COLLOQUY

THE QUESTION

RESPONSES

BACKGROUND

Rand is essentially Aristotelian because she uses Aristotelian logic. But on several other points she disagrees with Aristotle, most notably with his conception of universals.

Further, it is perpetuating confusion to say that Rand is regarded as "new and innovative, because she departed from dualism." That is NOT the view of Objectivists. Rather that is the view of Chris Sciabarra, who tries to make Rand academically "respectable" by couching her in terms of nonessentials. For example, he lumps Rand in with the likes of Marx and Hegel in terms of methodology, when in fact they couldn't be more different! The proof lies in their diametrically opposite prescriptions. In a previous post Mr. Sciabarra is similarly disingenuous in package-dealing the dialectics of Hegel and Aristotle.

Instead Rand is distinctive because she is primarily inductive rather than deductive, and presents us with genuinely irreconcilable dichotomies. For example, she champions a "primacy of existence" metaphysics over a "primacy of consciousness" one like that of Berkeley. She upholds objectivity against subjectivism and "intrinsicism." And so on. Chip's misreading is less forgivable with his loaded use of the term "coercion", which erases the distinction between offensive and defensive use of force. Likewise his continued package-dealing of Objectivists and Libertarians: Objectivists regard a rights-defending government as a necessary precondition to markets; Libertarians, due to the anarchists within their ranks, tend to regard government as such to be the enemy.

Finally, as I have shown with my previous example of the Industrial Revolution, Rand does NOT "start from the premise that 'freedom' (defined as the absence of coercion) is the essential, necessary quality for human beings."

Rather she reaches that conclusion by integrating a number of inductive observations, including the nature of living organisms, the function of the mind in man's survival and flourishing, and the social requirements for his mind's efficacy.

Capitalism is "testable" by recourse to human life as the standard of value, and by real-world facts. And by those it proves to be an overwhelming success.

-- Tym Parsons, Librarian, SCCD (posted 4/20, 10:45 a.m., E.D.T.)

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