DEBATE: Does Ayn Rand Make ANY SENSE?

The first of four debates about Ayn Rand, her philosophy of Objectivism, and much more with the Ayn Rand Institute's Yaron Brook

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[rini]

One of the reasons that human beings have been so successful as a species is that we are COOPERATIVE. It’s what we call civilization. I kinda like it.

[shannonmitchell]

"Atlas Shrugged has sold millions of copies". So has "Dianetics", your point?

[cambriaofthevastoceans]

"i want to think people are rational"
"we don't live in a world where people are rational"
"also, people should value their pride, over real world opportunity."

This guy's ideology is incoherent.

[saltriverpirate]

I thought Rand was brilliant when I was 12, then I spent the next few years with my eyes open learning how the world really works and realized her worship of wealth caused her to conflate money with talent with no evidence to support that conclusion. If you are over 14 and not over Ayn Rand, remember after spending her life worshiping wealth and believing she was better than everybody else, she lived on the welfare she claimed to despise before she died. A perfect example of a miserable human being.

[tom_curtis]

As I have said before, Ayn Rand's philosophy ("Objectivism") is to ethics as creationism is to science.

[ConwayGG]

Philosophy degree holder here: He keeps labeling Rand as an "Aristotelian". As far as political philosophy goes, this could not be further from the truth. In Aristotle's 'Politics', he explains that humans are a political animal. We naturally make communities of all sorts because we are better off as a community than we would be as isolated individuals.

Rand's rugged individualism is exactly the opposite view. If you want to attach Rand's ideology to a famous philosopher to make her sound like a serious intellectual, Aristotle is one of the worst choices.

[alteredendeavor]

Glad you did this. We need more debate like this from everyone

[edwardscheiderer]

Ayn Rand Lexicon entry "Identity":
"I am here to complete it: Existence is Identity..."
Brook says about 8:22 that "...Ayn Rand never actually says existence is identity..." !? What?!

[jedward]

Why would someone follow a miserable person like Rand to find the secret to happiness??? Also there are psychologists that would argue that all altruistic actions are essentially selfish because they always illicit something positive in return, such as good feelings. If there is no such thing as altruism then there can only be degrees of selfishness. Since selfish actions often result in negative outcomes for the society the person has to live in, it isn’t always in their best interests to be selfish. The exception is the extremely rich that don’t live by the normals rules and laws of society. Hence libertarianism is popular with some very rich people who pay lowlifes like Brooks, lots of money, to propagate their complete nonsense garbage.

[LividImp]

Randians, Libertarians, "Classical Liberals", call 'em what you want, come in two varieties. The first is the wealthy, and the second is the poor and middle class that have convinced themselves they will be wealthy, _any day now._

[nairbos]

I am *shocked* that the representative of Ayn Rand institute is a grey haired white dude.

[nataliagonzalez]

Poor guy, he never got out of his teenage Ayn Rand phase

[vicdmise]

Ayn Rand makes perfect sense...when you're an angry 16yr old. A mature person sees all the flaws.

[InternetMameluq]

Me reading Ayn Rand as a teen: What the Hell is this?

Me reading Ayn Rand as an adult: WHAT THE HELL IS THIS HOW DOES ANY ONE TAKE THIS WITCH SERIOUSLY.

Also I love all the Randies in the comments saying 'gee, how is selfishness immature?'

Some of us grow our of it, okay? As you become an adult you start to understand other people have feelings and needs.

Grow up.

[steeeeeve]

Assuming most people are generally rational, self aware, and reflective is a big mistake from my experience

[joecseko]

If you watch David Pakman long enough, you get the impression he can hang in virtually any conversation! I fancy myself a pretty smart guy. I'm no David Pakman, though. Bear in mind, English is his second language!

[Attalic]

Simply asking, "how do Syllogisms give us direct knowledge of objects" wins every debate against Randian Epistemology

[WAVYMCFLY]

Dave you earned my respect in this discussion.

[babyarrow]

Rand: “we should live in the real world and not an imagined one”
Also rand: imagines a world where everyone makes decisions out of rationality over emotion.

Absolutely absurd philosophy.

[aryeh]

Listening to your guest elaborate on the Ayn rand perspectives; concerns me. If it is a philosophy growing in popularity, no wonder Fascism is growing. The philosophy sounds good if your in the traditional Privileged group or class, but so to are many atrocities. The way he described it, it is dangerous and even reckless.