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This article is from the Ayn Rand's Philosophy of Objectivism FAQ, by Chris Walker cwalker@aquila.ece.utexas.edu with numerous contributions by
others.
02 What is Objectivism?
Objectivism is the name that Ayn Rand gave to the philosophical system
that she discovered. It is the answer to the questions posed in the five
main branches of philosophy as Plato defined them. (See above.)
Ayn Rand is an Aristotelian philosopher. Since Objectivism
answers the fundamental questions that Plato posed on the nature of
the universe, of the mind, of human life on this earth and man's life
in society, it is also a Western philosophy. This means that Ayn Rand
is in the same tradition as other great Western philosophers such
as Aristotle, Plato, St. Thomas Aquinas, John Locke, Baruch Spinoza
and Rene Descartes. This includes her declared enemies including
the philosopher Immanuel Kant and the myraids of twentieth-century
professional philosphers who do not merit that label.
In contrast to the great majority of philosophers and philosophies of
the last two millenia, Objectivism is a secular philosophy. But
most importantly, Objectivism is true. As a result, it has practical
consequences and beneficial consequences for life on this earth if
properly applied to one's life.
Since the beginning of the twentieth century, philosophy as a guide to
life has become a dead subject. Ayn Rand through Objectivism has
rescued philosophy and has once again given legitimacy to the
Enlightenment ideal of living a life of reason.
Ayn Rand summarized her philosophy in "The Objectivist Newsletter" in 1962:
1. Metaphysics: Objective Reality
2. Epistemology: Reason
3. Ethics: Self Interest
4. Politics: Laissez-faire capitalism
1. Reality exists as an objective absolute--facts are facts, independent
of man's feelings, wishes, hopes or fears.
2. Reason (the faculty which identifies and integrates the material
provided by man's senses) is man's only means of perceiving reality, his
only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means
of survival.
3. Man--every man--is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of
others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to
others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational
self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of
his life.
4. The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism.
It is a system where men deal with one another, not as victims and
executioners, nor as masters and slaves, but as traders, by free,
voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. It is a system where no man may
obtain any values from others by resorting to physical force, and no
man may initiate the use of physical force against others. The
government acts only as a policeman that protects man's rights; it uses
physical force only in retaliation and only against those who
initiate its use, such as criminals and foreign invaders. In a system
of full capitalism, there should be (but historically has not yet been)
a complete separation of state and economics, in the same way and for
the same reasons as the separation of state and church."
The Ayn Rand Lexicon (HC) p344 quoted from "Introducing Objectivism,"
TON, Aug. 1962, 35.
With regard to aesthetics, Ayn Rand characterized her school of
art as "romantic realism." See "The Romantic Manifesto" for details.
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