I can't quite say what particular train of thought set me off on this, today, but it's been a long standing grudge for me, and I just need to get it off my chest.
See, I have my own philosohpy, too. Pretty well thought out, actually. I won't go into it, here. That'd take way too long, and I don't have time for it. (Not that you'd care, in any case.) But I do need to hit one of the major points, because it's the point of contention I have with Rand that bugs the piss out of me.
I happen to see us as pretty selfish creatures, all told. Even when we're doing something for others, we're doing it because we want to. We never do something we don't want to do. We might say we don't want to do something, but if we really didn't, we wouldn't. The reason we do things we say we don't want to do is because we happen to have a brain that considers consequences and realizes that there are some things we want even less. In other words, we recognize that not all choices are good, so we pick the ones that we can best live with and move on.
That is rational self-interest.
Moreover, when I talk about rational self-interest, I'm not talking about the way one should behave. I'm talking about the way people do behave. Daily. All of us. Our behavior is rational because it is explainable. That doesn't mean it's always logical or well reasoned. But we can suss it out if we try.
But then I have to deal with Rand's gobbledy-gook version of "rational self-interest." It makes me want to pull my hair out. For one thing, it's rooted in her over-all Objectivist philosophy, in which she actually had some decent thoughts. For example, pointing out that the purpose of life is to live, which is kinda axiomatic and seems pretty obvious. So I actually agree with that. It's where she gets into how people should behave that she managed to really twist everything all wrong. It's like she took the fact that we basically act selfishly and decided that that behavior should be taken to its extreme.
So what we get is the notorious part of her philosophy, which is simply this: Rand's argument for right behavior amounts to nothing more than sociopathy. Her entire philosophy builds up and up, and this is the end result. Sociopathy.
"Any philosophy that can be put in a nutshell belongs there."
-- Sydny J. Harris
It hits me personally, because it's one of the wrong ways to act in my philosophy. And that means whenever I want to talk about self-interest (rational or otherwise) in the context of philosophy, or even just human behavior in general, I have to fight against this pre-conceived notion that Rand has already poisoned the conversation with.
I'm tired of it. I'm tired of having to hear Rand's version of rational self-interest as if she were it's owner and creator. She's not. She thought up one version—a wrong version—and I'm not changing what I call my version just because Rand's version sucks.
For the video impared, the relavant part:
Samir: No one in this country can ever pronounce my name right. It's not that hard: Na-ghee-na-na-jar. Nagheenanajar.
Michael Bolton: Yeah, well, at least your name isn't Michael Bolton.
Samir: You know, there's nothing wrong with that name.
Michael Bolton: There was nothing wrong with it... until I was about twelve years old and that no-talent ass clown became famous and started winning Grammys.
Samir: Hmm... well, why don't you just go by Mike instead of Michael?
Michael Bolton: No way! Why should I change? He's the one who sucks.
As always, diary lists below.
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Diary Title
|
Diary Author
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Who will speak for the jobless? |
psyched |
The idea of money as social contract is, I think, a central concept to understand, and while it takes up only a small portion of this diary, nevertheless, I think it's enough to warrant republishing. I've also written about this in one of my upcoming diaries, though I come at it from a different angle.
Added: We can't republish comments, but hannah's comment in this diary also deserves your attention. |
Ayn Rand churns in her grave: Robots naturally evolve altruism |
Cenobyte |
How do we determine who or what is a person? Includes an interesting look at altruism among robots with a slight digression toward Ayn Rand.
Additional note not in the editor's note: I swear I did not read this before writing my diary, today. |
Also, take the
political typology quiz. (h/t
Barbara Morrill.) After doing that, check the comparisons between the typology groups and look specifically at the Disaffecteds.
A full list of all diaries republished to A Perfect Conversation can always be found here. Feel free to check it out at any time.
Diary Title
|
Diary Author
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J Town: Got Diary? May 5, 2011 |
JanF |
Who will speak for the jobless? |
psyched |
Bin Laden Is Dead, But Will The Patriot Act Live On? |
DavidSegal |
Just One Thing |
paxpdx |
Single Payer: 100. Insurance Companies: 0 |
jpmassar |
Breaking: White House Releases Pictures Confirming OBL's death |
Brit |
Facebook Chat of Accused Afghan 'Kill Team' Member Made Public |
Desi |
Newscorp. WikiLeaks "Competitor" WSJ SafeHouse is Anything But |
JackinStL |
Fok News- #26 Why? |
crystal eyes |
Report: Workers Face Brutal Conditions in Tobacco Fields |
James Parks |
FL BK Judge uses same sex marriage to advance cronyism & corruption |
laserhaas |
Note: BK in this context appears to mean bankruptcy. |
Trump Bumped out of Indy 500 Pace Car |
Curt Matlock |
Nelson Muntz: Ha ha! |
Photo diary: Some of the best Obama memes of the week |
BlueJessamine |
First 6 Brookfield Ballot Bags "appear to be improperly sealed", Counted Anyway |
Giles Goat Boy |
Kowardly Koch Kriticizes Obama about OBL: Says Obama Deserves Little Credit |
TomP |
Writing Obama Out of Bin Laden’s Defeat – The Anatomy of a Rightwing Noise Machine Meme |
Leftwing Noise Machine |
I want to republish for the last paragraph, but I've already stretched the rules I set in place once, today. And really, the rest of the diary is mostly details of what we already know. Interesting read, mind you, but it doesn't fit the group. |
Breaking: AG Holder Intervenes On LGBT Immigration Case |
Clarknt67 |
I No Longer Care What the Right Wing Says or Thinks |
Crashing Vor |
Rep. Steve Simon YouTube Goes Viral |
TwoPuttTommy |
Taking the stones they throw at me and using them to build my castle |
MinistryOfTruth |
Wisconsin recall update. Democrats challenge the GOP, GOP drinks the tea. |
stcroix cheesehead |
Working Poor, Where All the Money Goes |
Muskegon Critic |
WI Solidarity Singalong: Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round |
AnnieJo |
Top Comments: Netroots for The Troops Edition |
commonmass |
TTFN? Nah, it's NFTT! |
bubbanomics |
Human Rights Diary Rescue: 4 Great Diaries on Osama, Torture, Manning, and the Patriot Act |
SuperBowlXX |
Updated by Gabriel D at Thu May 05, 2011 at 11:47 PM CDT
(Cross-posted to firefly-dreaming)