Born or made?

[whYNOT]

In my short,but intensive,experience of online Objectivism, I have often marvelled at the disparity of background of hundreds of the Objectivists I have read.

Two main impressions: they can THINK! , and they are passionate .

For someone like myself [ discovered Ayn Rand at an early age , living in South Africa far from the intellectual heart of her philosophy, with next to zero contact with others ] this online community has been an eye-opener : exciting,stimulating,intimidating,and yes,sometimes terribly depressing.

But to come to my question. I am by both character and conviction, a self-determinist. The greatest quote of all time for me is " Man is a being of self made soul ".

But, I have wondered a thousand times, was that only my rationalism speaking ? Didn't I start out a long time ago a stubborn kid,then an anti authoritarian,then an independent adult?

So,here it is --- Are certain individuals predisposed to the philosophy of OBJECTIVISM ?

Thanks, Tony

[JMeganSnow]

It depends on what you mean by "pre-disposed". If you mean, do certain individuals have a *genetic* tendency to become Objectivists, I'd say no. If you mean, do certain individuals have more-rational psycho-epistemologies that make them more likely to adopt Objectivism when they discover it or gravitate in that direction anyway, definitely. The more rational a person is, the more their ideas are going to be in line with reality and thus the better they will gel with Objectivism. Bloody-minded stubbornness is only a qualifying factor when much of the culture is irrational. It could very easily be a disqualifying factor if a lot of the culture was rational and you insisted on going your own way in defiance of reality.

[Jake_Ellison]

I remember several family members who loved to talk to me and constantly challenged me to think as a small child (in a fun, joking way, or by telling WW2 stories and being willing to discuss them endlessly etc.-even though answering a barage of why?s from a child or explaining him jokes probably gets pretty old fast). So I was made, not born, even before I went to school.

[whYNOT]

Well hello again 'JMeganSnow' !

I feel I owe you an apology. I am obviously no bot,and you are certainly no dragon lady.

I take your point,but aren't intelligence and courage prerequisites for an independent search and grasp of reality?

I am playing devil's advocate here, but I have had long and frustrating arguments with people who raise the nature-nurture debate.

No one seems to recognize that other big [biggest] one - MOTIVATION.

Sorry again for the mix up.

[JMeganSnow]

I take your point,but aren't intelligence and courage prerequisites for an independent search and grasp of reality?

I am playing devil's advocate here, but I have had long and frustrating arguments with people who raise the nature-nurture debate.

No one seems to recognize that other big [biggest] one - MOTIVATION.

Well, yes, but most children that I've ever seen have both of these attributes in abundance--it takes serious effort to train a kid out of their benevolent eagerness. Intelligence and courage are not rare.

[whYNOT]

Fascinating point you have raised here with " benevolent eagerness".

I personally recall that in my early childhood as a sort of " the world is my oyster " sense.

Do you realise you are saying that every single child is born a 'natural' O'ist ?

That it was often squeezed out of him or her in subsequent exposure to the world?

That all we ADULT Objectivists have done is to go back to our roots ?

But this time with conviction.

This bears out much that I have thought,but one step further.

Love it !

[aequalsa]

Fascinating point you have raised here with " benevolent eagerness".

I personally recall that in my early childhood as a sort of " the world is my oyster " sense.

Do you realise you are saying that every single child is born a 'natural' O'ist ?

That it was often squeezed out of him or her in subsequent exposure to the world?

That all we ADULT Objectivists have done is to go back to our roots ?

But this time with conviction.

This bears out much that I have thought,but one step further.

Love it !

I'd recommend reading the Absorbent Mind by Maria Montessori. It will provide you a clearer picture of how a child develops in the early stages than anyone here could likely provide. It should also make it obvious that children are very much natural objectivists until poor philosophy and impatient parents get to them.

For a shorter light survey of the philosophy I'd recommend Montessori Today by Paula Polk.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Montessor...e/9780805210613

[Phoroneus]

Personally, I must say that Objectivists are not born. Through most of my life until about the beginning of college I was a weak willed individual with no direction in life. I had no personal passions other than reading fantasy novels, playing video games and reading about planets. My morality consisted of adjusted mishmashing of the lives of video game/fantasy heroes and whatever I heard in school. My opinions from environmentalism to how self-esteem was built were based on the random sayings of the more intelligent (which unfortunately meant more deluded) classmates. I was a Buddhist, though I did my best to reject the mystical aspects of it, I had never believed in a god and my family never really imposed any sort of morality or ideology on me.

I eventually realized how pointless Buddhism was. And I decided that I desired perfection in terms of physical appearance and mental performance. So I started weightlifting constantly, and began reading much more. One day I was walking through the aisle of a Barnes and Noble and saw a book that was pretty thick (which was my standard for choosing books I thought would make me smarter) and had an interesting cover, I asked my friend about it and he said it was some girls "bible" (a derisive joke, but I secretly admired the girl for her intelligence). Wouldn't you know it, that book was Atlas Shrugged, I liked to read books from an author in the order that they are written. So I bought the Fountainhead first (I thought Anthem and We The Living were too small to be worth it) and loved it, bought Atlas Shrugged and hungered for more, and consequently bought all Rand's non-fiction, then Dr. Peikoff's work, then Tara Smith's work, then read everything I could find online. Since then I have transformed myself into a person I like much better, the friend who said the derisive insult has since become a dedicated Objectivist as well. Of the friends I have introduced to Objectivism, they have come from differing political and religious backgrounds (though most were agnostic or atheist) and despite differing personality and preferences have come to take it as their primary philosophy.

No one personality type is more suited for Objectivism than another, if anything Objectivism is the philosophy that gives you the tools to set yourself too it by giving you the genuine means to understanding reality and self enhancement in terms of spiritual development and self esteem. The choice is ultimately a fundamental one, like focusing your volition. No on can do it for you and nothing predisposes you for it, other than perhaps honesty and a distaste or hatred of evasion in your life.

[Thales]

Well hello again 'JMeganSnow' !

I feel I owe you an apology. I am obviously no bot,and you are certainly no dragon lady.

I take your point,but aren't intelligence and courage prerequisites for an independent search and grasp of reality?

I am playing devil's advocate here, but I have had long and frustrating arguments with people who raise the nature-nurture debate.

No one seems to recognize that other big [biggest] one - MOTIVATION.

Sorry again for the mix up.

The biggest issue is how you deal with the option face reality or evade. Those who are more inclined to face reality and deal with it will more likely find the truth. After that first crucial step has been taken (which must be taken 24/7, mind you), the factors that follow that are things like your intelligence, moral courage, motivation, etc. But, if you start in the wrong direction, by evading, you're going to go no where and the more intelligent you are the more quickly you'll find no where. Furthermore, the more intelligent and evasive you are, the more effectively you'll be able to rationalize your evasions, thus making it more difficult for you to get out of your fix.

So, this answers your point here:

In my short,but intensive,experience of online Objectivism, I have often marvelled at the disparity of background of hundreds of the Objectivists I have read.

So long as men don’t evade, they will have the same “map”, and thus meet at the same destination, regardless of their background. Reality is the ultimate guide.

[AllMenAreIslands]

Perhaps, then, the answer to the original question is "Both." Most people are born with the tools to become Objectivist but the individual must choose to be rational and so is self-made.