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Jamie DeSalu
Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged is a practical application of the tenets of her philosophy, Objectivism, which she describes as “a philosophy for living on earth.” The novel represents a culmination of the ideas set forth in her earlier works, but deals primarily with the premise of “collectivized rights” versus the pursuit of rational self-interest, and what Rand saw as the evils inherent to socialism (to the extant that the book could have as easily been called The Laissez–Faire Capitalist Manifesto). ... For example, Rand’s use of the phrase “the virtue of selfishness”, which in our society can have decidedly negative overtones, and her views on religion conflicted with the contemporary doctrines (i. ... Despite this, Rand’s works maintain a massive readership. ... ) While Objectivism has enjoyed its fair share of praise over the course of the last fifty years, Rand’s philosophy is also the subject of much negative critique, particularly from the religious sector. It is the purpose of this paper to refute, using Rand’s philosophy, some of the arguments made in John W. Robbins’ Without a Prayer: Ayn Rand and the Close of Her System, one of the major works critical of Objectivism.
Robbins’ stated goal is to “Engage Rand where she wished to be engaged: at the level of philosophical argument…the standard by which Without a Prayer judges Rand is her own standard: logical precision and consistency” (Robbins jacket cover). ...
Arguments on Reason
Ayn Rand was an advocate of reason, as opposed to faith:
Reason is the faculty that identifies and integrates the materials provided by the senses. Faith is the acceptance of ideas or allegations without sensory evidence or rational demonstration…faith is a concept that possesses meaning only in contradiction to reason (Robbins 28).
Yet Rand also wrote that reason is man’s only means of perceiving reality, and that reason is the only objective means of understanding and communication among men (Robbins 27).
Robbins attacks Rand’s belief in the multi-faceted nature of reason. “This multiplicity of definitions of a fundamental term indicates serious problems in the philosophy” (Robbins 28). ... Rand saw reason as a conceptual framework upon which men could build their beliefs. ... If an argument does not stand up to reason, it is discarded. Rand had John Galt, the protagonist of Atlas Shrugged, demonstrate this belief in his speech:
I deal with men as my nature and theirs demands: by means of reason…I win by means of nothing but logic and I surrender to nothing but logic…when I disagree with a rational man, I let reality be our final arbiter; if I am right, he will learn; if I am wrong, I will; one of us will win, but both will profit (Rand 936).
In this context, “reason” is better thought of as a concept, and not a word.
Robbins’ argument is that if reason is a “faculty which identifies”, then it is an entity separate from the senses. If, on the other hand, reason is a “means of perceiving”, then it must be one of the senses (Robbins 27), thereby violating Rand’s rule of non-contradictions.
This represents an oversimplification of Rand’s belief.
Approximate Word count = 2633
Approximate Pages = 10.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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