How hilarious. Objectivists purport to believe that knowledge is objective, meaning not simply a matter of opinion. But the way you obtain any sort of empirical knowledge is by questioning EVERYTHING. No scientist should be "purged" and no investigation or subject off limits. Sadly, everything Rand said or wrote is contrary to this fundamental principle. She really should have spent some time on Karl Popper.
I had a teenage infatuation with Ayn Randism, but reading about the purges in that movement disillusioned me. I can't abide people telling me who I'm allowed to talk with or which books I'm allowed to read. I see the same sort of thing going on in lots of other subcultures I have some interest in, and feel sad when people I otherwise respect start demanding that others excommunicate other people I also have some respect for.
Ayn Rand is a great writer. Her circle sounds like it was a cult: leaders asking themselves how to alienate the members more, and who to exclude next.
I was always curious that she held the philosophical opinion that "humans should be treated as end-in-themselves rather than means" and yet would criticize Kant's character and all his pronouncement. Looks like she was unaware of contradicting herself.
I think her worldview has more to do with understanding what people desire and how they operate in society rather than understanding cognition and things as they are on philosophical level.
The internecine quarrel of Objectivists objecting to Libertarians is amusing. From my AnCap/ Voluntaryist perspective, once you agree that coercion is immoral, how do you logically stop at the minarchism of Objectivism (some coercion is OK)? In a similar vein, Murray Rothbard teased that Milton Friedman was a “road socialist”.
“I hope you enjoy this journey back to 1989, the best year of the 20th century.” More details please. ‘89 was one of my favorites, but how could my favorite year be yours too?
How hilarious. Objectivists purport to believe that knowledge is objective, meaning not simply a matter of opinion. But the way you obtain any sort of empirical knowledge is by questioning EVERYTHING. No scientist should be "purged" and no investigation or subject off limits. Sadly, everything Rand said or wrote is contrary to this fundamental principle. She really should have spent some time on Karl Popper.
I guess there are exceptions. Caplan didn’t mind when Jason Richwine was fired from Heritage. Even Popper had his moments.
We are all human, and thus imperfect. What can you do?
I had a teenage infatuation with Ayn Randism, but reading about the purges in that movement disillusioned me. I can't abide people telling me who I'm allowed to talk with or which books I'm allowed to read. I see the same sort of thing going on in lots of other subcultures I have some interest in, and feel sad when people I otherwise respect start demanding that others excommunicate other people I also have some respect for.
Ayn Rand is a great writer. Her circle sounds like it was a cult: leaders asking themselves how to alienate the members more, and who to exclude next.
I was always curious that she held the philosophical opinion that "humans should be treated as end-in-themselves rather than means" and yet would criticize Kant's character and all his pronouncement. Looks like she was unaware of contradicting herself.
I think her worldview has more to do with understanding what people desire and how they operate in society rather than understanding cognition and things as they are on philosophical level.
The internecine quarrel of Objectivists objecting to Libertarians is amusing. From my AnCap/ Voluntaryist perspective, once you agree that coercion is immoral, how do you logically stop at the minarchism of Objectivism (some coercion is OK)? In a similar vein, Murray Rothbard teased that Milton Friedman was a “road socialist”.
Is this an LCD Soundsystem reference
“I hope you enjoy this journey back to 1989, the best year of the 20th century.” More details please. ‘89 was one of my favorites, but how could my favorite year be yours too?