How much do the thoughts of Ayn Rand reflect the personal experiences and reflections of her and her generation?
Ayn Rand came from a great era and personally experienced and witnessed the major events that happened in Russia and the United States in the last century. How much of her thoughts and opinions reflect the personal experiences and reflections of her and her generation of Russians? This is worth pondering.
Author: GUDORDI | 2024-08-27
Ayn Rand. (Wikimedia Commons)
As a human being, you have no choice about the fact that you need a philosophy. Your only choice is whether you define your philosophy by a conscious, rational, disciplined process of thought and scrupulously logical deliberation──or let your subconscious accumulate a junk heap of unwarranted conclusions, false generalizations, undefined contradictions, undigested slogans, unidentified wishes, doubts and fears, thrown together by chance, but integrated by your subconscious into a kind of mongrel philosophy…One of the most dangerous things a man can do is to surrender his moral autonomy to others……
I said to myself, my task tonight is not to ask you to accept my philosophy, but to hope that you understand that philosophy is something that you cannot escape and must deal with yourself. However, every word I say has inevitably seeped into my own philosophy. As for its name, on a formal level, I call it “Objectivism”, but on an informal level, I just call it “a philosophy for life on earth.” Exactly what my philosophy is can be found in my writings, the most important of which is Atlas Shrugged .
The assignment I gave myself for tonight is not to sell you on my philosophy, but on philosophy as such. I have, however, been speaking implicitly of my philosophy in every sentence… Formally, I call it Objectivism, but informally I call it a philosophy for living on earth…You will find an explicit presentation of it in my books, particularly in Atlas Shrugged .
──Ayn Rand
Who needs philosophy? The answer is everyone
The above is an excerpt from Ayn Rand’s 1974 graduation ceremony at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The title of the speech was “Philosophy: Who Needs It?” (“Philosophy: Who Needs It?”), which is an article in history. This important speech is also one of the classic documents on the study of Ayn Rand’s theory. Later, Rand claimed that a book was published under the same title, which compiled this speech and her other articles. Her direct answer to this question was “everyone.”
Yes, Rand believes that philosophy is not just a matter for a few young people or people living in ivory towers, but is closely related to everyone. For her, philosophy is about dealing with the most important issues in human life, including what kind of world we live in, what is good and evil, what are the standards of morality, what are the basic rights of human beings, etc., and are related to us. Things closely related to life in the world. Perhaps for this reason, Rand proposed that at an informal level, her “objectivist philosophy” could also be called “a philosophy for living on earth.”
Although Rand’s ideas have never been recognized by the traditional philosophical community, Rand’s ideas eventually became a set of doctrines. So far, at least two research institutions, the Ayn Rand Institute and The Atlas Society, have been established to specialize in the study of Ayn Rand’s ideas and her Objectivist philosophy.
Rand's thought can be regarded as a line of Russian intellectuals' reflection on society.
As the author pointed out earlier, although Rand’s thought is very controversial, it can at least be regarded as an original and inspiring point of view. Moreover, from the actions and deeds of Greenspan’s life, we can see a lot of shadows of Rand’s ideas. It is worth noting that there is a well-known biography about Greenspan titled “Alan Shrugged: The World’s Most Powerful Banker.” The title is obviously a reference to Rand’s most famous novel, Atlas Shrugged , which shows that the author believes that there is a deep connection between Greenspan and Rand. The important thing is that Greenspan’s case can give us a deeper understanding of what the responsibilities of public officials are, the power they can exert, and why they behave selfishly. These are all reasons why Rand’s thought deserves attention. In addition, the author believes that another reason is that it can be regarded as one of the strands of Russian intellectuals’ reflections on contemporary society.
Rand was born in St. Petersburg in 1905, when Russia was still in the Tsarist era, and her father was a middle-class businessman during the Tsarist era. Later, at the age of 12, she experienced the October Revolution, and her family’s pharmacy business was nationalized. She later entered Leningrad University to study history and philosophy, and witnessed a series of reforms, industrialization and various social changes in the early years of the Soviet Union’s entry into socialism. In her 20s, she got a visa to visit relatives in the United States, and she never returned. She first worked in Hollywood, then wrote novels and finally became a U.S. citizen. There is no doubt that Ayn Rand came from a great era and personally experienced and witnessed the major events that happened in Russia and the United States in the last century. How much of her thoughts and opinions reflect the personal experiences and reflections of her and her generation of Russians? This is worth pondering.
