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Does Objectivism Make You Happy?

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  • 6 months later...
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Maybe we need Deepak Chopra, Leo Buscaglia and Wayne Dyer to convert to Objectivism! :thumbsup: Or maybe even (brace yourself, guys!) we need to read more of Nathaniel Branden who is utterly charming and gracious in person. He's certainly very at ease with himself and answers questions directly, sweetly, and very intelligently. (I've read much of his early stuff, when he was closer to Objectivism, but virtually none of the recent.)

I don't see what problem people here have with Branden, either. I read some of his books and I must say, they were very good. Very reasonable. Very thoughtful.

About Objectivism not making happy, this is something that made me think a lot, too.

I doubt that Objectivism's goal is to make you happy just by accepting it. This is not the way it works. You can try positive thinking for this. It won't work, however. :D

Objectivism can only provide you with the framework and the justification for happiness. It's about defending your right to live. In today's world it is more of a shield than a foundation.

Objectivist literature is a lot about beating down socialism and altruism. I agree that there is a very big focus on the destructive side. (Now don't get me wrong everyone, I didn't say Objectivism was destructive. Destroying the base of socialism is a good thing. :P )

That's why 'The Fountainhead' is my Ayn Rand all-time favourite. This is simply about a man living his life according to his own rules.

The reason why I like Branden's books is because they focus on the individual striving to live a good life. They are self-help books in the end. The only Objectivist (or objectivist for the Branden-haters :P ) ones out there.

Maybe it really is time someone else wrote an Objectivist self-help book. Or at least an Objectivist book where socialism and altruism are not mentioned.

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The central question in philosophy is: Is life possible? To be more specific: is human life on earth possible? Is it possible for a man to achieve his values, happiness, etc? Objectivism is the only philosophy that answers with a resounding YES and then tells you why.

His essential observation is that people in general, and Objectivists in particular, tend to deny their internal emotional states with the resulting unhappiness.

Denying anything that exists, including internal emotional states, is not consistent with Objectivism, since it's evasion of reality.

Edited by xavier
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  • 4 weeks later...
I wouldn't be half the man I was, if not for Objectivism. Before discovering it, I was an appeaser of anyone who didn't like me, which was almost everyone. They didn't like me because I was different. I didn't like myself because I accepted their standards over my own. I was both too honest and intelligent to drop my convictions and start being a conformist, yet too second-handed to accept the idea that I should accept my judgement over everyone elses. So I (unconsciously) took a middling stance. I hid my ideas and my hobbies from people as if it were a dirty vice, and engaged in them with the enthusiasm of a man acting on contradictory premises; never surrending who I was, yet never living up to who I could be.

I had no idea what individualism was, and had no grasp of the concept, yet I hated the mindless and irrational, and held my mind as being the most precious thing I had. Unfortunately, my beliefs prevented me from using it. I was paralyzed. Without Objectivism, I very likely still would be.

You just described what I have just gone through. To the "T"!

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  • 1 month later...

My response would be that Objectivism has made me acutely aware of the injustices of the world. There are times when I feel as if I would be happier if I believed in Fascism and self-enslavement for the good of my countrymen, but that's like admitting that ignorance is bliss, and that is the diametrical opposite of Objectivism.

As for Branden, he's made mistakes in lectures where he's co-appeared with Ayn Rand, and Ayn Rand corrected him afterwards. He's never taken those types of public corrections rationally, and that and other reasons seem to be the foundation of his longtime vendetta against Rand and Objectivism. As such, I would not consider him an authoritative source on the matter.

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It has made me immeasureably happier. Before I discovered Ayn Rand, I lived by many of the principles of Objectivism, but held many contradictory premises as well. The result was a person who was suffering from a lot of internal confusion. Objectivism gave me the tools to understand what was happening inside of me, and therefore start on a path to a much more rational and yes, happier life.

Upon my (fairly recent) discovery of Objectivism, I began reading voraciously all the books I could. Since then, and prior to discovering Objectivism for myself, I have never found a system of thought that made so much sense. On an emotional level, as a consequence of understanding the principles and applying them to my life, I would say that I do feel happier. However, I think that I have a long way to go towards full integration of Objectivism and setting myself on the pathway of being the fully integrated man that is my goal.

As an aside, I think that discovering this philosophy younger in life would make it easier since you have less to "undo" - meaning less bad ideas that you hold subconsciously that need to be "weeded out" of your mind. By practicing introspection, I'm certainly on the right path. Setting goals is important as is continuing to read as a way of providing emotional and intellectual fuel.

I always felt the same way. I discovered Ayn Rand very young. I would say I read Atlas Shrugged for the first time at the age of 12 or 13 and prior to that I had been in massive levels of emotional and psychological turmoil due to many extreme personal circumstances of my life until that point. I was never a "normal" child. I was expected to begin thinking like an adult at the age of 7 and also expected to find ways to strive for my own perseverance. A lot of things were a conflict to me because I devoted myself to volitional use of my mind for every aspect of my existence, so it was rather quickly that I began to be troubled by the principles of my father and most other influences around me that thened to match those of Elsworth Toohey, Peter Keating, or Jim Taggart. At the age of 8 I made the moral desicion to renounce anything they (my family) ever taught me, and held the conviction that I must find my own answers with my own tools of analysis and cognition. I didn't really know what any of this meant or what I was striving for until I read Atlas Shrugged. I can honestly say that I cried a couple of times throughout the course of the novel and I was so amazed at the fact that such wonderful literature existed that I read it the first time in 2 weeks -staying up every night and reading through every meal. In fact, the second I finished the book, I flipped back to page one and reread the first 3 chapters the same evening. So, in this sense, I can admit that Objectivism did bring an immense amount of happiness into mylife in the form of understanding and relief, which I desperately needed. I finally understood why I didn't have to succumb to common standards and why I could survive without being a slave to the will of my father.

Now, since then, it has been an extremely difficult journey. I have had to reanalyze many aspects of my mentality and have had to wrestle with any contradictions I discovered in my ideology. This struggle, in a sense, has been very vexing and emotionally draining (having to denounce religious premises that had once been a foundation to my life, and having to break off bonds with people in my life that relentlessly advocated self-sacrifice and altruism). But, I know it will pay off, because I'm still working toward my goals and I still have a very long way to go. I have no doubt that life through the use of Objectivism will make me happier, but like many have stated here: Objectivist Philosophy are the tools I use to pursue my prospect. Sort of like a means to an end, but its definitely not the end.

In the spirit of honesty here, Objectivism qua Objectivism hasn't raised my happiness level either. I think that at times, when I accomplish something worth wihle I feel a bit of contentment, but no where near how AR describes it in her novels. I know that when I have accomplished what I've set out to do, I will feel that level of happiness. But for now, all I can do is think and create.

This is pretty much how I function as well, and I don't regret living this way either, even though very few are able to comprehend why I take on so much for a dream.

I've made myself happier.. Objectivism was the tool that helped me.

:-)

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