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Was Rand influenced by Nietzsche?

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James Bond

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ronald E. Merrill thinks so in his book "The Ideas of Ayn Rand." Also, Rand described serial killer Hickman as a true "superman." Does anyone have any more information on this? Like someone who has read some of her earlier journal entries? I'd appreciate it.

Do you actually have a source for that superman quote; I've seen it thrown around a lot as an attack on Rand but I've never seen it backed up.

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The Hickman nonsense:

http://forum.ObjectivismOnline.com/index.php?showtopic=16917&hl=hickman

For the Nietzsche question, you'll just have to read both Rand and Nietzsche, understand them both, and then you'll know for yourself. Nietzsche might be a bit tricky, so you might want to rely on some reputable English language authors to help you figure him out, but Rand's works are widely available, easy to read and they describe her philosophy well. Why are you reading obscure second hand accounts of what her philosophy is, instead? It's a waste of time.

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Ayn Rand was massively influenced by Nietzsche when she was younger. Then she discovered Aristotle and realised that Nietzsche was wrong about a lot of things, although still maintained that Nietzsche had a brilliant sense of life afterwards.

As for Hickman, Rand respected his integrity and the fact that he refused to bow to the whims of society but utterly opposed and condemned his actions.

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