What Is Objectivism!

[SAVAGE]

I have recently deconverted from christianity, nd have adapted a strange world view, all the humanists I have met have called me a Amoral SOB. One of them told me I was a objectivist/Randroid......so I thought I would look into it because i had never heard of it...so here I am.

So in three paragraphs, and in you own words..what is objectivism?

[Capitalism Forever]

Objectivism is the philosophy of Ayn Rand, so you'd want to hear it in her words:

My philosophy, Objectivism, holds that:

1. Reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, independent of man's feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.

2. Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material provided by man's senses) is man's only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.

3. Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life.

4. The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The government acts only as a policeman that protects man's rights; it uses physical force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use, such as criminals or foreign invaders. In a system of full capitalism, there should be (but, historically, has not yet been) a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for the same reasons as the separation of state and church.

See www.aynrand.org for more.

[DavidOdden]

I have recently deconverted from christianity, nd have adapted a strange world view, all the humanists I have met have called me a Amoral SOB. One of them told me I was a objectivist/Randroid......so I thought I would look into it because i had never heard of it...so here I am.

They are showing their ignorance. Objectivists are highly moral, so if you are amoral, obviously you aren't an Objectivist. I suggest reading Atlas Shrugged, if you haven't, and pay attention to the philosophical points made repeatedly in the book. Especially pay attention to "Galt's Speech", which is the literary manifetation of Objectivist philosophy.

[Ragnar69]

Also in Rand's words, but perhaps more simply stated, Objectivism "is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."

[LaszloWalrus]

If you want a good introduction to studying the philosophy formally, I'd recommend Objectivism: the Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Leonard Peikoff.

[KendallJ]

all the humanists I have met have called me a Amoral SOB. One of them told me I was a objectivist/Randroid

Amoral SOB, huh. What's the world view you've adopted?

"Randroid".. ha... love it...

[Sherry]

I have recently deconverted from christianity, nd have adapted a strange world view, all the humanists I have met have called me a Amoral SOB. One of them told me I was a objectivist/Randroid......so I thought I would look into it because i had never heard of it...so here I am.

So in three paragraphs, and in you own words..what is objectivism?

I think Rand described it well when she said Objectivism is a philosophy for living on earth. It makes sense and it works. Maybe not the description you were looking for...hmm,...it is a philosophy based on the premise that a person is responsible to and for themself first.

I suggest picking up Virtue of Selfishness it has some great essays in there about self interest vs altruism, etc. Peikoff's OPAR book is great too when you are ready for that, but I would read Atlas Shrugged first if you haven't already.

I jumped on the Humanist bandwagon when I left christianity as well. When I started to really looked deeply at humanism I became just as disgusted as I did with christianity, only more so.

[Bold Standard]

They are showing their ignorance. Objectivists are highly moral, so if you are amoral, obviously you aren't an Objectivist. I suggest reading Atlas Shrugged, if you haven't, and pay attention to the philosophical points made repeatedly in the book. Especially pay attention to "Galt's Speech", which is the literary manifetation of Objectivist philosophy.

True, though "moral" in Objectivism means conclusions which are in some cases the complete opposite of traditional/popular conceptions of morality. But not in all cases.

[RationalBiker]

Well, I'll take a short stab at it in "my own words" since that's what you asked for. My words may not be as eloquent or as fully descriptive as Ayn Rand's, but I'm assuming you want to hear a person's own words because of a disdain for the concept behind the term "Randroid". You want to know, "Do these people really understand what they are practicing, or are they parrots?" Am I correct?

Objectivism is a philosophy that reasonates with me since I had already accepted the idea that there is an objective reality beyond me and my mind, and it seemed to me that there had to be some proper way to identify that reality and in turn relate to that reality.

Objectivism is the tool that helped me understand why reason was my primary guide to action, and how abandoning reason was harmful to me even in the slightest of instances. Objectivism helped me understand why I should be selfish, why being selfish is not evil, and how being selfish quite frequently is compatible with helping others. Objectivism is a guide that helped me better understand the concept of value and how it is concretely tied to reality and the acceptance of life.

Lastly, Objectivism demonstrated to me an ethical system anchored in something that one can understand (real facts, not dictates), not something that one could not understand but was just told to accept, dictated by the unseen and mysterious hand of some being who wishes me to act as a puppet.

This does not fully describe Objectivism and does not really touch much on the Objectivist's view of aesthetics. What it does touch on is "how should I be living my life, and how can I identify that this way of living my life is real and factual (or if you wish, the one true way)."

Edited June 24, 2006 by RationalCop

[Bold Standard]

Objecitivism is a philosophy that reasonates with me since I had already accepted the idea that there is an objective reality beyond me and my mind, and it seemed to me that there had to be some proper way to identify that reality and in turn relate to that reality.

Reasonates!! Vern, you're a genius-- you just gave me an idea for a song.

[KendallJ]

Well, I'll take a short stab at it in "my own words" since that's what you asked for. My words may not be as eloquent or as fully descriptive as Ayn Rand's, but I'm assuming you want to hear a person's own words because of a disdain for the concept behind the term "Randroid". You want to know, "Do these people really understand what they are practicing, or are they parrots?" Am I correct?

Objecitivism is a philosophy that reasonates with me since I had already accepted the idea that there is an objective reality beyond me and my mind, and it seemed to me that there had to be some proper way to identify that reality and in turn relate to that reality.

Objectivism is the tool that helped me understand why reason was my primary guide to action, and how abandoning reason was harmful to me even in the slightest of instances. Objectivism helped me understand why I should be selfish, why being selfish is not evil, and how being selfish quite frequently is compatible with helping others. Objectivism is a guide that helped me better understand the concept of value and how it is concretely tied to reality and the acceptance of life.

Lastly, Objectivism demonstrated to me an ethical system anchored in something that one can understand (real facts, not dictates), not something that one could not understand but was just told to accept, dictated by the unseen and mysterious hand of some being who wishes me to act as a puppet.

This does not fully describe Objectivism and does not really touch much on the Objectivist's view of aesthetics. What it does touch on is "how should I be living my life, and how can I identify that this way of living my life is real and factual (or if you wish, the one true way)."

well said. I concur!