Having read The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and Peikoff’s OPAR, I’ve had enough time and material to reflect on Objectivism.
While Rand’s contribution to rationalism was mostly admirable, Eliezer’s analysis seems very fair. What’s interesting, too, is that some of its contents overlaps with the article “The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand”, written by Nathaniel Branden 25 years ago, which can be found in his website.
I recommend the reading.
As Branden (reasonably) states, some of Rand’s major flaws were:
Confusing reason with “the reasonable”
Encouraging repression of emotions
Encouraging moralizing
Conflating sacrifice and benevolence
Overemphasizing the role of philosophical premises
Having read The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged and Peikoff’s OPAR, I’ve had enough time and material to reflect on Objectivism.
While Rand’s contribution to rationalism was mostly admirable, Eliezer’s analysis seems very fair. What’s interesting, too, is that some of its contents overlaps with the article “The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand”, written by Nathaniel Branden 25 years ago, which can be found in his website.
I recommend the reading.
As Branden (reasonably) states, some of Rand’s major flaws were:
Confusing reason with “the reasonable”
Encouraging repression of emotions
Encouraging moralizing
Conflating sacrifice and benevolence
Overemphasizing the role of philosophical premises
Encouraging dogmatism