Objectivism Research

[Gnomer9]

In the Members Writings Forum, a member put up a story of how they came to Objectivism.

http://forum.ObjectivismOnline.com/index.php?showtopic=2347

It made me think about the path that I took to get to Objectivism. It was a path through religion, politics, and philosophy until I found what it is I was looking for. It also made me wonder how others on the forum came to this philosophy. I am starting research to see if we, as Objectivists and students of Objectivism, share a common background or if each of us experienced it in a different manor.

So what was it that lead you to find Objectivism? Was there a certain book, a quote, or a friend that sparked you interest? Did you have to go out and find it, or did it come to you?

With a clearer picture of how we all came to Objectivism we might be able to see where future Objectivists may come from, or find a better way of introducing it to those who have never heard of it.

Also, if you have any information that might help with my research it would be most appreciated.

[JMeganSnow]

Well, my personal story is a little odd. My parents are atheists, and the belief system they installed in me was something along the lines of Eddie Willer's: you should be nice and do the right thing. Most of what I learned was contempt: contempt for religion, for "idiots" for anyone that took things on face value, for anyone that thought anything was important, or good, or REAL.

I was subjectivist in a big way: I remember sneering that all this (meaning, anything I didn't feel like doing) was trivial and foolish, because "we could never know if it REALLY existed or not . . ."

When I was in high school I used to travel to volleyball meets with a friend of mine. I'm not sure why we were friends; she was cheerful and industrious and I was depressed and lazy, but we were both smart and, oddly, we both liked the same things. On one particular trip I forgot to bring something to read so she lent me Anthem. I read it once on the way there and once on the way back.

I didn't understand it at all. Still, one thing I've always had was a powerful vision of drama, of violent contrasts, of brilliant sunlight and impenetrable shadow, so the writing appealed to me. My friend started prodding me to read other Ayn Rand novels, so I did. I didn't understand them either, but something stuck with me.

We would sit in the cafeteria and talk about philosophy and science and make grand plans for the future, my friend always prodding, prodding me to wake up, pay attention, THINK, me never quite succeeding but enjoying the effort anyway.

Over the next ten years many things in my life changed. I read Atlas Shrugged about twice a year; it helped me survive major depression, not because I understood, but because it was like a living transfusion of fury and joy and arrogance. I gradually came to consider myself an Objectivist, although I continued failing to ACT like one.

Oddly, though, what really turned the tide for me and killed off the last stubborn remnants of subjectivism was that I met a nice Catholic. A real, serious Catholic, too, a would-be priest and a Thomist. I realize that sounds a bit bizarre, but the one thing I've ALWAYS been was a cast-iron atheist and I'm so very CONTRARY that the moment he mentioned his Catholicism I instantlly retaliated with "Oh yeah? Well I'M AN ATHEIST!!!!!"

He was confused. "Why?"

Then I tried to explain. I tried for a couple of days. After a while I mentioned Objectivism and Ayn Rand (he knew nothing about either) and started trying to tell him about them. It rapidly became very clear that I had no idea what I was talking about. So, I got mad. Come heck or high water I was going to WIN this discussion, if only in my own mind. So I started to study. I read stuff. I argued, and argued, and argued with this poor guy, and my arguments became gradually more and more coherent, more focused, more correct.

The end result on my relationship with the Catholic guy was that he refused to speak to me for 2 months, and I'm still not allowed to mention philosophy in his presence, but I think the other outcomes have been positive.

[EC]

The 9/11 event "drove" me to Objectivism. I wrote my story in the Introductions section of this forum. I don't know how to put a link to it here; maybe someone (a moderator?) could help me do that?

If you read it please take into account it was one of my first posts here and was written sort of "off the cuff" and I didn't use correct paragraphing. Please try to read it though, I think my story is relatively interesting.

[Pete]

Well, my personal story is a little odd. 

Wow Megan: that was a little odd. I was raised Catholic and practiced it even after I left home and joined the Navy at the age of 18. I began talking to someone that showed me the inconsistencies in the Catholic religion and I ended up joining a very fundamentalist Christian group....I was searching for absolutes. After being in this absolutist Christian group for 4 years, I found that I could not practice a Christian lifestyle anymore and I dropped out, thinking that I was going to burn in hell for the rest of eternity. A friend of mine introduced me to Atlas Shrugged as an answer to why he didn't support the welfare system about 2 years after I left the Church and voila: I was hooked! I would say that the reason I switched so easily was because the influence my Dad had on me in my childhood. Even though he raised me as a Catholic, he also was a thinker and thinking leads to the discovery of absolutes, which led me to the discovery of Objectivism.

[ex_banana-eater]

I was always an atheist and have met almost no one who was openly religious. I was a liberal and supported the Liberal Party of Canada, but an interesting one (championed the invasion of Iraq) who clearly felt Western Civilization was superior. I was never really personally altruistic, although I always just took it for granted that the government was supposed to watch over the needy. I came into contact with libertarianism first and realized that was not the case, and then further realized I needed a philosophy to both ground politics and my life in.

Edit:

This may be useful. I'd like to add, that I had never really accepted any other ideology like environmentalism while I was liberal, nor supported the "hate speech," or "hate crime." I was lead to believe that everything the government provided in Canada (education, health care, roads) would end up being disasterous in a private economy, through my own ignorance. Also, I never fully grasped that all of the economic "rights" a government entitles to citizens necessitates the use of force. Once I realized that I dropped liberalism immediately. Right now, it seems like such an obvious issue that I completely evaded.

On a personal level, I upheld reason to my daily life in most actions. I think the type of liberal I was is the most likely to become an Objectivist, as opposed to Western civ. haters.

[JMeganSnow]

Wow Megan: that was a little odd.

Why, thank you!

[Brian]

So what was it that lead you to find Objectivism? Was there a certain book, a quote, or a friend that sparked you interest? Did you have to go out and find it, or did it come to you?

I picked up Anthem while I was in 5th grade off my father's bookshelf, for it was the shortest book in his collection. I have since read all of Ayn Rand's fiction and various essays throughout her nonfiction works. Now that my father is living with his brother due to a disability, I have inherited virtually all of Ayn Rand's books, all of Nathaniel Branden's earlier books, a Peikoff book (did he have more than one book?), the entirety of Leonard Peikoff's history of philosophy course on tape, various Branden lecture tapes, various Peikoff lecture tapes, and if I'm not mistaken, tapes of various Ayn Rand lectures as well. There are more tapes, but they are all together in a box that I do not feel like rummaging through. In addition, there are more Navigator and Full Context magazines than I can count. I am sure I have a lot to look forward to. Is this a philosopher’s dream?

--Brian

[Dominique]

I was raised Catholic, but left the church at an early age because they couldn't answer my questions. I was more of a Deist at that time. I became obsessed with psychology and approached everything subjectively. At 17 I had a boyfriend of 2 years dump me when he became born again Christian and I wouldn't convert. It was a scary experience, because I was so close to him and it was like watching a loved one losing their mind. I guess I actually was. I turned solidly against religion at that time, and couldn't tell what I believed reality to be. I was afraid to go totally atheist, but figured god was whatever I wanted him to be (subjective).

My brother is younger than I am, and smarter in alot of ways. We are both writers and both passionate about reading and about life in general. We almost always exchange books on every gift giving holiday. He gave me P:WNI and The Art of Fiction several years ago, and after reading the first few pages I initially blew them off as blatent propaganda. Then, after the last elections, I was so distraught (basically I had buried my head in the sand from all things outside of my smallest spere of influence-so I was caught off guard by not knowing how to vote, and feeling that it was dangerously important how I did) that initially I turned back to the Democrats (I've been moving to a more Conservative approach for years, but started as Democrat in High School). I finally got fed up, and at the same time I happened to pick up P:WNI. It spoke to me on such a profound level, I even told my best friend "I feel like someone's telling me the TRUTH for once, and treating me like an ADULT, and I think we have a MISSION(to study philosophy)" from then on I've been hooked.

(edit-to fix age of boyfriend experience- I was 15 when I met him-17 went he went nuts)

[AwakeAndFree]

Hmmm.

I never heard someone with my kind of story.

From a very young age in Israel I had a tremendous respect for reason and logic. From age 10 I was hooked on the Sherlock Holmes stories, and I loved detective stories because of their inherent respect for logic.

I was never religious, nor was my family. But I didn't consider them rational, either. I recognized their inconsistencies. Almost Everyone around me seemed to believe nonsense. It was either religion, extreme nationalism, or socialism verging on communism. While being drawn more to the political left than to the right, I wasn't a very political teenager, and I totally disagreed with the ideals of socialism.

I went on a search for rational ideas. I tried to read modern philosophers, and decided they made no sense, I tried ancient religions (like Zen, Buddhism and Taoism) but they were too incoherent and boring, I leaned a bit towards biological determinism, things like The Naked Ape, which at least made sense. They didn't give complete answers, however.

Then one day, I found a book of philosophy called: The Rational Existence. It was an introduction to Objectivism, more or less, written by an arguably insane Israeli philosopher called Moshe Kroy. The style was a bit crazy, but the basic ideas were mostly Objectivism. I loved it. I agreed with most of what it said immediately, sensing that I had already thought these things about reason, selfishness, capitalism.

The next day I went to the library, and brought home Anthem, We the Living, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged. I read them in that order, fell in love with them, and that was it.

[Bryan]

I have to say I am thoroughly enjoying reading everyone's mini-autobiographies

I've always been a fairly rational person. My favorite subjects in school were math and science. I've been obsessed with computers and technology in general since a very early age. In the mathematic and scientific realm everything made sense, it had to or nothing would work.

I never truly accepted the concept of "god" or religion in general. I went to church as a child, but it never interested me, nor did I question it. I've always been anti-authority, though I never knew why.

Throughout my teenage and early 20s, I would consider myself a hedonist, completely caught up in the range of the moment, always looking to have fun, no matter what that fun may be. I loved punk rock and lived the punk rock lifestyle of "nothing matters" and "F everybody and everything". I never took anything seriously, I drank savagely, and gambled heavily. Somehow, despite all this, I obtained a college degree in Computer Science, and a decent job working for the county government, in the tax assessor's office .

After college and working my government job, I developed an interest in politics, I had always had what could be described as conservative/libertarian political views. I got addicted to conservative talk radio, listening to it 8 hours a day while I worked. One say Sean Hannity was talking about school vouchers, and I had no idea what they were. I searched the internet and stumbled across a column on capmag.com about them. I ended up reading a whole bunch of columns there, read about capitalism on capitalism.org and there they suggested reading Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, by Ayn Rand.

The only knowledge I had of Ayn Rand at that point was that Atlas Shrugged was John Elway's favorite book. John Elway was my childhood hero (along with 90% of the other males my age, growing up in Denver, CO . I bought C:TUI. Politically, it made more sense than anything I had ever read. I read The Fountainhead next followed very closely by AS.

I am a very long way from fully integrating Objectivism into my life, by I have come a very long way given where I started. I'm back in school now at the Colorado School of Mines, (doing it right this time) getting another degree in Electrical Engineering. Thanks to Objectivism, I am happier now than I've been for the past 10 years of my life.

[Capitalism Forever]

My parents were both atheists; the main influence on their thinking was the Marxist propaganda of the party state. I was about three or four when my father first told me that there were people who believed in a so-called "god" and I clearly remember that my first reaction to it was to liken it to the superstitions I had heard about before and to think that it was very stupid and ridiculous. Throughout my childhood, I positively hated religion.

My father also told me about what he (or rather, the propagandists he had listened to) thought were the merits of socialism: "If I produce something worth 100 forints, a capitalist boss would give me 80 and keep 20 for himself to buy things like yachts and big houses and so on. Under socialism, the state keeps 80 and I only get 20, but the state uses those 80 forints to build day care centers and things like that. So that's why socialism is better than capitalism." At that young age I lacked the sense of proportion to recognize why this was...not just ridiculous but actually funny, and I was completely unaware of the moral issues involved, so I sort of accepted it as something that must be true, without feeling very strongly about it one way or the other.

Nor was I aware of how socialism related to the first thing I remember admiring--the United States. (See my introduction thread.) Other things I admired as a child were the bus and railroad companies (which were the best examples of human achievement I directly experienced) and the Soviet space program (which I read a lot about). I remember what a conflict it was for me when my schoolteacher took my class downtown by bus--the school stood for languid stupidity, while the bus company was the symbol of strength; how could these two things ever mix?!

At the age of 6, my mother had taught me how to travel by bus to my grandparents, so that I could visit them alone. Being alone and achieving something alone was a new kind of experience for me, but I found that I absolutely LOVED it. From then on, I traveled alone a lot. A year later, I stopped staying in school in the afternoons under the supervision of grown-ups; I would go home and cook myself some food alone.

As part of the Communist education program, we had to form small groups--"brigades" of sort--in school and organize various kinds of get-togethers. I always hated those, and my classmates weren't very enthusiastic either. Our teacher told us it was "all about the community" and that we had to "participate more in the community life." Somehow that failed to make us more enthusiastic.

When I had some minor conflict of interest with other people, my mother would often tell me that I had to "adjust." Similarly to my teacher's preachings about "the community," I didn't find this talk of "adjusting" very convincing either.

In 1988, when Hungarians were first allowed to travel West, I went to Holland. I was incredibly impressed by what things looked like in Western Europe; everything was so much better, shinier, and more technologically advanced than at home. It was like a blend of a fairytale and a sci-fi movie for me. I became enchanted by capitalism, and I was very glad to see Hungary abandon Communism.

I was puzzled by the prevalence of Christianity in Western nations, though. I had always thought that religion was for losers and I didn't really understand what use the inhabitants of those wonderful countries had for it.

As I grew up and learned about economics, I became an even more devout adherent of capitalism, and I was disappointed to learn about the statist encroachments in Western Europe and even the U.S. The semester I spent in Austria and my subsequent stints in Germany made me completely disillusioned with Continental Europe, so I turned my attention towards the United States. I quickly learned to hate Democrats and I often found myself in enthusiastic agreement with the things I read on conservative websites, some of which were quotations from Ayn Rand. I had acquiesced in a sort of Deistic view of the concept of God and I even began considering myself a Christian in the American sense--a "non-loser" Christian--without giving the matter much thought.

I participated in a lot of discussion with conservatives and libertarians; the latter group helped me realize that all taxation was theft, that banning drugs is not necessarily something I should support, and that anti-trust laws were bunk. I had never needed any convincing about the morality of assisted suicide, but this was another area where I found myself at odds with some of the conservatives and in agreement with the libertarians. But the rabid anti-"imperialism" of the libertarians always kept me at a safe distance from them.

I began wondering if there was an ideology I could really agree with. I looked at the websites of various churches; I checked out www.deism.com; and I took a more careful look at the Ayn Rand Institute's site, where I had been before.

Well, you know who won.

[EC]

Capitalism_Forever

I find your story interesting. I've always heard of communism and its evils talked about in the abstract. And I've always detested it, I think that's almost ingrained in most Americans since birth. Let me see if I can explain what I'm thinking: I've always known actual people lived under communism, but to me it never really ever seemed "real". More like I think of it as something in the abstract like a movie or something. But hearing your story, your real life experiences under communism, makes it more "real" to me. Am I making sense here? Anyway, I like what you wrote.

[Capitalism Forever]

I've always known actual people lived under communism, but to me it never really ever seemed "real". More like I think of it as something in the abstract like a movie or something. But hearing your story, your real life experiences under communism, makes it more "real" to me. Am I making sense here?

You sure are, although I should add that I didn't really experience "true red" Communism: the abject poverty and terror that reigned in countries like the Soviet Union, Romania, or North Korea--or pre-1956 Hungary--is as unknown to me as it is to you. Life under the "soft dictatorship" that followed the '56 revolution might best be described as "modest" : no luxuries, but no deprivation either; stupid rules that created unnecessary obstacles, but no tyranny that sought to destroy our souls.

In the latter respect, Hungary at that time might even have been more agreeable to live in than your typical statist democracy: You had to keep going through the motions and navigate your way around the rules, but the rules were fixed and the consequences of your actions were predictable. You did not have to be afraid for your life, nor your property; there was a quiet discontent in the air, but no terror.

As Miss Rand wrote,

"It is a grave error to suppose that a dictatorship rules a nation by means of strict, rigid laws which are obeyed and enforced with rigorous, military precision. Such a rule would be evil, but almost bearable; men could endure the harshest edicts, provided these edicts were known, specific and stable; it is not the known that breaks men's spirits, but the unpredictable. A dictatorship has to be capricious; it has to rule by means of the unexpected, the incomprehensible, the wantonly irrational; it has to deal not in death, but in sudden death; a state of chronic uncertainty is what men are psychologically unable to bear."

And over the 1980s, as I grew up while the cracking sounds in the structure of Communism began to be heard more and more frequently and distinctly, that sense of quiet discontent was joined by a hopeful excitement; an expectant spirit of ambition. It was a unique thing to experience, and I can consider myself particularly fortunate to have experienced it at just the right age. Mine was the generation whose history textbooks still had the chapter on Marx and Engels but by the time we got to it it was obsolete. Our history teacher shrewdly decided to simply skip it--so that all our class was formally taught about Marx and Engels was that they were "no longer relevant!" We could see the martyrs of 1956 re-interred as heroes, red stars removed from buildings, the Communist youth groups disbanded, the Western border opened for East German refugees, new parties formed, elections held and won by a principled pro-American gentleman, and Soviet troops waving goodbye from their East-bound trains. It was the promising vibrancy of those times that set the tone for my teenage years--and, in many ways, is still setting the tone for me now.

So, all in all, I can't complain about where and when I was born!

[EC]

So, all in all, I can't complain about where and when I was born!

Me too. I'm sometimes sit back in wonder that in all the times and places that I could have been born I was born in the United States at the end of the 20th century ('77). I used to wonder when I was younger and learned about anchient Greek civalization what it must have been like to have lived in one of the greatest societies in the history of mankind. I used to wonder what it must have been like to live during that Golden Age my teachers talked about. I now realize where I live now is as much a Golden Age as the original, and actually is that increased exponentially. When all is said and done we Americans, and eventually we Objectivists will be remembered in the same way. One day we will be remembered for our greatness like we now remember the Greeks. We too will be remembered for our advancements in science, philosophy, and liberty. And every man of this age should be proud.

[Capitalism Forever]

I was born in the United States at the end of the 20th century ('77).

What a coincidence, I was born in '77 too!

And every man of this age should be proud.

Well, merely being born at the right time is not a merit in itself--but I agree that we live in a great age! (And also that one should be proud.)

[redfarmer]

I'll chime in and share how I found Ayn Rand.

The year was 2000. I had just deconverted from Christianity and was picking up every book on logical thinking I could find, with a special emphasis on the errors of Christianity. I had an especially high interest in reading books which refuted the paranormal and creation "science."

So, I found a book at Barnes and Noble called Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer. Shermer included in the book his infamous essay from Skeptic magazine, "The Unlikeliest Cult in History." Now, I had never heard of Ayn Rand before so I had no basis for judging whether he was correct or not. I didn't pick up Ayn Rand's books right away but they stuck in my mind.

So, at the start of 2004, I was going through a depressing time in my life. I was picking up every book I could think of which I thought might help me. One of those books was Atlas Shrugged.

The rest, as they say, is history.

[WI_Rifleman]

Although I am not an Objectivist yet, I have a lot of learning to do before I grant myself that title, I am definitely a student of Objectivism. I will tell you how I came to become a student.

I come from a moderately religious Lutheran family. We went to church every Sunday, but other than that we never discussed religion or philosophy. During my senior year of high school I got decidedly political. I listened to Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage every day. They made it seam like you had to be religious in order to be considered a conservative, nay, an American. So from there I became more religious. I read the Bible daily. I prayed my guts out. By the end of my senior year I could be called a Bible Thumper. I no longer was functionally logical. I believed EVERYTHING that damned book said. This kept up for another six months or so, then the contridictions began to get to me. I started to question the concept of a god. Last spring I came to the realization that there was no god. For a month or two I was crushed. I had no where to turn for a philosophy. Since I the altruistic ethic was engrained in me I thought that the only place I could turn to was the far left, since the talk radio pundits had made me believe that if you weren't a theist you must be a red.

Then one day I was surfing the net and I came upon Capitalism Magazine. I read a couple of their articles and their FAQ. In their FAQ they referenced the book "Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal". I was surprised that their were actually atheist 'consevatives' (as I thought they were at the time) out there. I went out and read C:TUI and since then I have read "The Virtue of Selfishness" and am halfway through "The Fountainhead". From what I have read so far Objectivism fits me like a glove.