Ayn Rand mean when she describes selfishness as a virtue?. Rand’s philosophy is that vision. Both books are works of fiction. Crucial to this science is a concrete projection of the moral ideal, a vision of what you should be seeking to embody in your soul. These links will help you explore Rand’s fascinating viewpoint. Ayn Rand and the Gold Standard. Worse still, Rand inspired Paul Ryan, The Tea Party and the Koch Brothers. If life on earth is his purpose, he has a right to live as a rational being: nature forbids him the irrational. We love what we personally value and admire. of its actual nature.”. When she was a child and teen, she looked at the Western world with an envious eye. Rand stresses that reason is man’s basic means of survival, the source of all the knowledge and values that advance human life. The purpose of epistemology is to help teach us how to reason: how to think conceptually, how to properly define our terms, how to form and apply principles. — Ayn Rand, Appendix to Atlas Shrugged Objectivism is the philosophy of rational individualism founded by Ayn Rand (1905-1982). See for yourself what her philosophy is all about. . “WISHING WON’T MAKE IT SO” Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, begins by embracing the basic fact that existence exists.Reality is, and in the quest to live we must discover reality’s nature and learn to act successfully in it. Join with other people when you have real values in common and go your separate way when you don’t. Ayn Rand® is a registered trademark and is used by permission. She argues that the ultimate moral value, for each human individual, is his or her own well-being. To exist is to be something, to possess a specific identity.This is the Law of Identity: A is A. . “Man must choose his actions, values and goals,” she summarizes, “by the standard of that which is proper to man — in order to achieve, maintain, fulfill and enjoy that ultimate value, that end in itself, which is his own life.”. Rand’s answer is radically different. Earn genuine self-esteem. Unfortunately, that's not a belief that often shared by their top management, as pointed out in the BNET blog post "Why Do CEOs (Still) Love Ayn Rand. " Now more than ever, it’s an exciting time to engage with ARI. Is reason a faculty that identifies and integrates the material provided by man’s senses — or is it fed by innate ideas, implanted in man’s mind before he was born? According to Rand, reason, and science were the only paths to genuine knowledge, not faith. Political Views. If one wishes to advocate a free society — that is, capitalism — one must realize that its indispensable foundation is the principle of individual rights. According to this philosophy, the accomplishments of the individual matter first and foremost. . The Philosophy Book writes that Ms. Rand challenged “the idea that man’s moral duty is to live for others.” Two books, The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) describe her philosophy and they both still sell hundreds of thousands of copies a year. At the dawn of our lives, writes Rand, we “seek a noble vision of man’s nature and of life’s potential.”. Can man achieve certainty — or is he doomed to perpetual doubt?”. Prosper by treating others as individuals, trading value for value. Ayn Rand. Although she was not an anarchist, Rand believed in a fully free society with … We only have one life, and the good is to live it. Ayn Rand has inspired individuals around the world to discard convention and pursue a better life. Reality is, and in the quest to live we must discover reality’s nature and learn to act successfully in it. To embrace existence is to reject all notions of the supernatural and the mystical, including God. She emigrated to the United States in 1926, after experiencing communism under Soviet Russia first hand. Laissez-faire capitalism, Rand argues, is the system of individual rights. Ayn Rand’s philosophy for living on earth has changed the lives of millions and continues to influence American culture and politics. . Reality — that which exists — has no alternatives, no competitors, nothing “transcending” it. Subscribe to receive timely updates. You’ll be the first to learn about our latest initiatives and program successes and how you can help ARI achieve its mission to spearhead a cultural renaissance of reason, rational self-interest, individual rights and laissez-faire capitalism. It is the act of unfocusing your mind and inducing an inner fog to escape the responsibility of judgment — on the unstated premise that a thing will not exist if only you refuse to identify it, that A will not be A so long as you do not pronounce the verdict ‘It is.’, Epistemology studies the nature and means of human knowledge. Copyright © 1985 – 2021 The Ayn Rand® Institute (ARI). She is known for her two best-selling novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and for developing a philosophical system she named Objectivism.Born and educated in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. She is best known for her novels Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead , and for the revolutionary philosophy she originated, Objectivism. Rand’s stated goal as a fiction writer is the projection of an ideal man; her nonfiction is the theory behind that vision. Thinking is man’s only basic virtue, from which all the others proceed. He will demand the freedom to think and speak, to earn property and associate and trade, and to pursue his own happiness. Facts are facts, independent of any consciousness. Think rationally and don’t bow to authority. Work hard to achieve a life of purpose and productiveness. Payments to OCON or the Ayn Rand Institute eStore do not qualify as tax-deductible contributions to the Ayn Rand Institute. While I'm all for valuing reason over superstition, the notion that … [3] Writes Susan Shelley in the OC Register on “ The visionary woman the left can’t stand “: The intensity of the hostility to Rand’s work is an acknowledgment of the power of ideas to change long-held beliefs. The smallest minority on earth is the individual. You'd better be damn sure of your facts before you go accusing the founder of Uber of being a Randian. Objectivist Beliefs. 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