Ayn Rand Explained

by Ronald E. Merrill, Marsha Familaro Enright (Revised by)

Overview

Ayn Rand (1905-1982) is unique in human history. Scorned by the established critics, she wrote brilliant popular novels that have become permanent best-sellers, and founded a comprehensive philosophical and cultural movement which, decades after her death, is shaking the foundations of the post New Deal American political order.

Ayn Rand Explained gives a comprehensive survey of Rand's wide ranging contributions: her literary techniques; her espousal and then rejection of Nietzschean philosophy; her contradictory attitude to feminism; her dismissal of religious faith; her forays into ethics, epistomology, and metaphysics; the development of her political creed; her influence on--and yet hostility to - both conservatism and libertarianism.

The late Ronald E. Merrill, a graduate of MIT and the University of Oregon, was a scientist entrepreneur who ran his own business in the Los Angeles area. Ho wrote books or venture capital and sundry articles on science, business, and politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780812697988
Publisher:	Open Court Publishing Company
Publication date:	11/20/2012
Series:	Ideas Explained
Edition description:	Revised Edition
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 The Controversial Ayn Rand l

Formidable Influence 3

Political Impact 5

Portraits and Memoirs 6

A Muse for Popular Art 9

The New Atlas Shrugged Wave 11

"In the Name of the Best within Us" 12

Against Relativism and Subjectivism 16

The Virtue of Selfishness 17

2 Who Was Ayn Rand? 19

Rand in Hollywood 20

The Atlas Phenomenon 22

The Objectivist Movement 25

Was Objectivism a Cult? 26

The Great Schism of Objectivism 29

Shrinking of the Movement 31

From Individualism to the Morality of Capitalism 34

3 Ayn Rand in Person 37

Partisan Accounts 40

Rand and Her Hangers-on 41

The Owner of Objectivism? 43

No One Owns Objectivism 44

Horrified by Hypocrisy 46

From the Political to the Personal and Back 48

Rand's Personality in Context 51

Ayn and Frank 53

4 The Young Nietzschean 57

Alone Against the World 57

The Evolution of Objectivism 59

The Randian Style 60

Nietzsche's Influence on Rand 62

The Nietzschean Vision 63

Literary Influences 68

Rand's Early Fiction 69

Red Pawn 71

Penthouse Legend 72

We the Living 74

The Theme 75

Trio for Heroes 75

A Cinematic Style 77

Textual Changes in We the Living 79

The Failure of Nietzsche 81

5 Scourge of the Second-Handers 83

The Enigma of Ideal 83

Think Twice 86

The Fountainhead 87

The Break with Nietzsche 89

A Traditional Antithesis 93

The Impossible Villain 94

Intellectual Snobbery 95

A Seamless Patchwork 96

Acquittal Unsatisfactory 97

The Embryo of Objectivism 98

Anthem 98

'The Simplest Thing in the World' 100

6 The Book that Changed the World 101

A Departure in Style 101

Plot, Plot, and Plot 103

The Technique of Philosophical Integration 104

Rand's Heroes: The Roots 107

Dagny Taggart and the Randian Woman 109

Francisco d'Anconia 112

Hank Rearden 112

Who If John Gait? 113

Bit-Part Heroes 114

The Villains 114

The Secondary Heroes 116

Thirty-Six Just Men? 118

Nathaniel Branden's Critique 120

Rand and Repression 121

The Randian Lovers 123

Paradox Resolved 125

Beyond the Taggart Terminal 126

7 Rand the Philosopher 127

Objectivism Versus Academia 128

Metaphysical Roots 130

An Epistemological Radical 132

Rand's Theory of Concepts 133

The Analytic-Synthetic Dichotomy 136

Epistemology in Practice 137

The Objectivist Ethics 139

Ethics and Values: Two Lines of Argument 140

The Randian Argument 142

Ends and Ends in Themselves 143

The Means Test 145

Rand and the Aristotelian Legacy 146

From Is to Ought: Is There Aught or Is All for Nought? 147

What Is the Meaning of 'Life' Anyway? 150

Some Objections to Objectivist Ethics 154

From Leaking Lifeboats to the Asteroid Test 155

The Gait-like Golfer 158

Robert Nozick Versus the Count of Monte Cristo 159

Human Nature and Its Consequences 160

The Ethics of the Future 161

From Theory to How-to 163

Objectivist Esthetics 163

Esthetic Difficulties and Definitions 165

8 Rand's Politics 167

A Political Odyssey 167

The Radical for Capitalism 169

The Goldwater Debacle 170

Roots of the New Conservatism 172

Rand's Critique of Conservatism 173

The Evolution of Libertarianism 175

The Essence of Libertarianism 175

Roots of the Political Conflict 176

Objectivism versus Libertarianism: The Case for the Plaintiff 178

Objectivism versus Libertarianism: The Case for the Defendant 181

Objectivism and the Theory of Government 182

Rand's View of Man and Society 184

The Final Decline 188

The Path Less Traveled 189

9 Ayn Rand's Revolution 193

A Second Crusade? 193

Or the Ivory Tower? 195

The Schoolroom or the Polling Booth 197

Back to the Future 199

What Is to Be Done? 200

Life Support Systems 201

The Tactics of Sanction 202

The First of Their Return… 203

Bibliography 205

Index 213

Editorial Reviews

Enright, a psychotherapist and board member of the Atlas Society who is revising and updating Merrill’s 1991 The Ideas of Ayn Rand, examines Rand’s life, writings, and thought, as well as the often harsh critical reaction to her philosophy. From her traumatic experiences of growing up during the Russian Revolution, Rand discovered a “passionate love for independent, creative Man, and a hatred for all forms of collectivism.” Out of this, she developed Objectivism, best expressed in her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In her fiction, highly independent men struggle against a totalitarian world to produce great, creative work and achieve success. Taking reason as the ultimate guide, Rand concludes that “the only meaningful or justifiable values a man can choose are those which serve to sustain his life.” Viewed through this lens, capitalism becomes the best system for providing people with opportunities to develop their talents. This emphasis on individual excellence also means Rand rejected such values as altruism, decried religious ideologies, and called for a “pure” laissez-faire market economy. Enright shows how Rand’s ideas emerge from previous philosophers, explaining her view of selfishness as Aristotle’s concept of the “Great-Souled man,” “pursuing excellence and achievement” with nobility and vision. An exhaustive exploration of a controversial, much misunderstood writer and thinker. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

“Ayn Rand is in the news now more than ever—but the media consistently misunderstands her. Read Ayn Rand Explained for a thorough and clear introduction to her ideas!”

—JIMMY WALES, founder of Wikipedia

“Ayn Rand Explained takes us on an exciting exploration of Rand’s provocative worldview and expertly traces its huge contemporary impact on politics, economics, art, and culture. Marsha Familaro Enright provides much new information and probing, in-depth analysis. A surprising, intriguing take on a controversial writer.”

—CHRIS MATTHEW SCIABARRA, author of Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical

“I immensely enjoyed reading Ayn Rand Explained. Packed with fascinating information, much of it new, the book is a real page turner—and a reminder of why Rand’s novels are continuously making their way onto best-seller lists.”
—VERONIQUE DE RUGY, Senior Research Fellow, the Mercatus Center at George Mason University

On the First Edition

“Very impressive! Merrill has a detailed understanding of Rand’s philosophy and familiarity with her novels. . . . I don’t agree with everything he says but his discussion is full of insights and penetrating points, and I learned a great deal from reading it.”

—DAVID KELLEY, author of A Life of One’s Own and The Contested Legacy of Ayn Rand

“A fascinating, thoughtful book. . . . a worthy contribution to the growing body of literature on Ayn Rand and Objectivism. One need not agree with all of his conclusions to congratulate Mr. Merrill on the independence of his thinking.”

—BARBARA BRANDEN, author of The Passion of Ayn Rand

From the Publisher