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{{warning|This article, ], has frequently become the subject of controversies and criticisms regarding her and her philosophy. While suggestions to improve the content of this article are welcomed, please refrain from posting your personal opinions on Ayn Rand or Objectivism. This is not a forum for general discussion about the article's subject.}} | |||
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==Ayn Rand and those influenced by her== | |||
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The article is about Ayn Rand, not a depository for arbitrary wiki articles of "people" who claim they were/are influenced by her philosophy. In fact, there are (were) many in that paragraph who are Libertarians. Please see what Rand has to say about . Anyway, IMO the paragraph should be removed altogether. I made a compromise by leaving the most "notable". Plus, there are many who are listed in the info box. Remember this is about Ayn Rand, not those who claim to admire her. That paragraph is bloated as it is. How many people know or care about most of those people listed connecting them to Ms. Rand? And how does that improve the article having a bunch of blue links leading to people not remotely related to her in any way? Let's duke it out on the talk page if you disagree, so that consensus can be gained. Cheers. ←]♥] 01:44, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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:(I copied the above from my in-box.) | |||
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:The article is about Rand, but that particular section is about her influence. The list of "prominent" (which I changed to "noteworthy") individuals who claim to have been significantly influenced by her has existed for a long time, presumably as a correction to the notion widely promoted by academics that Rand appeals only to ignorant youngsters. There have been many editorial attempts to add several people who are now in that list to the "Influenced" list in the Infobox instead, but the consensus seems to be that the Infobox list is reserved for connections in some kind of graph structure pertaining to academic philosophy. Moving the entries to the cultural impact section seems to have satisfied those editors. | |||
|action6link=Talk:Ayn Rand/GA1 | |||
:In fact, many Libertarians ''have'' claimed to have been significantly influenced by Rand. It doesn't purport to be a list of Objectivists. — ] (]) 02:03, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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::Just because it's "existed for a long time" does not improve the article or help others understand her and her philosophy. It's a bunch of links that take away from the artcile. The infobox, including prominent and truly "noteworthy" are already there. Why clutter the page with links to articles of people who really have nothhing to do with her, and take up a whole section? It makes no sense to me, anyway. If people keep adding everyone who has an article about them into this article then revert it. Just as we do when people add others to a list of notable alumni or residents. Even though many have their own articles too, which does not automatically make them notable to another subject or article. ←]♥] 02:30, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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(The following section, "How does having a paragraph linking to numerous people improve this one?", really belongs here. I'm resuming the discussion here; it was inappropriate to create a new section in the middle of the thread, and GeeAlice keeps undoing my attempts to glue it back into the single thread that it actually is.) | |||
|action7date=17:17, 20 April 2010 | |||
In response to GeeAlice's comments below, he/she has ignored the counterarguments and appears to be spinning everything to fit a preconceived notion: The lead sentence of the disputed paragraph was ''not'' "added to justify its inclusion" (it is integral to the section containing that paragraph); My example about the female rôle model was just that, one example (illustrating that adoption of the full philosophy is not a germane criterion for inclusion); The analogy with articles about other philosophers is weak, because their cultural influence has not been the subject of dispute (Rand's has); The "edit conflict" was annotated within the Talk page as of 22:30:08, and was mentioned by GeeAlice twice in the edit log as some sort of justification for creating a separate section, as well as in my personal Talk page. I see now that I stand accused of a lack of good faith (with respect to my question about archiving), another indication that he/she is not bothering to understand what is actually said and is instead reinforcing preconceptions. | |||
|action7link=Misplaced Pages:Peer review/Ayn Rand/archive2 | |||
Because valid information that supports legitimate purposes of the article should not be arbitrarily removed, it should be restored until the debate is settled. There is no good reason to let the recently disputed, less informative change stand, as opposed to the long undisputed and more informative original version. — ] (]) 04:44, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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:OK, but the peacock term "greatly" or "deeply" influenced is inaccurate, and that is very much discouraged. So I removed that adjective. I also added fact tags to those without wiki articles, as was used in a prior argument that those on the list were notable because they had their own article. Again, inaccurate. If ALL these people deserve a place in this article then please be accurate and source it. Take Clarence Thomas for instance - he ''never'' said he was "greatly" or "deeply" influenced by Rand. He supposedly said his favorite movie, yes movie, was ''The Fountainhead''. That does not mean he was "greatly" influenced by Rand as a philosopher. All of Rand's fans find this type of connection when one does not exist. At least not for her psuedo-philosophy. I'm sure this is true for many of the others listed in that section. It is original research to list those that may have enjoyed one of her books, or even a movie, or some antidote of hers, and then report they were "greatly" influenced, etc. It's absolutely irresponsible, and unverifiable. ←]♥] 03:23, 20 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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::The WP policy is that articles are allowed only for notable people, not the converse. Erika Holzer, for example, wrote several novels which sold fairly well (as I recall she won at least one Edgar); among these was "An Eye for an Eye" which was adapted for a major motion picture. I would say she qualifies as a notable person, and she was certainly influenced by Rand; in fact she was one of Rand's associates in NYC. That she does not yet have a WP article means only that nobody has yet created one. Maybe some day when I have more time I will do that myself. | |||
|action9date=11 April 2022 | |||
::The interviewees themselves tended to use terms like "made a tremendous impact" or "changed my life", so the adverb was fairly accurate. However, we can tone it down, but not so far as to mislead (as "influenced in some way" does). Those in the list were influenced in more than a minor way by Rand, most of them cited as such in the referenced article. In the previous discussion about the list, I remarked that I try to exclude many other persons who have claimed only a minor influence. Over the years I have seen or heard direct quotations from most of the persons in the list verifying the substantial nature of that influence (thus the referenced article seems accurate). As I recall, Clarence Thomas gave an entire interview that focused on Rand's influence on him. Finding individual citations would take a lot of work, and is not necessary where they are already covered by the cited reference. — ] (]) 20:58, 22 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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:::Just having the word "influenced" is enough without an adverb. Not all those listed were "tremendously impacted" or even "deeply influenced" by her. It appears that it was a positive influence, which is not true of the many listed. I will remove the adverb as a compromise. ←]♥] 08:38, 24 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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:::::Actually it is supposed to list only "notable" people who have claimed that Rand was a ''positive'' influence. If you can prove that an entry is mistaken, it can be removed. I have seen direct evidence supporting most of them. By the way, your claim that Clarence Thomas doesn't belong in such a list is mistaken; to see that he does all you have to do is read his autobiography. — ] (]) 16:22, 24 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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::::GeeAlice, Don't use the term "randroid" in your edit summaries. It is insulting and a violation of WP:CIVIL You're starting to remind me of a past editor] (]) 11:59, 24 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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:I don't understand what is wrong with the reference that made GeeAlice revert DAGwyn's edit. Do you care to explain Alice? ] (]) 21:15, 1 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
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::Yes, I'll explain. If that long list is to stay, and then say that all those people were profoundly, deeply, greatly or '''''positively''''' influenced by Ayn Rand is misleading, and more importantly... not verifiable. This project is about verifiability, not truth. Just because some people read ''Atlas Shrugged'' and/or ''The Fountainhead'', does not make one positively influenced by Ayn Rand and her "philosophy". That's what the section is saying. Many high-school and early college-aged kids where influenced by those books of '''fiction'''. I was one of those "kids". | |||
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|otd1date=2017-03-06|otd1oldid=768969940 | |||
:::Every encyclopedia is primarily about knowledge, which ideally is an attempt to ascertain the truth; the WP's emphasis on verifiability is meant to address discrepancies between different reasoned views of what is true. The people in the list have ''in fact'' stated that they were ''significantly, positively'' influenced by Rand's works. It has been explained repeatedly that "just having read" was not a criterion for inclusion in that list, and that ''only'' the (self-identified) ''significantly'' influenced were meant to be included. (If you have reliable evidence that somebody in the list has been miscategorized, we can remove him. I have personally seen or heard direct supporting quotations from many of them.) | |||
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:::The source is verifiable, and from my own observation, accurate. I see no need to research dozens of separate individual quotations (which could in principle be done) to supplement that source, and doubt that it would add any real value to the article. | |||
|otd3date=2023-03-06|otd3oldid=1143245258 | |||
:::That Rand's influence is often first felt when people are of the age where they are open to new ideas doesn't signify anything. The list of successful adult achievers is a useful corrective to the often-heard distortion that Rand's influence is limited to such kids and that they "grow out of it", which is undoubtedly true for ''some'' people, but it is not valid as a generalization. — ] (]) 23:12, 1 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
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::If I remind you of a "past editor" that should tell you something, that it may not be right to puff up the article as if Rand is some type of Aristotle or Nietzsche. Dissenting views are allowed on Misplaced Pages, and I see that this article is protected by those who are deeply, positively and greatly influenced by Rand which does not make for a balanced article. It makes it POV. Even the criticism section is positive and protected against the real criticism out there that is verifiable by reliable sources. This section is not verifiable by a '''reliable source'''! Don't you get it? ←]♥] 21:35, 1 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
{{WikiProject banner shell|collapsed=yes|class=GA|vital=yes|listas=Rand, Ayn|blp=no|1= | |||
:::Your personal prejudices are showing. The article is ''not'' "puffed up" as you describe. Ethan and I (among others) have worked to ensure that it is accurate and presents the facts neutrally, including reasoned criticism. We have omitted reference to the vast amount of wild rantings by people who felt threatened by Rand's ideas, as well as rantings by fanatical "true believers", because including either or both of those "POV"s does not serve the fundamental goal of knowledge and is inherently ''not'' "neutral" (it would give equal weight to reason and to nonsense). However, even rantings such as Whittaker Chambers' review of ''Atlas Shrugged'' were mentioned if they are historically significant. To take one example for analogy: In the Einstein article, we do not consider it appropriate to present historically unimportant criticism of his theories, even though there was considerable opposition to them, largely by people who didn't understand the ideas (but who seemed to think they did). That isn't promotion of a "pro-Einstein" POV; it's done for clarity of exposition, to reduce misleading, low-quality clutter in an article that is already too long. | |||
{{WikiProject Biography|a&e-priority=High|a&e-work-group=yes|politician-work-group=yes|politician-priority=high}} | |||
:::The ] article has been particularly difficult to stabilize, precisely because there are fanatics on both sides who think that a neutral presentation must be supporting the opposing POV, since it isn't supporting ''their'' POV. Don't forget that the article is about ''Rand'', and her critics are only incidental. I think we got it about right. — ] (]) 23:12, 1 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
{{WikiProject Atheism|importance=mid}} | |||
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==How does having a paragraph linking to numerous people improve this one?== | |||
{{WikiProject Objectivism|importance=Top}} | |||
Why is this ] necessary to have "numerous" people with wiki articles claiming to be or have been influenced by her philosophy, when there are already many listed in the infobox? I would like to delete that section entirely, but I made a compromise by just trimming it -- excluding those who are not really notable, at least not to Ayn Rand, and most, if not all, of the people articles I removed are Libertarians or more closely related to that party, which Ayn Rand did not have good things to say about and disputes that it is related to her philosophy. Thanks in advance for comments.←]♥] 02:17, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
{{WikiProject Philosophy|importance=Mid|aesthetics=yes|philosopher=yes|metaphysics=yes|social=yes|ethics=yes|contemporary=yes}} | |||
{{WikiProject Politics|importance=mid|American=yes|American-importance=high|libertarianism=yes |libertarianism-importance=high}} | |||
:A major justification for the cultural influence list is to support the claim in the introduction that Rand was "influential". Originally this said "broadly influential", and the cultural influence list conveys some of that breadth. As I note above, that is important information that helps to correct a common misconception; I know of no better way to do that. The fact that it catches one's attention is an intended effect. | |||
{{WikiProject Russia|importance=high}} | |||
::Please refer to the first sentence of the disputed paragraph to confirm that it does not serve the same purpose as the Infobox list, and is not limited to wholehearted proponents of Rand's philosophy. Rand touched, in a way they consider positive, the lives of many who didn't completely adopt her philosophy; one typical remark is that her character Dagny provided an inspiring rôle model as a strong, independent female working at a high level in a "man's world". Such influence is notable, and relevant for an article about Rand. (It wouldn't be very relevant in the "]" article, but that has a different focus.) — ] (]) 03:00, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
{{WikiProject Theatre|importance=low}} | |||
:::As it shouldn't. Just because someone adds a sentence to a paragraph to justify its inclusion is not enough. And the influence section, by your argument, was that she was influential in inspiring role models for women, except for a couple of the names listed most where MEN, not women. Everyone and their mother is influenced by someone, does that mean we include a long list of persons with Misplaced Pages articles in each philosopher's article they were influenced by? Also, please stop refactoring the talk page. This is my heading and this is the way I intended to present my dispute. It's disingenuous of you to "glue" it to your heading because I encountered an "edit conflict" while I was typing my entry. I'm taking a break because I've become frustrated. I realize that that is not helpful, but I was not frustrated until now. So, leave what is here as it is for now, until I become unfrustrated, or until others weigh in with their views. Good day. ←]♥] 03:14, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
{{WikiProject Women's History|importance=low}} | |||
(Response in original section, above.) — ] (]) 04:44, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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: I agree with DAGWyn ] (]) 13:13, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
{{External peer review|small=yes|org=London Review of Books |url=https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v31/n10/david-runciman/like-boiling-a-frog |comment="...Reads as though it has been worked over far too much, and like any form of writing that is overcooked it alienates the reader by appearing to be closed off in its own private world of obsession and anxiety." |date=20 May 2009}} | |||
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==How to archive?== | |||
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How do we archive past, inactive discussions? I know there is a way, since it has been done for other Talk pages. It would be a good idea to do the same for much of this Talk page. — ] (]) 03:00, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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:Do not archive the above ] that I just noticed, that disputes the same thing that I dispute here. In that, the influence section is too long. So there IS consensus to justify removing many of those names, if all of them. You're making it difficult to assume good faith here. I hope it's just because I'm frustrated with what appears to be your ownership of this article, and your refusal to listen to others. ←]♥] 03:46, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
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::I wasn't proposing to archive that section, which is clearly relevant for an active discussion. I asked about archiving because in my efforts to glue back together the sections that you artificially split in two, I had to edit the entire article (rather than the usual single section), and found that the amount of text made it painfully slow (typed characters would echo minutes after they were typed, for example). Thus the Talk page is clearly too large, and would be improved by archiving inactive discussions, as has been done for many other Talk pages. | |||
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::The ''consensus'' is not what just what some subset of people said in the course of a discussion, but what the editors all together have agreed to live with for quite a long time now, until you decided to rock the boat. Also, the idea that the list is too long is not identical to the idea that the list should include only people who support Rand's full philosophy, which you have suggested and which I explained before is not what appropriate for the topic of that particular section, which is about cultural impact. | |||
::I don't "own" the article, but I do have a strong interest in maintaining its quality (including accuracy, comprehensiveness, fairness, clarity, etc.). If you check, you should see that I've let stand (or occasionally mildly improved) many contributions by other editors, including some by you. It is only the one particular change that I am adamantly opposing. If there is a better way to convey, to the general reader, the intended information about the extent of Rand's popular influence, I am certainly open to suggestion and to working together toward a proper presentation of this important information. | |||
::As to a "refusal to listen to others"; isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? I have not yet seen evidence that you have understood any of the counterarguments that I made. — ] (]) 04:44, 19 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Atlas Shrugged == | |||
Under this heading the author writes: "Atlas Shrugged has been cited in numerous interviews as the book that most influenced the subject.", but does not identify "the subject" (which I assue is Objectivism). Needs a minor edit. <small>—Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 18:52, 20 January 2008 (UTC)</small><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot--> | |||
:I belive "the subject" refers to the person being interviewed, i.e. the subject of the interview, but I agree that it seems a bit unclear. Also none of the sources seem to support this claim (the sources talk only about the survey being exaggerated). ] (]) 19:22, 20 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
::Yes, it meant the subject of the interview. The reference for the survey being exaggerated is obviously not also a reference for the influence of the book; references can be found for the latter, but generally only one interview per reference, which would be a lot of work. For a more "aggregate" view, the reference used for the list in the "Popular interest and influence" section might be appropriate. — ] (]) 20:21, 22 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
==Article is not neutral== | |||
It appears any edits not favorable to Rand and her "philosophy" are quickly reverted, therefore the article is biased (NPOV). Even the criticism section is whitewashed - in that, it does not included the more harsh criticism of Rand and her "philosophy", which is overwhelming - having many reliable sources to support this. Yet, any changes are quickly reverted that are not favorable to Ayn Rand, her works, and her philosophy. Even the "Criticism" section is more apologetic than critical. Please leave the NPOV tag until the article is allowed to included a balanced view. ←]♥] 05:20, 25 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
:The only "POV" claim(s) for the article I have seen come from someone who has exhibited a clear bias against the subject (e.g. putting quotation marks around "philosophy" above, labeling other editors "randroids", etc.), and has made incorrect claims of fact (e.g. Thomas not being significantly influenced by Rand). His/her concern seems to be that "neutrality" requires not just explaining the subject's ideas, but actively belittling them. That ''would'' be imposing a POV. | |||
::The question at issue is whether it can be stated from the neutral point of view that Rand is a philosopher and not a writer. The belief that she is, is a belief of people who agree in the main or in total with Rand's views. <small>—Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 17:36, 3 April 2008 (UTC)</small><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot--> | |||
:In point of fact, most of the "more harsh criticism" is not worth citing because it doesn't meet normal intellectual standards (e.g. is based on a caricature of the philosophy rather than on the actuality). Reasoned academic criticism has long been included in the article, and absurd criticism has long been excluded. That is the way it ought to be. There is no "balance" in including hysterical denunciations, any more than there would be in including worshipful paeans; both have been excluded in the past and should continue to be so. The facts should be allowed to speak for themselves, with just enough supplementary material to provide context and pointers to closely related information. Challenges concerning factual validity are taken seriously, but we do not promote either an anti-Rand POV or a pro-Rand POV in this biographical article. — ] (]) 20:34, 25 January 2008 (UTC) | |||
I think the criticisms section is adequate. It says that critics found her works "terrible", philosophers did not take her work seriously and her followers have been described as a cult. Her thoughts do not merit the attention that a serious writer or philosopher would attract. --] (]) 22:45, 4 February 2008 (UTC)ю | |||
:Certainly that point of view (with which many reasonable people disagree) is represented. Keep in mind that this is an article about Rand, including her works and ideas and the response to them. As to WP:NPOV, that pertains to disagreement over what the (article-relevant) facts are, not to whether other people might hold other ideas (because of course they do). The latter slant on "NPOV" would apply in a general article on ideas, e.g. ] or ], where there are clearly a number of distinct POVs about the facts of the subject as such. In Rand's case, what she maintained on major philosophical issues is usually quite clear from her own writings, so there should be little dispute about presenting that in an article about her and her ideas. | |||
:I get the impression that some people are not willing to let facts stand on their own merits (or lack thereof), but want to influence the reader's evaluation by steering it in the "right" direction. That is inappropriate, and indicates a lack of confidence in the reader's ability to think for himself. — ] (]) 23:57, 4 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
==Literary Criticism POV== | |||
"In 1963, Rand wrote an essay titled "The Goal of My Writing" in which she states the goal of her fiction is to project her vision of an ideal man: not man as he is, but man as he might and ought to be. Her 1969 book, The Romantic Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature, explores more fully the differences between Rand's aesthetic views and those of the academic mainstream." This passage is not a criticism of Rand's work and should either be moved to another section of the article or deleted altogether. ] (]) 06:52, 17 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:Whoever put that text there (it wasn't I) evidently intended it as "counter-criticism"; i.e. to balance the criticism, which was primarily based on standards and values that themselves merit critical review. If that text were to be relocated, it would need to be augmented by an observation that Rand's aesthetic principles differed substantially from those of the "establishment", which is true but comes close to OR. It may be best to leave the text where it stands, as it serves a useful purpose there. — ] (]) 05:12, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::Maybe we could add some kind of transition? I'd do it myself, but I'm not entirely sure how this is supposed to be a response to criticism of her prose. The way this passage is currently phrased is just confusing. ] (]) 06:13, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::I reorganized the existing text to provide a better transition and to remove one level of indirection from the quotation (although the reference stays the same). I don't think it would be useful to add much more wording for the connection. — ] (]) 07:32, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Rand being a Jewish writer == | |||
Did Rand ever officially renounce Judaism or convert to another religion? Because if she did not, then she is a Russian Jewish writer. ] (]) 07:00, 17 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
1) In Judaism, someone born as a jew is in principle a jew forever, even renouncing the faith. So this is immaterial; 2) "Jewish" in the wikipedia categories that you mentioned or that had recently been removed from the article, is actually more of an ETHNIC than a religious classification, so much so that they include professed atheists and sometimes even converts. And there is no doubt that she was ethnically a jew. So, what is the problem with including Rand in these categories?] (]) 21:57, 17 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:The problem is that she vociferously and unequivocally denounced religion as mysticism, entirely incompatible with her intensely-held beliefs. So as a religious identifier, it is entirely unacceptable. As an ethnic identifier, it is also inappropriate, as per ], when wiriting about specific groups and individuals we always use the terminology which they themselves would use. So how things are named "in Judaism" is irrelevant, as to endorse that would be to poison the well by already classifying Rand within the framework of Judaism in order to determine whether or not she was a Jew, which is patently absurd. Rand was an Objectivist, fiercely individualistic and resistant to the notion that people should be classified using collectivist terminology. Regards, <font color="404040">]</font> 22:20, 17 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::What I am asking is did Rand specifically state that she herself was no longer Jewish. Her opinion on religion is one thing, if she never specifically renounced her own religion, then she was Jewish. ] (]) 03:08, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::You've got it backwards - surely if she didn't declare her Jewishness she was ''not'' Jewish. You can argue that one can be born with a Jewish ethnicity, but it is farcical to argue that one can be born with religious beliefs. The burden of proof is on the claimant; if we find somewhere Rand said "I am a Jew", and no sources that said she renounced her supposed Jewishness, then we should include the category. Until then, <font color="404040">]</font> 03:21, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::For identification purposes, one who is born into a religion is identified as a member of that religion until they either renounce that religion or convert. There are plenty of Jews who don't believe in God, but are still identified as Jews. Likewise for many other religions. Either point to a source where she said "I'm no longer Jewish", or we state that she was Jewish based on the fact that she was born to Jewish parents. ] (]) 03:53, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::"For identification purposes, one who is born into a religion is identified as a member of that religion until they either renounce that religion or convert." | |||
:::::Oh yeah, says who? Since all individuals are born ], we should identify her as a Pastafarian unless a source says she isn't. Since she was born in Communist Russia, we should include her in the category Communists until we find a source that says otherwise. Since she was born an infant, we should...etc. ''']'''. <font color="404040">]</font> 04:00, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::::Under Jewish law, a child born to a Jewish mother is Jewish. ] (]) 04:53, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::::Under Objectivist ethics, you are whoever you damn well please, within the constraints of reality and reason. So that doesn't get us anywhere. <font color="404040">]</font> 05:09, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::::::How about a compromise then. Something like "Even though Rand herself was not religious, her birth to a Jewish mother makes her Jewish under Jewish law." ] (]) 05:18, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::::::Certainly, that would be fine if we were discussing what text to include in the article. But as far as I am aware, the issue is whether or not to include the article in Jew-related categories. <font color="404040">]</font> 05:21, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::::::::I've added the compromise text into the article. As far as the categories, that's a tough one and depends on whether the Jewish category is defined by religion or ethnicity/culture. Are the classifications of other Jewish people in that category done by religion or ethnicity? ] (]) 05:36, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::::::::Sorry, I expressed myself sloppily; that text would be acceptable if it were cited (and not ]) and relevant. As DAGwyn notes, what ethnicity/religion Rand would hypothetically be categorised under is less than relevant here. Readers want to know what she thought - see ]. | |||
::::::::::::Another point is that the article already mentions that her parents were non-observant Jews, and the new text added no new information, just editorializing. Such a remark is probably appropriate for an article on Judaic law, but not in this article, in which Jewishness plays no role. — ] (]) 06:06, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
Rand didn't "convert to another religion", because she never professed any religion, insofar as the historical record shows, and as an adult, she definitely "renounced" all religions, as well as all forms of racism and of classification on the basis of accidents of ancestry. Rand did not call herself Jewish, and nobody who knew her would have dared to call her Jewish. — ] (]) 05:27, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::::::::::One sentence in a giant article about Rand's Jewish ethnicity does not give it undue weight. As far as avoiding synthesis, how about this source: | |||
::::::::::::"Ethnically, yes, Rand was Jewish. She was born into a Russian Jewish family (see question 4.1 above), although her parents were not particularly observant. As an adult, Rand did not practice Judaism as a religion, since she became an atheist at an early age. A number of Rand's close associates over the years, including Nathaniel Branden, Barbara Branden, Leonard Peikoff, and Alan Greenspan, have also been ethnic, but non-religious, Jews." http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq.html#Q6.9 <small>—Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 06:07, 18 February 2008 (UTC)</small><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot--> | |||
::::::::::::Not to put to fine a point on it, but isn't this the precise source you want omitted from the Cult section due to its unreliability? <font color="404040">]</font> 06:16, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::::::::::I want that source omitted for the cult criticism because it cites Rand's letter as the basis for its opinion on that subject (this is my new account btw, thanks for the tip :-). I assumed that its opinion of Rand's Jewish ethnicity is not based on Rand's writings, but if it is, then we'll need to find another source. Also, since Rand's Jewish ethnicity has no bearing on objectivism, there's no conflict of interest in objectivist research on this issue as opposed to the issue of whether objectivism is a cult. ] (]) 06:24, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:"Rand did not call herself Jewish, and nobody who knew her would have dared to call her Jewish." Do you have a source for that? ] (]) 05:29, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::You can quote me, if you wish. It's not something that ever occurred to me to ask her on the few occasions when I met her, nor in correspondence, but I have heard and read nearly everything she said on the general issue, and have heard and read what her closest friends and associates had to say about her lack of tolerance for such categorization. I am sure that she never called herself Jewish; if you think otherwise. then please exhibit a contrary quotation so that we may all be enlightened. — ] (]) 06:06, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::Rand was ethnically Jewish (http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/biofaq.html#Q6.9) and your personal opinion to the contrary does not constitute a reliable source under ]. ] (]) 06:21, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::I'm not sure why what Richard Lawrence has to say matters, but in any event, he just repeated the well-known fact, ''already present in our article'', that Rand was born to non-observant Jews, and that she herself was an atheist. This is not personal opinion, it is recorded fact. The "opinion", given by скоморохъ above as well as others recently and earlier in the editing history, is that it is inappropriate to categorize Rand as a "Jewish" ''anything''. Perhaps you could explain what purpose is supposed to be served by such categorization of "ethnic" Jewishness? Are there categories for Jewish policemen, Jewish Quakers, Jewish criminals? It seems to me that somebody has an inappropriate agenda for claiming Jewishness no matter how irrelevant it might be, and it could hardly be less relevant than in Rand's case. It is misleading in the extreme to label someone as a "Jewish writer" when her writing has nothing to do with Jewish identity and is in fact opposed to that whole notion. — ] (]) 06:43, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::The importance of including Rand's Jewish ethnicity is that this is a biographical page not a page that is devoted solely to Rand's thinking (Objectivism has its own article). Rand's ethnicity is certainly relevant to Rand's biographical information. As far as categorizing her as a "Jewish writer", I suggested earlier that we take a look at what types of people are currently classified as Jewish writers and go from there (I'm new to Misplaced Pages, so I'm not entirely sure how to accurately browse the categories at the moment). ] (]) 07:26, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::::I also would be interested in finding out what criterion has generally been used for such classifications in WP, but my point about it being misleading still stands, and we can decide on the basis of reasonableness as well as on precedent. — ] (]) 07:36, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::::I still have problems browsing through the ton of category articles, but I did find an interesting one. ] was born Jewish, but he was extremely critical of the Jewish religious texts and was even cast out of the Jewish community, yet he is listed under the Jewish categories. ] (]) 08:46, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
==Cult Criticism== | |||
The second half of Cult Criticism violated both ] and ] and when I fixed it, someone reverted it for "POV Vandalism". What I object to is the following passage in the Cult Criticism section: "The Biographical FAQ of the Objectivism Reference Center website discusses these allegations and refers to a letter in which Rand replies to a fan who wrote her offering cult-like allegiance by declaring "A blind follower is precisely what my philosophy condemns and what I reject. Objectivism is not a mystic cult"". | |||
What this is essentially saying is that in response to accusations that objectivism is a cult, objectivists have stated that they are not a cult. This is obviously not a reliable third party source as required by ], so can we either find a better source for this or delete it? ] (]) 03:18, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:Surely you're not suggesting that Rand and her defenders not be given chance to respond to the accusations? That does not seem at a neutral point of view. <font color="404040">]</font> 03:36, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::] requires that "Articles should rely on reliable, '''third-party''' published sources" This article is not a forum for Rand and her defenders to respond to criticisms. This article is a collection of information, both positive and negative, about Ayn Rand. Per the ] requirement, if you find a reliable third-party source that responds to the cult criticism, then by all means, we can include it. However, including a general denial of cult status from the person accused of founding a cult doesn't really add anything to the article. ] (]) 03:48, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::Conversely, a section which includes only accusations of culthood violates the same policy, by failing to fairly represent all majority and significant-minority viewpoints. <font color="404040">]</font> 04:02, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::Again, you misunderstand the policy. I have no problem with using a response to the criticism, as long as that response comes from a reliable third party source as required by ]. The current response does not come from a third-party source and thus violates established Misplaced Pages policy. ] (]) 04:51, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::I didn't misunderstand the policy the first time, so I could hardly have done so again! Nothing in your latest reply addresses my last comment. Regards, <font color="404040">]</font> 04:54, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::::The criticisms of culthood come from third-party sources. The response is from Ayn Rand, who is not a third-party source. ] (]) 04:58, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::::Yes, yes, we've established that. We face the prospect of a well-referenced section containing accusations of culthood with no response at all (if we are to delete Rand's/Objectivist's response). Such a section would violate ] by failing to fairly represent "all majority and significant-minority viewpoints." This leaves us with only three logical options: include a section that violates the policy, remove the section entirely, or find reliable material covering all significant viewpoints. Which do you prefer? <font color="404040">]</font> 05:03, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::::::A logical reading of ] is that it requires reliable third-party sources that represent these viewpoints. As I stated earlier, if there's reliable third-party material that responds to the cult criticism, then by all means, let's include it. Rand's response however, doesn't cut it under ]. ] (]) 05:15, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
I say we should get rid of the section. While it is certainly true that ''some'' followers of Rand have acted like cultists, it is equally true that many others in no way qualify as cultists. This "cult" accusation primarily serves as a way for detractors to denigrate Rand's ideas by associating them with an irrelevancy rather than addressing the ideas on their merits. That might be a popular political ploy, but it's not a valid form of criticism. | |||
I note that another recent posting here similarly proposes to eliminate a response to criticism of Rand's literary aesthetic, and there have been other suggestions that the article must not contain Rand's own statements, but only those of "third-party" commentators, who as it happens are largely allied against Rand. I find that a willful misreading of WP policies. Certainly Rand's denunciation of a cult following is important information concerning this topic, and there simply is no better source for her views on this than her own statement. — ] (]) 05:45, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:Misplaced Pages's policies have not been misread. Here are the two relevant provisions of ]: 1) "Articles should rely on reliable, '''third-party''' published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy" and 2) "All articles must adhere to Misplaced Pages's neutrality policy, fairly representing all majority and significant-minority viewpoints that have been published by reliable sources, '''in rough proportion to the prominence of each view'''." Applying these criteria to the cult criticism, a significant number of reliable third-party sources have leveled this criticism at Rand's philosophy and should therefore be included as significant viewpoints addressing that philosophy. As far as third-party commentators being allied against Rand, we must represent viewpoints with regard to their prominence. I'm sorry that there are so many anti-Rand third party sources, but until that changes we have to fairly represent those sources and not our own personal biases. As far as using Rand in rebuttal of criticism, under ], there are multiple criteria that must be satisfied if you want to use a non-third party source and Rand's response to her critics does not satisfy that criteria. Again, I'm sorry if you don't like Misplaced Pages's policies, but the entire point of these policies is that this is an encyclopedia that represents outside scholarship and not the personal opinions of its editors. ] (]) 06:01, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:You can "prove" almost anything by quoting out of context and interpreting out of context. The paragraph containing (1), which is but one part of the policy on '''verifiability''', reads in its entirety: "Articles should rely on reliable, third-party published sources with a reputation for fact-checking and accuracy. Reliable sources are necessary both to substantiate material within articles and to give credit to authors and publishers in order to avoid plagiarism and copyright violations. Sources should directly support the information as it is presented in an article and should be appropriate to the claims made: exceptional claims require exceptional sources." Thus, the ''rationale'' is to substantiate/support claims and to give credit — not to exclude relevant factual information about what the subject of the article said. In fact, that quotation was not Rand's response to her critics, but a reliable third party's response to her critics; Rand herself was responding to a misguided admirer. None of this constitutes "personal opinion of the editors"; it is ''verifiable'' statement of relevant factual information. Taking ''all'' of the major WP policies ''and'' their rationale into account, your anonymous "contributions" (all of which have been attached to the Ayn Rand article and its Talk page, according to the WP logs) are not representative of WP guidelines, and in my view seem suspiciously biased toward establishing an unbalanced negative POV in this article. I think it has had pretty good balance recently, presenting the main information neutrally, including significant criticisms and a small amount of counter-criticism, and would like to maintain that. — ] (]) 06:27, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::First of all, it is none of your business which articles I choose to edit. I make my edits in good faith, so please keep your ad hominem attacks out of this discussion. As far as the rationale for the article, your response makes no sense. The policy clearly requires third party sources to back up claims within an article. To address your concerns, an exception is provided to this rule if the information is 1) relevant to the article's notability, 2) is not contentious, 3) is not unduly self-serving, etc. ]. In this case, the information is clearly contentious and since the subject matter is the cult status of Rand's own philosophy, her writings on the matter would be self-serving. ] (]) 06:39, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::"self-serving" → "relevant". | |||
:::It is our business if you are pushing a particular POV and trying to misrepresent legitimate WP policy to justify your agenda. — ] (]) 06:47, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::Since we're obviously not going to come to a consensus, I've submitted the matter for a third party opinion. As far as personal attacks, I have assumed that your edits are being made in good faith even though you very clearly have an objectivist bias. I would appreciate the same consideration. ] (]) 07:10, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
=== Third Party Opinion === | |||
Here is my opinion as a neutral third party: third party sources are not necessary when the article is quoting the opinion of a particular individual. Since the section is dealing with the perception of Rand's following as being a "cult", Rand's own personal thoughts on this are very much relevant. However, the sentence itself needs to be re-written so it's more NPOV. (language such as "However" and "Rand itself" are not needed). -- ] <small>(]|])</small> 17:50, 18 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:I got rid of the "however" and split the Rand quote off to another paragraph, since it's not a response to the first quote. ] (]) 17:35, 27 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Pronunciation == | |||
The pronunciation key needs a normal dictionary-like pronunciation on how to pronounce her first name, as opposed to the current IPA guide, which, statistically speaking, ''nobody understands and nobody uses.'' ] (]) 17:22, 27 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
== 500,000 books per year == | |||
:''Rand's books continue to be widely sold and read, with more than 22 million copies sold (as of 2005), and 500,000 more being sold each year.'' | |||
I put a fact tag on this because although there is a citation that gives the 500,000 number, it comes from an interested party. The statistic needs a different source if one can be found. ] (]) 17:31, 27 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:Any party with accurate information on ''anything'' is likely to be an "interested party". The figure seems about right in the context of all the other sales figures I encountered while researching this for another purpose. — ] (]) 17:31, 29 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Zogby Study == | |||
], maybe you don't understand what I'm getting at. In the revision note you said | |||
<blockquote> | |||
No reason to doubt cited reference, which is supported by others (e.g. Economist in 1991, also in article). Zogby info relevant to stated poll challenge. Don't clutter text with ref info. | |||
</blockquote> | |||
This is where you added back the statement: | |||
<blockquote> | |||
The Zogby poll result can be checked by simple arithmetic: Roughly 8 million copies of Atlas Shrugged had been sold in America by that time; there are around 200 million adult Americans who might be considered the sample space; if 2 people read each copy (fewer than for most magazines), then 8% is the right fraction. | |||
</blockquote> | |||
In the article I see the reference to the Economist but it only talks about the number of sold copies. That's fine, but I'm more concerned about the "simple arithmetic". If '''you''' are performing this arithmetic then it's considered ]. Otherwise you need to cite your source for this statement. Even if your self-performed calculation '''was''' allowed, you still don't cite your source for "200 million adult Americans who might be considered the sample space", and "fewer than for most magazines". | |||
If you still disagree and think your statement is allowable without citing the (non-original) source, then we'll have to go the admins. | |||
--] (]) 21:01, 29 February 2008 (UTC) | |||
:Do you seriously dispute that those approximations are near the correct values? Or that arithmetic is objective? Since somebody added a note in the main text that the validity of the polls has been disputed, the objective, NPOV footnote directly relevant to the validity of the result of one of the impugned polls is not only appropriate but necessary. (The other two polls are indeed suspect, and I previously added refs to support that claim.) It seems that you want to justify perpetuating an incorrect implication of the current text. — ] (]) 18:53, 5 March 2008 (UTC) | |||
::This isn't about what I think is correct or accurate. It's about Misplaced Pages's policy (including no original research and verifiability). Discussing whether those policies are good to have is beyond the scope of our little discourse here. The fact is they are established at the moment and must be followed in articles. The only point worth debating here is, whether or not the arithmetic you are doing is considered original research (I honestly thought it was but reading over the policy it may be exempt). We will need some more senior input on this (see ]). Now, assuming it is allowable, you '''still''' need to cite your sources for the other claims I mentioned above. If you're allowed to multiply a*b=c and use c as a conclusion, then you need to have a verifiable source for a and b. Make sense? --] (]) 21:34, 10 March 2008 (UTC) | |||
:It didn't seem necessary to add references ''in a footnote'' to well-known and easily verified ''approximate'' parameters such as number of adult Americans at the time of the poll. The number of book sales can be estimated in various ways and has been reported in several places, not always in a ready-to-use form. My point is, the Zogby poll ''results'' do not appear to be significantly biased, and the 8% figure is an interesting, relevant, and reasonably accurate factoid. Another way of dealing with this would be to move mention of the Zogby poll past the scope of the text and footnotes pertaining to the suspect methodology of the other polls. However, I think the simple calculation is useful for the context. — ] (]) 15:29, 17 March 2008 (UTC) | |||
::I agree it is interesting and may bear mention in a certain context. I have read a few other articles this week that do something similar as well. The only concern I have is the same one mentioned on the link I posted ], which basically says that the assertion the poll may be flawed (forgetting the arithmetic for a moment) is itself considered original research unless we can find some other verifiable source which disputes the accuracy of the poll. The way I read the current policy, I honestly do not believe this footnote can be left in its present form without such a reference. --] (]) 04:35, 28 March 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::I implemented the slight reorganization that I previously suggested, since the only challenges to Zogby polls that I found were merely unsubstantiated allegations on the basis of ''a priori'' disagreement with Zogby's purported point of view. — ] (]) 15:12, 28 March 2008 (UTC) | |||
==Cult Criticism POV== | |||
As much as most editors on here love Rand, the latest edits to the Cult Criticism section are ridiculous. Regardless of your views on Rand, it is a fact that a number of prominent figures have accused Objectivism of being a cult. It is our job to accurately represent their views. Thus, when a Cult Criticism section has a one sentence blurb about their views followed by a giant block quote that presents a counter-argument to their views, that's just a tad unbalanced. ''See'' ] Again, I don't care how much you love Rand, your insistence on maintaining bias in an ENCYCLOPEDIA article is keeping this from becoming a better article. Let the facts stand on their own without watering down the facts that you don't like. ] (]) 01:50, 3 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
:If the cult accusations are based on erroneous ideas and mis-attributions, should we not mention quotes that show it? As much as you obvioulsy don't like Rand, I think it's ridiculaous and POV to say that any accusation should stand without rebuttal because someone notable said it and you happen to agree. Let the facts speak for themsleves indeed, I agree! So would Rand I expect. How about you? ] (]) 02:17, 3 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::That those ideas are erroneous is the view of one Objectivist author. That author should not be given more space in a CRITICISM section than the actual critics. I'm not saying remove the rebuttal, I'm saying don't stick it in a giant block quote. As for me personally, I don't care one way or another about Rand, I'm editing articles whose subject matter I know something about. Since this article has repeatedly failed the Featured Article nomination due to its bias against Rand's criticism, I'm trying to fix that. ] (]) 03:09, 3 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::That a blanket "cult" label is erroneous is not just one person's opinion; it is the opinion of many people who have been in a position to know. My own impression, not expressed in the article, is that people who insist that Objectivism is a "cult" do so because they are unable or unwilling to rebut it rationally, and so they resort to smearing it as an excuse for not treating the ideas seriously, with the hope that they can discourage newcomers from looking into it. The quote from an insider gives useful information not presented elsewhere in the article that bears directly on the validity of the criticism. Leaving out the quote would give critics the last word, which I'm sure is what they want, but that would give undue weight to the claim (doing a disservice to the general reader) since it is so easily rebutted. | |||
:::Nathaniel Branden has provided much more intelligent and informed criticism pertaining to psychological risks of following some of Rand's ideas, which perhaps should be mentioned here, but he has not used that as an excuse to dismiss most of those ideas. — ] (]) 16:22, 3 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::Dagwyn, just because you personally disagree with the criticism doesn't give you the right to water it down. I did some research and most of the notable people who are "in a position to know" and dispute this criticism are Objectivists. Clearly, they are going to say only positive things about the movement and they do not deserve more space in a criticism section than notable third party critics. While you may believe that their criticism is "easily rebutted" a number of notable authors happen to disagree with your opinion. ] (]) 16:43, 3 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::::Idag you seem to have missed the point. If the criticism is refuted it's refuted. A notable person may think the earth os flat, but that doesn't change the facts that it isn't. There is plenty of room for good criticism, but fallacious criticism should be noted as such. POV people insist that this be included becasue the person who said it is notable, but allowing it to stand as untouchable because of the speaker's notoriety is beyond reasonable. ] (]) 17:07, 3 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::::Again, I don't mind us including a rebuttal. What I care about (and what ] requires) is that we not give the rebuttal more space than the actual criticism. Whether the rebuttal actually rebuts the criticism is a value judgment, but a one-sentence summary of the criticism followed by an in-depth exploration of the rebuttal is unbalanced. Since this section was a big weakness when this article was nominated for Featured Article status, I'm trying to make this section as NPOV as possible so that this article can become better than B-class. ] (]) 17:12, 3 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
===Third opinion=== | |||
←'''From 3O''': According to ], all viewpoints should be fairly represented. At present the rebuttal to the cult criticism appears to be fairly represented, but the actual cult criticism isn't. Increasing the length of the cult criticism section to be at least as long as its rebuttal would properly satisfy ] and the rest of ]. Might I suggest inserting a longer summary or even a quotation from one of these critics? | |||
*<span class="plainlinks">http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard23.html</span> | |||
*<span class="plainlinks">http://www.2think.org/02_2_she.shtml</span> —] 23:36, 3 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::I doubt that you can find much beyond merely lengthier assertions saying the same thing that we have already noted in the article. It is certainly true that ''some'' of Rand's followers have in the past behaved much like cultists. That doesn't make the philosophy ''as a whole'' a cult, and numerous other followers have not behaved like that. I think the Branden criticism would be worth adding, and deserves extra weight because he has observed the movement at first-hand (heck, he was even responsible for a lot of the problems) and has provided a ''reasoned'' criticism instead of a simplistic label. — ] (]) 00:09, 4 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::Rothbard's spiel is filled with easily recognizable anti-Rand-bias vocabulary and puts forth so many outright untruths about the Objectivist movement that it doesn't deserve citing. Like so much supposedly intellectual discourse of modern times, his preconceptions have badly distorted his perception and logic. Shermer's article, by comparison, deserves to be cited as a reference, although since he based his conclusions primarily on what he thought Branden wrote in "Judgment Day" he is not the right person to be quoted. — ] (]) 00:27, 4 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
:::I know very little about the subject - I'm just responding on style issues. It seems to me that if we can't fully cover a particular criticism on a topic it is extremely POV to cover the rebuttal to the criticism. And if we can't find a reliable source to quote then the whole section should be removed. —] 00:32, 4 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::::I just went back and re-read the cult-criticism section of the article. It does cite the Rothbard and Shermer articles, along with another critical article. The interested reader can easily access their lengthy argumentation. The amount of coverage given to the criticism seems balanced in the context of the whole article; expanding it would be to give it undue weight. What the Sures quotation does is illuminate Ayn Rand's actual views, as opposed to the incidental behavior of any of her followers or the opinions of third-hand observers, and that is appropriate since this article is biographic. (There is a separate article about the Objectivist movement, which is really where the cult discussion belongs.) Despite what has been maintained by the anti-Randists, this isn't a matter of "POVs" and "sides", it's about reporting the truth, which has multiple facets. The current section does that quite well. | |||
:::::Dagwyn, not everyone who disagrees with you is an "anti-Randist". If you do not like a certain criticism, then you have no right to water it down and spin it just to comply with your point of view. For example, if you look at the Fourteenth Amendment article, the article goes into great detail about the controversy over the Amendment's ratification. Do most of us think that this "controversy" is baloney? Sure, we do. But this "controversy" was advanced by several notable members of society, so we fully summarized their views. At this point you have two neutral editors telling you that views that you disagree with need to be set forth in this article. I've expanded Rothbard's view (feel free to add in a caveat about his personal bias) and we can add in the other criticisms that you referred to previously. This will allow us to keep the block quote and make the section NPOV. ] (]) 05:52, 4 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
==Why the change?== | |||
"Her influential and often controversial ideas have attracted both enthusiastic admirers and scathing denunciation." | |||
The word "admirers" used to say "admiration". Why was it changed to a noun? I don't see what advantage the change confers upon the sentence; in fact, it seems to not read as smoothly. | |||
:Good point. I've made the requisite change. ] (]) 15:43, 4 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
==Legacy== | |||
So I find that a lot of that list appears to be apocryphal. I checked every entry in that list who I was not sure about, and if their article did not mention Ayn Rand, I removed them from the list. Michael Paxton does not have a Misplaced Pages Article, ergo I don't think he's terribly notable. I also removed the soap opera star--that's really just not terribly interesting or important. A lot of the Objectivist thinkers mentioned in the original article, such as Cline, the Brandens, etc. are simply not that well known--having them in a list with celebrities and politicians strikes me as dubious, which is why I moved them out to a philosopher's list--although I suppose technically not all of them are philosophers, which is why I renamed it to "philosophers and thinkers". ] (]) 19:27, 8 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
:So far as I am aware, there was nobody on the original list who didn't qualify as having publicly stated (usually in some published interview) that their lives were significantly influenced by Rand's ideas. WP is not the only available source of information, but even so too many names had been removed for whom their WP articles state definitely that they were significantly influenced by Rand. It might be fair to ask for further references if the person isn't supported by the original reference or their WP article.) I don't think the division into "philosophers/thinkers" and "others" is either fair (who says the others aren't thinkers?) or sufficiently well-defined. The Infobox already singles out under "Influenced" just the people who seem to fall into the philosopher/thinker category. (Attempts to add others there have led to complaints from WP-philosophy-category editors.) So I suggest that anybody already in the Infobox list can and should be left out of the popular-influence list, which should consist of a single list. As to Michael Paxton, I suppose we can leave him out until somebody creates his WP article. The "soap opera star" is more "interesting and important" than some of the others, to some people; you shouldn't filter based merely on your own personal interests. — ] (]) 23:44, 8 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Flame Wars == | |||
There have been enough flame wars on this talk page and it needs to stop. I will delete *any* further attempts to restart them or replies thereto myself. ] (]) 01:31, 15 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
==Under Early Works, I added her first book "we the living" . . . question about my addition== | |||
Added the following quote and description of the book from Aynrand.org, do this mentioned of Soviet tyranny violate wiki NPOV policy?: | |||
"The most autobiographical of her novels, it was based on her years under Soviet tyranny."<ref>http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_biography</ref> ] (]) 04:48, 20 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
:nevermind ] (]) 04:47, 20 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
== Philosopher == | |||
I deleted the section added on being a philosopher. Firstly it's been argued before. Secondly you talk about many professional philosophers, then you site one at length from nearly 50 years ago befor ethe majority of her work, then you conclude with "many" It doesn't fly ] (]) 12:39, 20 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
Edward Nilges' reply: | |||
(Sigh). | |||
It's been discussed before, and Rand cult members have vandalized the contributions of people trying to make this article NPOV. | |||
Furthermore, the review was published in 1961, at the time of publication of Rand's major work of either philosophy or opinion. Please get your facts straight, especially before you vandalize. | |||
==Subsection "standing as a philosopher" added: may be vandalized== | |||
I have added this section citing Sidney Hook rather extensively since absent it, the article is NNPOV and reads like a Rand advertisement. However, the whole article needs rework; objections to her claims need to be raised at every step insofar as those claims are said to be philosophical. | |||
Edward G. Nilges | |||
POV vandals seem to be removing this edit. Strictly as a matter of wikipedia's own standards as regards POV, the article is unacceptable since it isn't the common opinion of educated people that Rand was a philosopher, and, professional philosophers (including conservative philosophers including Robert Nozick and Sydney Hook) have questioned the quality of her work. | |||
I'm not going to play the infantile undo game. Here is the section I have added about the issue of her standing. The article needs far more work because of Rand's intellectual dishonesty. I will also post the section in the Libertarianism section of usenet. Please do not vandalize these efforts, whether by myself or by others, to make wikipedia conform to its own stated norms. | |||
: Edward, you should add comments to the bottom of the page. There you will see my reasons for reverting your addition. You have not addressed those yet. Secondly, please stop insulting people. I am not a "slave" to Jimbo Wales, nor a valdal, nor a shop clerk. You have filled this talk page up with insults for awhile now. Please stop! All the insults in the world are no replacement for a rational arguement. You section made a bold calim and did not back it up, nor did you site the source in a way that someone could find it.] (]) 13:20, 20 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::Comments moved per your request. I follow the rules and I don't vandalize. | |||
::As to my "tone". It is in direct proportion to what's happening here. Slobs and creeps are doing Wales' dirty work of creating a for-profit wikipedia by harassing and driving out the good contributors with ignorant "edits". | |||
::Hook didn't write "fifty years before Rand"! "Cite" isn't spelled "site"! GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT before you edit. USE A DICTIONARY before you edit. Otherwise, you are a vandal. | |||
:::They are fifty years before now. With fifty years of more work with her ideas.] (]) 16:43, 20 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::All the insults in the world are no replacement for a rational argument, but they sure as hell make it vivid to people so brutalized that they vandalize a contribution of a major document by Sydney Hook which represents the view of the philosophical community, which is otherwise almost unheard in this goddamn article: that Rand failed to make her case. You fail to notice the clear separation in my texts wherein I make the case and where I give the capsule summary, nor that I have made quite "rational" conclusions as to the intelligence and good faith of an increasing number of clowns with modems. | |||
:::I'm again putting you on notice for being rude and insulting. Please refrain or you could risk being banned.] (]) 16:43, 20 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::I put "rational" in scare quotes because you, and people like you, have brutalized the world, in a second order sense in the same way Stalinism brutalized "humanity". You mean by "rationality" staying within a narrow band of affect even when you are in a virtual nightmare, in which convenience store clerks are masquerading as scholars amidst dancing trolls and burning tyres. Your "rationality" sickens me, since in every case it means someone's going to get harassed for calling a spade, a spade. | |||
Edward G. Nilges | |||
::: Your insults sicken me and do nothing to anvance the position you are taking. PLEASE refrain from your insults. They are a violation of wikipedia policy. If you continue to war using various IP addresses and insult people here you risj being banned. you should create an account so your work can be properly credited and tracked as well] (]) 16:43, 20 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
Standing as a philosopher | |||
Numerous professional philosophers have questioned whether Ayn Rand was, as she claimed and as her followers claim, a philosopher owing to what the former considered her failings to adhere to philosophical method, including fairly stating the views of her opponents, not engaging in the informal fallacy of ad hominem (which by imputing the character or the motives of an opponent, renders a philosophical debate pointless), and not engaging in verbal transformations without actual effect. | |||
Sidney Hook, although a "socialist" in Rand's eyes, was a professional philosopher who became an anti-Communist activist owing to the Moscow show trials and the Nazi-Soviet pact of the 1930s, and more than sharing her convictions about the evils of totalitarianism and the value of capitalist arrangements in the main, was also more active than her in disseminating information about the evils of totalitarianism. Although Hook remained a democratic socialist in his ideals until the end of his life, he realized by the 1960s that capitalism was the best system for the era he found himself in, and Hook received an award from President Reagan for his lifetime journey. | |||
== Notable mentions sorely missing == | |||
In a 1961 review of "For the New Intellectual" ("Each Man for Himself", review of "For the New Intellectual: the Philosophy of Ayn Rand". New York Times, April 9 1961), Rand's 1961 book in which she most clearly stated the three main theses of Objectivism (Aristotle's logic, the virtue of rational selfishness, and the value of capitalism), Hook stated those views clearly and addressed them in a way characteristic of professional philosophers, not questioning her motives or those of her backers and followers and acknowledging truth where he perceived it. | |||
Article nneeds to catch up with popculture. Nothing about Obama, or for that matter the responses he received after his disparaging comments. Nothing about the highly unusual for Argentina politician Milei, although he is of course not an Objectivist. Etc. ] (]) 22:14, 29 November 2023 (UTC) | |||
Hook summarized Rand's views at the beginning of the article: | |||
:Obama commented about Rand briefly in 2012, people responded, and >99.999% of the population has not thought twice about it since that week. That isn't a matter of "catching up"; it is something that wasn't important then and definitely isn't now. | |||
"Pruned of its repetitions, her philosophy reduces itself to three main contentions. The first is that 'all the disasters that have wrecked the world' can be traced to a disregard for the Aristotelean laws of logic especially the law of identity, A is A. This law is not only the cornerstone of reason but the rule of all knowledge. The second thesis locates the poisoned premise of all modern ethical theory and practice in the principle of altruism, in the belief that 'man is a sacrificial animal that exists for the pleasure of others.' The third is that capitalism and the free market are the highest expression of human reason and justice; any limitation on them opens the floodgates of irrationalism, mysticism and force." | |||
This repeats the three Rand theses found on the modern Web site of the Ayn Rand institute. Hook addresses each in turn. | |||
:As for Milei, he may be more relevant since we do call out examples of politicians that she has influenced, and he could be the most important of those if the influence is firmly established. Can you point out some reliable secondary sources that establish a meaningful connection? The news articles I've seen say that he claims to have spoken with her ghost, which is not the usual sort of influence we have documented here. --] (]) 00:53, 30 November 2023 (UTC) | |||
Hook first addresses Rand's implicit contention that a law of logic can have philosophical importance. | |||
== Rand was a philosopher == | |||
"The extraordinary virtues Miss Rand finds in the law that A is A suggests that she is unaware that logical principles by themselves can test only consistency. They cannot establish truth. Inconsistency is a sign of falsity, but as the existence of consistent liars and paranoiacs indicate, non-consistency is never a sufficient condition for truth." | |||
Hook then addresses Rand's views on selfishness or altruism. | |||
The expression "public philosopher" will not be recognized by most people and is useless to readers. Also, it is a preposterous and basically meaningless expression. No one is called a "private philosopher", so why describe someone as a "public philosopher"? Calling Rand a philosopher is good enough. ] (]) 08:38, 3 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
"Just as paradoxical is Miss Rand's second contention that the world suffers from excessive altruism or unselfishness. I must confess to not having observed this myself, but this is only one man's evidence. Readers will be startled by Miss Rand's emphasis on egoism or selfishness as the categorical imperative of moral life. But despite the harsh accents with which the view is expressed, it is not as horrendous as she makes it sound. It testifies to confusion rather than wickedness, and to an extensive unfamiliarity with a whole library of literature on the subject." | |||
:The term is linked to an article that explains what it means to anyone who is unfamiliar. Rand did what that article describes, and she is mentioned in it as an example. Contrary to your comments here and in edit summaries, the term ''public philosopher'' is not "meaningless" or the "opposite" of ''philosopher'' – ''public'' is simply a modifier to indicate a specific mode of engagement with philosophy. --] (]) 22:00, 3 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
Hook avoids the trap of calling Miss Rand merely wicked since he's acquainted with the history of misreadings of emergent philosophies from the outside in which, confused by terms of art, the lay judgers of philosophers execute the philosopher, forcing him to commit suicide in the case of Socrates, accuse him of Godless mischief in the case of Spinoza, or harass his public lectures in the post-Hook case of Singer. He realizes the importance of Rand's implicit operator word "rational" as applied to her "selfishness". | |||
:: I'm doubtful of PP, as opposed to P. Can you point to other examples? For example, I see ''] (born 14 May 1965) is professor of ] at Oregon State University. Her teaching and research specialties focus on ]...'' so here we have someone called a P, even though her research focusses on PP. PP sounds very much like not-as-good-as-a-proper-p ] (]) 09:15, 4 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
:::A "public philosopher" is just a type of "philosopher" so in theory anyone who is the former could simply be called the latter in a lead, or both. ] is "public philosopher" as part of his initial description. ] is "philosopher" in the initial sentence, then "public philosopher" later in the lead. ] is "philosopher" in the lead and "public philosopher" in the body. In none of these cases does there appear to be any disparagement intended. There are modifiers for ''philosopher'' that would be widely considered disparaging, such as ''amateur'', that have come up in the past. But I don't see how ''public'' is in that category. | |||
:::Anyhow, the modifier was added following a ] that is still above on this talk page. You are welcome to read through that for more background. I don't mind if the lead doesn't have any modifier for ''philosopher'', and I don't mind if it does have one as long as that modifier is accurate, neutral, and supported by a decent amount of sources. As I said to ] previously, I thought it was "OK to try out an alternative and see what the reaction is". If the reaction is negative, then we can return to the status quo ante and/or discuss it more. --] (]) 21:36, 4 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
Unfortunately, he finds that once "rational" is applied to "selfishness", it turns out to label the same sets of conventional behavior as "rational unselfishness", concluding that Rand's sound and fury signify no real change. Hook even refrains from asking whether the relabeling operation, being null, might mislead or corrupt the young, extending Rand a post-Socratic charity that she did not extend to her opponents. | |||
::::The term "public philosopher" is useless and stupid. We are told in the article ], that "Public philosophy is a subfield of philosophy that involves engagement with the public". The definition is hopelessly vague and it does not improve the article at all to add that kind of vague language. The article also says that, public philosophy involves "doing philosophy with general audience", which is nonsense. When Rand wrote her novels and her books she wasn't "doing philosophy" with a "general audience"; she was expounding her own ideas. ] (]) 04:32, 5 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
:::::The fact that this has been repeatedly disputed suggests to me that we should stick with just the perfectly neutral "writer". I would not object to "writer and public intellectual". | |||
:::::Have you reviewed ]? | |||
:::::Cheers, ] (]) 01:36, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
::::::The dispute raised in this section is about the modifier that was added in , not about the use of the term ''philosopher''. As I already quoted myself earlier regarding the addition of a modifier, we tried "an alternative see what the reaction is". This is that reaction. Not a shock to me, since I've seen this topic discussed multiple times in the past. There are literally dozens of reliable sources that refer to her as a philosopher, with or without some modifier, so there is not a good case to deny that core term. But the options for modifiers vary, so there is much more room to dispute any specific modifier. --] (]) 04:49, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
:::::::I think that someone familiar with Rand would realize that she would have completely rejected the term "public philosopher". ] (]) 07:32, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
:Hi @], | |||
:The problem with "philosopher", as I see it, is a consequence of the highly polarized views the she inspires. I don't doubt @] for a second when they promise they could produce many quality sources calling her a philosopher. And usually this would be all we need. | |||
:In this case, however, many other quality sources take issue with this descriptor. Some folks consider her to be just about the only person you need to read. Other folks, however, including many working in philosophy departments on research topically overlapping with her own do not consider the quality of her writing to merit mention or engagement—to the point some would consider a suggestion to the contrary disqualifying. | |||
:For example, from the article: | |||
:<blockquote>Rand's relationship with contemporary philosophers was mostly antagonistic. She was not an academic and did not participate in academic discourse. She was dismissive of critics and wrote about ideas she disagreed with in a polemical manner without in-depth analysis. She was in turn viewed very negatively by many academic philosophers, who dismissed her as an unimportant figure who should not be considered a philosopher or given any serious response.</blockquote> | |||
:Since, as is the case, her status as a philosopher is heavily contested by many people who incontestably are philosophers, it should not be stated as a fact in the first sentence of the lead. That is a violation of ]. | |||
:What is the objection to "public intellectual"? It is neutral and also captures a wider range of her activities. As a second choice, I would also be fine with "non-academic philosopher", suggested above by RL0919. | |||
:Cheers, ] (]) 15:41, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
::"In this case, however, many other quality sources take issue with this descriptor." But this is not true. In actual (Misplaced Pages-reliable) ''sources'', the numbers are lopsided: many sources that call her a philosopher, and a vastly smaller number that deny it. We hear from secondary sources about what an unspecified number of mostly unidentified academics (who may or may not be "incontestably" philosophers – that is your own spin, not from any source at all) believe: there are people who ''think'' she wasn't a philosopher, and presumably make some mention of this in conversation or other informal ways that made secondary source authors aware of their existence. But these people apparently aren't bothering to put their rejection of the label into reliable source content that we can use in an article. Far from "heavily contest" the matter, these people – however many of them there may be, we don't know – have passively conceded the field of discussion about her within reliable sources. If that results in their viewpoints having less weight in this article, then that is their own fault. --] (]) 16:27, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
Finally, Hook addresses Rand's very real and very non-verbal support for capitalism. | |||
:::Hi @] | |||
:::If professional philosophers do not engage with her, that would seem to me to be a natural consequence of her disregard for them. It is crucial to philosophy that practitioners subject their claims to the scrutiny of their peers. All the way back in ancient Greece, Socrates practiced philosophy in the agora, Plato wrote dialogues, Aristotle began his lectures with the consideration of what has been handed down from the wise. | |||
:::The modern university system, for all of its many faults, institutionalizes and promotes this kind of sometimes oppositional collaboration. | |||
:::If you publish with non-academic presses and mostly just respond to questions from your fans, you're not practicing philosophy. You are propounding or evangelizing or something of that kind. | |||
:::Academics, cultural critics, and (in some cases) journalists actually really love it when someone takes a clear, strong position, as Rand does, and resolutely defends it in response to criticism. For instance, look at the professional success of ]! Nearly everyone thought he was wrong on almost all of his core positions, but he was widely cited and even well-liked—because he expressed himself with great clarity and responded with care to criticisms of his work. | |||
:::Rand, for her own reasons, declined to participate in this kind of knowledge-building, quality-assurance process. She opted out. So scholars interested in these topics instead write about, e.g., ] or ]. | |||
:::It is possible that she, like Nietzsche, will be elevated posthumously. Maybe this has already happened. Some of the sources listed in the bibliography are obviously legit academic work. I do not see, however, how her own output makes her a philosopher. Although I'm not at all willing to make a research project out of compiling sources rejecting the designation, there definitely are high-quality sources, e.g., ] begins with a discussion to justify her inclusion and includes lines such as, | |||
:::<blockquote>Some who do read her work point out that her arguments too often do not support her conclusions. This estimate is shared even by many who find her conclusions and her criticisms of contemporary culture, morality, and politics original and insightful. It is not surprising, then, that she is either mentioned in passing, or not mentioned at all, in the entries that discuss current philosophical thought about virtue ethics, egoism, rights, libertarianism, or markets.</blockquote> | |||
:::Finally, just as an aside, did you mean to imply in your parenthetical that people who have PhDs in philosophy, have published peer-reviewed work in philosophy, and are employed by accredited institutions of post-secondary education to teach philosophers are not incontestably philosophers? (I am not saying these are necessary criteria that could disqualify Rand or anyone else, just that they are sufficient.) Some of these folk are shoddy philosophers, to be sure, if that is what you mean. But if you mean something different, would you mind saying a little more about what you understand the term to mean? It might help to facilitate our discussion about the article. | |||
:::Cheers, ] (]) 18:04, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
Ayn Rand was a ], not any sort of modified philosopher and the mainstream does not support "philosopher" in any meaningful form.]] 18:54, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
::::{{Re|PatrickJWelsh}} I am not going to argue about your personal view of who qualifies as a "philosopher" and I am not propounding my own. The beliefs of Misplaced Pages editors about who ''should'' be called a philosopher is not supposed to guide our decisions about article content (although you might have trouble reconciling that with much of what people say on these talk pages, cf some of the other participants so far). What I am saying is that when, e.g., writes that, "Many propose that not a philosopher at all", this statement tells us that such people exist in some number, but not specifically who they are or even how many. She also doesn't say that the "philosopher" status of this "many" is ''incontestable''. That is your own term reflecting your own view, not something stated in any source that I have seen. – therefore, as I said just a few sentences back, not something that should guide article content and not something I'm going to directly engage with here. (FWIW, Cleary indicates that her own view is that Rand is a philosopher, "just not a very good one".) Claudia Brühwiler, who argues a case ''against'' Rand being a philosopher, ironically highlights the asymmetry in other sources: In her discussion, she names dozen figures who credited Rand with being a philosopher. She names two who denied it. And it is the overall ecosystem of sources that we (should) care most about in deciding what labels to use in our article. --] (]) 20:30, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
"Ayn Rand's third proposition about the high morality of capitalism is defended by a very old gambit: like Christianity, capitalism has never been tried! 'All the evils popularly ascribed to capitalism were caused, necessitated and made possible ONLY by government controls imposed on the economy'...one is appalled by the reckless disregard of historic fact. For example, the horrible forms of child labor which sprang up with the industrial revolution were certainly not caused by government controls. On the contrary, they were eliminated by government controls." | |||
:::::I asked you the wrong question. Instead: what does Rand think a philosopher is? Does she give a direct definition anywhere? Or is there a scholarly source that reconstructs one from her writings? | |||
Although Hook by 1961 and as a democratic socialist supported capitalism pragmatically, he was as a philosopher unconvinced that "government regulation" could explain all the evils of capitalism. In the absence of government controls on the length of the working day, British workers worked 16 hours per day: in the absence of government controls on the age of coal miners, children were used, especially in spaces too small for adults. This is generally understood to be the case by ordinary well-educated people, therefore Hook is puzzled by the generalization from unintended consequences of certain government programs to their universal injustice, and found insufficient documentation of this in Rand's book. | |||
:::::This would be a welcome addition to the article. Because I politely take issue with your characterization of my previous post as just "personal opinion". It's a high-level description of a 2,500 year history of the term designating a person committed to a loosely defined set of truth-seeking practices into which Rand does not seem to comfortably fit. | |||
:::::We need a definition stronger than just having more-or-less considered views about the world, how one ought to act, what the government should be doing, et cetera (and also, in many cases, being more than happy to propound these views at length to anyone who will listen). Because that would make just about everyone a philosopher, rendering the term nearly meaningless as a description of anyone. | |||
:::::Perhaps something about her commitment to a systematic procedure? | |||
:::::Cheers, ] (]) 22:10, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
::::::Rand was very concerned with the importance of ''philosophy'' – personally, socially, and historically – but not so much with ''philosophers'', except in their functional role of generating philosophical ideas. I can't recall her defining any qualifications or other gatekeeping for who was or could be a philosopher, as long as they were producing relevant ideas. If you just accept existing ideas, however well-considered, I don't think she would call you a philosopher. People who re-transmit the ideas of others were "intellectuals" – hence the title of her first nonfiction book was '']'' because it was her giving her ideas to those she hoped would circulate them. However, while this could be interesting for the article if secondary sources can be found – the preceding was my own summary from primary sources – I don't think it speaks to the matter we were discussing. We don't generally give subjects – especially ones long dead – determinative control over their own descriptions. She would be appalled to see us revealing her legal name (thoroughly hidden during her lifetime) or describing her as an important influence on libertarianism (a movement she denounced). But sources tell us these things. If sources tell us she was a philosopher, then we can call her that regardless of whether she would have – although she did in fact use the term for herself. --] (]) 23:55, 6 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
Generally speaking, despite Rand's self-labeling as a philosopher, and despite publications and meetings long after Hook's review in which her ideas were discussed by professional philosophers (as he, as a philosopher, discusses her ideas in the 1961 review), professional philosophers have in general had grave doubts as to whether Rand was a philosopher, although they were prepared to admit that her ideas, like so many concepts, things and ideas in the world, were grist for a philosophical mill. Hook did not so much say that Rand was not a philosopher as present an example of philosophical method as a response: avoidance of individual ad hominem or its mass-production in the form of conspiracy theorizing, argument by counter-example, fair precis of the views addressed, and charity hopefully distinct from altruism. | |||
:::::::@], all right. If you ever do come across a good source on either her stated conception of her own activity as a philosopher or a scholarly reconstruction of some more specific sense in which she is well-described by the term, I would consider adding this to the article. Something along these lines would probably have assuaged my concerns at least well enough have dropped the matter fairly early in our first exchange. | |||
:::::::(As it stands, this still feels uncomfortably close to calling someone who has no academic training a "psychologist" on the basis of a sequence of best-selling self-help books and television appearances.) | |||
:::::::But I will relent to the sources you've amassed and drop the issue. | |||
:::::::Thank you for your patience with this exchange and for your consistent civility. | |||
:::::::Cheers, ] (]) 00:30, 7 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
:::::::@] Hello! Would it be worth suggesting that maybe the problem is defining Ayn Rand in the article as a philosopher under "occupation"? To an extent, I believe that both you and @] are correct in your points about her. Ayn Rand is publicly considered to be a philosopher by many, but this doesn't necessarily equate to what is considered being a philosopher by occupation, as Patrick points out. The common belief of what constitutes being a philosopher by occupation usually includes a college degree in philosophy of some kind (again said by Patrick), which Ayn Rand is not in possession of. She is a philosopher (individually, but not occupationally) whom communicates her ''philosophical ideas'' through what is actually her occupation, which would be her authorship. So, saying that Ayn Rand isn't a philosopher at all is something that I would argue to be incorrect. Saying that Ayn Rand is an occupational philosopher is something that I would argue to be incorrect as well. I hope that makes sense. ] (]) 03:34, 9 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
:::::::: That's actually a pretty good point. I don't think the problem with philosopher-as-occupation is so much about the credentials; it's the fact that, whether you consider her to be a "real" philosopher or not, it's not what she got ''paid'' for. Except in the secondary sense that people bought her books, which is covered by "author". --] (]) 04:07, 9 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
::::::::Hello, ]. The only place "occupation" is mentioned is in the infobox, so I assume you are talking about that. No, the discussion from last year had nothing to do with occupation, because at that time the ''Occupation'' field said "writer"; "philosopher" was added in a couple of months later. I do not particularly care whether her occupation is listed in the infobox as writer, author, philosopher, some mix of these, or not at all. Ideally this would be based on what sources say, but that can be hard because sources about people's lives are more apt to just say "X was a Y" rather than saying "Y was the occupation/profession of X". --] (]) 18:26, 9 December 2024 (UTC) | |||
== Does a better profile photo exist? == | |||
To many, this presents Rand with the problem of "Caesar's wife" who famously should be above suspicion. Philosophy is a very big tent, as is literature. In terms of political conviction, philosophy includes not only Karl Marx but libertarians whose views are very close to Rand like Robert Nozick, mentally disturbed individuals like Nietzche, and one guy (Louis Althusser) who went after his old lady with an ax, but who read Marx backwards and forwards and sideways: who was, in fact, engaged with philosophy as opposed to having opinions and who gets into the Big Philosophy Tent, albeit after we frisk him. But, while not doing well at all on its assigned task of telling the rest of us about the Meaning of Life, doing in fact a less good job than Monty Python, philosophy has developed a lot of recognizably philosophical tools and avoids other non-philosophical tools. In Hook's article he used the counter-example of child labor to refute the universal quantification assertion that all cases of oppression under capitalism can be explained by government control. | |||
She is barely recognizable in the current one. I've seen plenty more recent photos where she smiles, is dressed differently and the shadows obscure less. It looks like a different person. But I suppose we need one that is free to use for our purposes here.] (]) 22:51, 10 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
He also uses a linguistic analysis to show that "rational" as applied to "selfishness" makes Rand's anti-altruism a relabeling operation which leaves the concepts underlying the words alone, whereas an actual philosophical analysis tends to change ordinary usage; for example, Aristotle's demonstration of the necessary instantiation of Platonic ideas in reality meant that after Aristotle the radical separation of an independent world of "forms" was unmaintainable. | |||
:Yes, we are required to include only "free use" images when such are available. The one we are using is a professional publicity shot used to promote one of her books, which is in the ] due to quirks of US copyright law. --] (]) 00:32, 11 December 2023 (UTC) | |||
== Sentence correction edit rejected by WP bot == | |||
These doubts were raised in 1961 and they remain. | |||
"Her villains support duty and collectivist moral ideals." | |||
:Why don't you put this into a page on Hook? Hook is certainly not in any way, shape or form important enough to an understanding of Rand on a page on her *biography* that he should be included! This is about Rand's life - not a debate on Objectivism. Go fight your battles on the appropriate pages. ] (]) 16:16, 20 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
This sentence as published is clearly incorrect and highly misleading. | |||
::The dean of American philosophy fairly evaluates Rand's final statement of her philosophy. IT'S ABOUT RAND. | |||
Based on personal knowledge of Ayn Rand's novels and philosophy it is clear that this sentence should be edited as follows: | |||
"Her villains support duty and *reject* collectivist moral ideals." | |||
=Rework Article= | |||
Please correct the record. ] (]) 12:12, 30 March 2024 (UTC) | |||
This article is very long as many have noted. I think we could reduce it by shrinking a lot of the Objectivist philosophy and Objectivist Movement parts. There are separate artcile for those that are better places for a lot of the material. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? ] (]) 22:35, 21 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
:The bot reverted your edit because you inserted it with commentary rather than just making the change. But even if properly formatted, the change you are asking for is wrong. I'm not sure if you are misreading the sentence in the article, or if you have profoundly misunderstood Rand's views. Rand herself was opposed to collectivism, so her villains typically support collectivist morality, which is what the sentence says. Her villains definitely are not portrayed as ''rejecting'' collectivism. --] (]) 17:12, 30 March 2024 (UTC) | |||
:This seems sensible, but we want to watch whether shrinking some sections gives ] to others - it would be odd if the philosophy section were shorter than the philosophical criticism for example. Overly long sections at the moment include the Gender/Sex/Race and Further reading sections. Another means of cutting down the article size would be to move content that is better suited to other articles - the "Cult criticism" section for example seems far more relevant to the ] than to Rand personally. Another idea would be to split the Bibliography into a separate article, as is common for articles on prolific authors. <font color="404040">]</font> 22:50, 21 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
::I came back to state that I was in error. My apologies. ] (]) 21:51, 1 April 2024 (UTC) | |||
== Was Ayn Rand a Soviet Spy? == | |||
I find it suspicious that hat she was granted a visa to visit relatives in the United States. Visas to go to America and other free countries were almost never granted to Soviet citizens unless they enjoyed a position of great trust in the Communist party. In the looking-glass world of espionage, people are often the exact opposite of what they appear to be in public. ] (]) 19:51, 1 May 2024 (UTC) | |||
::I agree. I was reading someone's comments on talk richard dawkins that criticism section were bad, and that inline integrated criticism bit would be better. I agree that the cult criticism section would be better in the Objectivist Movement article, though I want to be careful not to upset balance by removing any pieces of criticism altogether without a great deal of consensus. Perhaps a first step is to divide the work into blocks that are easy to do. ] (]) 22:56, 21 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
:If there are ] to support this theory, please provide details about where they are. If not, relevant information can be found ] and ]. --] (]) 01:22, 2 May 2024 (UTC) | |||
== Raymond Boisvert == | |||
== Opposition to ethical hedonism == | |||
A user asked why we should keep reliably sourced material per ] that he personally doesn't like? A strange question, I thought. The obvious answer would be simply that the quote was attributed to a reliable source and that one crisp sentence outlining Boisvert's opinion of Ayn Rand in the Criticism section of this article is neither overloading the article per ] nor providing any other red flags per Misplaced Pages policy. That should be enough for anyone. But in case it's not, students of academic philosophy might remember Raymond Boisvert for his book ''John Dewey: Rethinking Our Time''(Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998), which was favorably reviewed in ''The Philosophical Quarterly'' (Vol. 49, No. 195 (Apr., 1999), pp. 270-272) and ''Philosophy East and West'' (Vol. 48, No. 4 (Oct., 1998), pp. 671). Best regards, ] (]) 23:04, 21 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
Ayn Rand opposed ], this should be specified in the lead. | |||
:I don't think he's that noteworthy, but a one-sentence concise summary is consistent with Misplaced Pages policies. ] (]) 00:11, 22 April 2008 (UTC) | |||
Source: http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/hedonism.html ] (]) 19:48, 8 August 2024 (UTC) | |||
::I'm not sure I understand why a couple of editors want to remove concisely sourced reliable and relevant material, but aren't interested in removing the far more problematic unsourced material in this article. In any case, regarding Boisvert, I checked ], The Philosopher's Index, ], ], and other academic indeces. If notability is an issue, I'd like to read from which exact policy statement on Misplaced Pages they're basing that claim. Beyond what was already mentioned, Boisvert wrote several academic books on philosophy and also was reviewed in other academic journals such as ''Metaphilosophy''. The Philosopher's Index, which provides indexing and abstracts from books and journals of philosophy and related fields, also indicates that he's published over thirty academic journal articles on philosophy and that his work is cited in such journals as the ''American Journal of Education'', ''The Journal of Philosophy of Education'', and ''The American Historical Review'' (among others). According to ], journalists have quoted him on issues pertaining to philosophical subjects in the past. Apparently, he's also won a Fulbright Award. Unless someone can think of a good reason why we need to delete reliably sourced material from an academic philosopher on Ayn Rand, I'll restore the sentence. ] (]) 02:27, 22 April 2008 (UTC) |
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Notable mentions sorely missing
Article nneeds to catch up with popculture. Nothing about Obama, or for that matter the responses he received after his disparaging comments. Nothing about the highly unusual for Argentina politician Milei, although he is of course not an Objectivist. Etc. 83.255.180.77 (talk) 22:14, 29 November 2023 (UTC)
- Obama commented about Rand briefly in 2012, people responded, and >99.999% of the population has not thought twice about it since that week. That isn't a matter of "catching up"; it is something that wasn't important then and definitely isn't now.
- As for Milei, he may be more relevant since we do call out examples of politicians that she has influenced, and he could be the most important of those if the influence is firmly established. Can you point out some reliable secondary sources that establish a meaningful connection? The news articles I've seen say that he claims to have spoken with her ghost, which is not the usual sort of influence we have documented here. --RL0919 (talk) 00:53, 30 November 2023 (UTC)
Rand was a philosopher
The expression "public philosopher" will not be recognized by most people and is useless to readers. Also, it is a preposterous and basically meaningless expression. No one is called a "private philosopher", so why describe someone as a "public philosopher"? Calling Rand a philosopher is good enough. Zarenon (talk) 08:38, 3 December 2023 (UTC)
- The term is linked to an article that explains what it means to anyone who is unfamiliar. Rand did what that article describes, and she is mentioned in it as an example. Contrary to your comments here and in edit summaries, the term public philosopher is not "meaningless" or the "opposite" of philosopher – public is simply a modifier to indicate a specific mode of engagement with philosophy. --RL0919 (talk) 22:00, 3 December 2023 (UTC)
- I'm doubtful of PP, as opposed to P. Can you point to other examples? For example, I see Sharyn Clough (born 14 May 1965) is professor of philosophy at Oregon State University. Her teaching and research specialties focus on public philosophy... so here we have someone called a P, even though her research focusses on PP. PP sounds very much like not-as-good-as-a-proper-p William M. Connolley (talk) 09:15, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
- A "public philosopher" is just a type of "philosopher" so in theory anyone who is the former could simply be called the latter in a lead, or both. Walter Terence Stace is "public philosopher" as part of his initial description. Jane Addams is "philosopher" in the initial sentence, then "public philosopher" later in the lead. Susan Schneider is "philosopher" in the lead and "public philosopher" in the body. In none of these cases does there appear to be any disparagement intended. There are modifiers for philosopher that would be widely considered disparaging, such as amateur, that have come up in the past. But I don't see how public is in that category.
- I'm doubtful of PP, as opposed to P. Can you point to other examples? For example, I see Sharyn Clough (born 14 May 1965) is professor of philosophy at Oregon State University. Her teaching and research specialties focus on public philosophy... so here we have someone called a P, even though her research focusses on PP. PP sounds very much like not-as-good-as-a-proper-p William M. Connolley (talk) 09:15, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
- Anyhow, the modifier was added following a September discussion that is still above on this talk page. You are welcome to read through that for more background. I don't mind if the lead doesn't have any modifier for philosopher, and I don't mind if it does have one as long as that modifier is accurate, neutral, and supported by a decent amount of sources. As I said to User:PatrickJWelsh previously, I thought it was "OK to try out an alternative and see what the reaction is". If the reaction is negative, then we can return to the status quo ante and/or discuss it more. --RL0919 (talk) 21:36, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
- The term "public philosopher" is useless and stupid. We are told in the article Public philosopher, that "Public philosophy is a subfield of philosophy that involves engagement with the public". The definition is hopelessly vague and it does not improve the article at all to add that kind of vague language. The article also says that, public philosophy involves "doing philosophy with general audience", which is nonsense. When Rand wrote her novels and her books she wasn't "doing philosophy" with a "general audience"; she was expounding her own ideas. Zarenon (talk) 04:32, 5 December 2023 (UTC)
- The fact that this has been repeatedly disputed suggests to me that we should stick with just the perfectly neutral "writer". I would not object to "writer and public intellectual".
- Have you reviewed the discussion above?
- Cheers, Patrick J. Welsh (talk) 01:36, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- The dispute raised in this section is about the modifier that was added in this edit, not about the use of the term philosopher. As I already quoted myself earlier regarding the addition of a modifier, we tried "an alternative see what the reaction is". This is that reaction. Not a shock to me, since I've seen this topic discussed multiple times in the past. There are literally dozens of reliable sources that refer to her as a philosopher, with or without some modifier, so there is not a good case to deny that core term. But the options for modifiers vary, so there is much more room to dispute any specific modifier. --RL0919 (talk) 04:49, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- I think that someone familiar with Rand would realize that she would have completely rejected the term "public philosopher". Zarenon (talk) 07:32, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- The dispute raised in this section is about the modifier that was added in this edit, not about the use of the term philosopher. As I already quoted myself earlier regarding the addition of a modifier, we tried "an alternative see what the reaction is". This is that reaction. Not a shock to me, since I've seen this topic discussed multiple times in the past. There are literally dozens of reliable sources that refer to her as a philosopher, with or without some modifier, so there is not a good case to deny that core term. But the options for modifiers vary, so there is much more room to dispute any specific modifier. --RL0919 (talk) 04:49, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- The term "public philosopher" is useless and stupid. We are told in the article Public philosopher, that "Public philosophy is a subfield of philosophy that involves engagement with the public". The definition is hopelessly vague and it does not improve the article at all to add that kind of vague language. The article also says that, public philosophy involves "doing philosophy with general audience", which is nonsense. When Rand wrote her novels and her books she wasn't "doing philosophy" with a "general audience"; she was expounding her own ideas. Zarenon (talk) 04:32, 5 December 2023 (UTC)
- Anyhow, the modifier was added following a September discussion that is still above on this talk page. You are welcome to read through that for more background. I don't mind if the lead doesn't have any modifier for philosopher, and I don't mind if it does have one as long as that modifier is accurate, neutral, and supported by a decent amount of sources. As I said to User:PatrickJWelsh previously, I thought it was "OK to try out an alternative and see what the reaction is". If the reaction is negative, then we can return to the status quo ante and/or discuss it more. --RL0919 (talk) 21:36, 4 December 2023 (UTC)
- Hi @Zarenon,
- The problem with "philosopher", as I see it, is a consequence of the highly polarized views the she inspires. I don't doubt @RL0919 for a second when they promise they could produce many quality sources calling her a philosopher. And usually this would be all we need.
- In this case, however, many other quality sources take issue with this descriptor. Some folks consider her to be just about the only person you need to read. Other folks, however, including many working in philosophy departments on research topically overlapping with her own do not consider the quality of her writing to merit mention or engagement—to the point some would consider a suggestion to the contrary disqualifying.
- For example, from the article:
Rand's relationship with contemporary philosophers was mostly antagonistic. She was not an academic and did not participate in academic discourse. She was dismissive of critics and wrote about ideas she disagreed with in a polemical manner without in-depth analysis. She was in turn viewed very negatively by many academic philosophers, who dismissed her as an unimportant figure who should not be considered a philosopher or given any serious response.
- Since, as is the case, her status as a philosopher is heavily contested by many people who incontestably are philosophers, it should not be stated as a fact in the first sentence of the lead. That is a violation of WP:NPOV.
- What is the objection to "public intellectual"? It is neutral and also captures a wider range of her activities. As a second choice, I would also be fine with "non-academic philosopher", suggested above by RL0919.
- Cheers, Patrick J. Welsh (talk) 15:41, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- "In this case, however, many other quality sources take issue with this descriptor." But this is not true. In actual (Misplaced Pages-reliable) sources, the numbers are lopsided: many sources that call her a philosopher, and a vastly smaller number that deny it. We hear from secondary sources about what an unspecified number of mostly unidentified academics (who may or may not be "incontestably" philosophers – that is your own spin, not from any source at all) believe: there are people who think she wasn't a philosopher, and presumably make some mention of this in conversation or other informal ways that made secondary source authors aware of their existence. But these people apparently aren't bothering to put their rejection of the label into reliable source content that we can use in an article. Far from "heavily contest" the matter, these people – however many of them there may be, we don't know – have passively conceded the field of discussion about her within reliable sources. If that results in their viewpoints having less weight in this article, then that is their own fault. --RL0919 (talk) 16:27, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- Hi @RL0919
- If professional philosophers do not engage with her, that would seem to me to be a natural consequence of her disregard for them. It is crucial to philosophy that practitioners subject their claims to the scrutiny of their peers. All the way back in ancient Greece, Socrates practiced philosophy in the agora, Plato wrote dialogues, Aristotle began his lectures with the consideration of what has been handed down from the wise.
- The modern university system, for all of its many faults, institutionalizes and promotes this kind of sometimes oppositional collaboration.
- If you publish with non-academic presses and mostly just respond to questions from your fans, you're not practicing philosophy. You are propounding or evangelizing or something of that kind.
- Academics, cultural critics, and (in some cases) journalists actually really love it when someone takes a clear, strong position, as Rand does, and resolutely defends it in response to criticism. For instance, look at the professional success of Richard Rorty! Nearly everyone thought he was wrong on almost all of his core positions, but he was widely cited and even well-liked—because he expressed himself with great clarity and responded with care to criticisms of his work.
- Rand, for her own reasons, declined to participate in this kind of knowledge-building, quality-assurance process. She opted out. So scholars interested in these topics instead write about, e.g., Robert Nozick or Milton Friedman.
- It is possible that she, like Nietzsche, will be elevated posthumously. Maybe this has already happened. Some of the sources listed in the bibliography are obviously legit academic work. I do not see, however, how her own output makes her a philosopher. Although I'm not at all willing to make a research project out of compiling sources rejecting the designation, there definitely are high-quality sources, e.g., The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy begins with a discussion to justify her inclusion and includes lines such as,
Some who do read her work point out that her arguments too often do not support her conclusions. This estimate is shared even by many who find her conclusions and her criticisms of contemporary culture, morality, and politics original and insightful. It is not surprising, then, that she is either mentioned in passing, or not mentioned at all, in the entries that discuss current philosophical thought about virtue ethics, egoism, rights, libertarianism, or markets.
- Finally, just as an aside, did you mean to imply in your parenthetical that people who have PhDs in philosophy, have published peer-reviewed work in philosophy, and are employed by accredited institutions of post-secondary education to teach philosophers are not incontestably philosophers? (I am not saying these are necessary criteria that could disqualify Rand or anyone else, just that they are sufficient.) Some of these folk are shoddy philosophers, to be sure, if that is what you mean. But if you mean something different, would you mind saying a little more about what you understand the term to mean? It might help to facilitate our discussion about the article.
- Cheers, Patrick J. Welsh (talk) 18:04, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- "In this case, however, many other quality sources take issue with this descriptor." But this is not true. In actual (Misplaced Pages-reliable) sources, the numbers are lopsided: many sources that call her a philosopher, and a vastly smaller number that deny it. We hear from secondary sources about what an unspecified number of mostly unidentified academics (who may or may not be "incontestably" philosophers – that is your own spin, not from any source at all) believe: there are people who think she wasn't a philosopher, and presumably make some mention of this in conversation or other informal ways that made secondary source authors aware of their existence. But these people apparently aren't bothering to put their rejection of the label into reliable source content that we can use in an article. Far from "heavily contest" the matter, these people – however many of them there may be, we don't know – have passively conceded the field of discussion about her within reliable sources. If that results in their viewpoints having less weight in this article, then that is their own fault. --RL0919 (talk) 16:27, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
Ayn Rand was a Poet, not any sort of modified philosopher and the mainstream does not support "philosopher" in any meaningful form. SPECIFICO talk 18:54, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- @PatrickJWelsh: I am not going to argue about your personal view of who qualifies as a "philosopher" and I am not propounding my own. The beliefs of Misplaced Pages editors about who should be called a philosopher is not supposed to guide our decisions about article content (although you might have trouble reconciling that with much of what people say on these talk pages, cf some of the other participants so far). What I am saying is that when, e.g., Skye Cleary writes that, "Many propose that not a philosopher at all", this statement tells us that such people exist in some number, but not specifically who they are or even how many. She also doesn't say that the "philosopher" status of this "many" is incontestable. That is your own term reflecting your own view, not something stated in any source that I have seen. – therefore, as I said just a few sentences back, not something that should guide article content and not something I'm going to directly engage with here. (FWIW, Cleary indicates that her own view is that Rand is a philosopher, "just not a very good one".) Claudia Brühwiler, who argues a case against Rand being a philosopher, ironically highlights the asymmetry in other sources: In her discussion, she names dozen figures who credited Rand with being a philosopher. She names two who denied it. And it is the overall ecosystem of sources that we (should) care most about in deciding what labels to use in our article. --RL0919 (talk) 20:30, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- I asked you the wrong question. Instead: what does Rand think a philosopher is? Does she give a direct definition anywhere? Or is there a scholarly source that reconstructs one from her writings?
- This would be a welcome addition to the article. Because I politely take issue with your characterization of my previous post as just "personal opinion". It's a high-level description of a 2,500 year history of the term designating a person committed to a loosely defined set of truth-seeking practices into which Rand does not seem to comfortably fit.
- We need a definition stronger than just having more-or-less considered views about the world, how one ought to act, what the government should be doing, et cetera (and also, in many cases, being more than happy to propound these views at length to anyone who will listen). Because that would make just about everyone a philosopher, rendering the term nearly meaningless as a description of anyone.
- Perhaps something about her commitment to a systematic procedure?
- Cheers, Patrick J. Welsh (talk) 22:10, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- @PatrickJWelsh: I am not going to argue about your personal view of who qualifies as a "philosopher" and I am not propounding my own. The beliefs of Misplaced Pages editors about who should be called a philosopher is not supposed to guide our decisions about article content (although you might have trouble reconciling that with much of what people say on these talk pages, cf some of the other participants so far). What I am saying is that when, e.g., Skye Cleary writes that, "Many propose that not a philosopher at all", this statement tells us that such people exist in some number, but not specifically who they are or even how many. She also doesn't say that the "philosopher" status of this "many" is incontestable. That is your own term reflecting your own view, not something stated in any source that I have seen. – therefore, as I said just a few sentences back, not something that should guide article content and not something I'm going to directly engage with here. (FWIW, Cleary indicates that her own view is that Rand is a philosopher, "just not a very good one".) Claudia Brühwiler, who argues a case against Rand being a philosopher, ironically highlights the asymmetry in other sources: In her discussion, she names dozen figures who credited Rand with being a philosopher. She names two who denied it. And it is the overall ecosystem of sources that we (should) care most about in deciding what labels to use in our article. --RL0919 (talk) 20:30, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- Rand was very concerned with the importance of philosophy – personally, socially, and historically – but not so much with philosophers, except in their functional role of generating philosophical ideas. I can't recall her defining any qualifications or other gatekeeping for who was or could be a philosopher, as long as they were producing relevant ideas. If you just accept existing ideas, however well-considered, I don't think she would call you a philosopher. People who re-transmit the ideas of others were "intellectuals" – hence the title of her first nonfiction book was For the New Intellectual because it was her giving her ideas to those she hoped would circulate them. However, while this could be interesting for the article if secondary sources can be found – the preceding was my own summary from primary sources – I don't think it speaks to the matter we were discussing. We don't generally give subjects – especially ones long dead – determinative control over their own descriptions. She would be appalled to see us revealing her legal name (thoroughly hidden during her lifetime) or describing her as an important influence on libertarianism (a movement she denounced). But sources tell us these things. If sources tell us she was a philosopher, then we can call her that regardless of whether she would have – although she did in fact use the term for herself. --RL0919 (talk) 23:55, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
- @RL0919, all right. If you ever do come across a good source on either her stated conception of her own activity as a philosopher or a scholarly reconstruction of some more specific sense in which she is well-described by the term, I would consider adding this to the article. Something along these lines would probably have assuaged my concerns at least well enough have dropped the matter fairly early in our first exchange.
- (As it stands, this still feels uncomfortably close to calling someone who has no academic training a "psychologist" on the basis of a sequence of best-selling self-help books and television appearances.)
- But I will relent to the sources you've amassed and drop the issue.
- Thank you for your patience with this exchange and for your consistent civility.
- Cheers, Patrick J. Welsh (talk) 00:30, 7 December 2023 (UTC)
- @RL0919 Hello! Would it be worth suggesting that maybe the problem is defining Ayn Rand in the article as a philosopher under "occupation"? To an extent, I believe that both you and @PatrickJWelsh are correct in your points about her. Ayn Rand is publicly considered to be a philosopher by many, but this doesn't necessarily equate to what is considered being a philosopher by occupation, as Patrick points out. The common belief of what constitutes being a philosopher by occupation usually includes a college degree in philosophy of some kind (again said by Patrick), which Ayn Rand is not in possession of. She is a philosopher (individually, but not occupationally) whom communicates her philosophical ideas through what is actually her occupation, which would be her authorship. So, saying that Ayn Rand isn't a philosopher at all is something that I would argue to be incorrect. Saying that Ayn Rand is an occupational philosopher is something that I would argue to be incorrect as well. I hope that makes sense. Stun Locke (talk) 03:34, 9 December 2024 (UTC)
- That's actually a pretty good point. I don't think the problem with philosopher-as-occupation is so much about the credentials; it's the fact that, whether you consider her to be a "real" philosopher or not, it's not what she got paid for. Except in the secondary sense that people bought her books, which is covered by "author". --Trovatore (talk) 04:07, 9 December 2024 (UTC)
- Hello, Stun Locke. The only place "occupation" is mentioned is in the infobox, so I assume you are talking about that. No, the discussion from last year had nothing to do with occupation, because at that time the Occupation field said "writer"; "philosopher" was added in this edit a couple of months later. I do not particularly care whether her occupation is listed in the infobox as writer, author, philosopher, some mix of these, or not at all. Ideally this would be based on what sources say, but that can be hard because sources about people's lives are more apt to just say "X was a Y" rather than saying "Y was the occupation/profession of X". --RL0919 (talk) 18:26, 9 December 2024 (UTC)
- Rand was very concerned with the importance of philosophy – personally, socially, and historically – but not so much with philosophers, except in their functional role of generating philosophical ideas. I can't recall her defining any qualifications or other gatekeeping for who was or could be a philosopher, as long as they were producing relevant ideas. If you just accept existing ideas, however well-considered, I don't think she would call you a philosopher. People who re-transmit the ideas of others were "intellectuals" – hence the title of her first nonfiction book was For the New Intellectual because it was her giving her ideas to those she hoped would circulate them. However, while this could be interesting for the article if secondary sources can be found – the preceding was my own summary from primary sources – I don't think it speaks to the matter we were discussing. We don't generally give subjects – especially ones long dead – determinative control over their own descriptions. She would be appalled to see us revealing her legal name (thoroughly hidden during her lifetime) or describing her as an important influence on libertarianism (a movement she denounced). But sources tell us these things. If sources tell us she was a philosopher, then we can call her that regardless of whether she would have – although she did in fact use the term for herself. --RL0919 (talk) 23:55, 6 December 2023 (UTC)
Does a better profile photo exist?
She is barely recognizable in the current one. I've seen plenty more recent photos where she smiles, is dressed differently and the shadows obscure less. It looks like a different person. But I suppose we need one that is free to use for our purposes here.83.255.180.77 (talk) 22:51, 10 December 2023 (UTC)
- Yes, we are required to include only "free use" images when such are available. The one we are using is a professional publicity shot used to promote one of her books, which is in the public domain due to quirks of US copyright law. --RL0919 (talk) 00:32, 11 December 2023 (UTC)
Sentence correction edit rejected by WP bot
"Her villains support duty and collectivist moral ideals."
This sentence as published is clearly incorrect and highly misleading.
Based on personal knowledge of Ayn Rand's novels and philosophy it is clear that this sentence should be edited as follows:
"Her villains support duty and *reject* collectivist moral ideals."
Please correct the record. 2603:8001:C200:1637:F492:43CE:6A38:DF3A (talk) 12:12, 30 March 2024 (UTC)
- The bot reverted your edit because you inserted it with commentary rather than just making the change. But even if properly formatted, the change you are asking for is wrong. I'm not sure if you are misreading the sentence in the article, or if you have profoundly misunderstood Rand's views. Rand herself was opposed to collectivism, so her villains typically support collectivist morality, which is what the sentence says. Her villains definitely are not portrayed as rejecting collectivism. --RL0919 (talk) 17:12, 30 March 2024 (UTC)
- I came back to state that I was in error. My apologies. 2603:8001:C200:1637:D116:EE89:6C1C:ABB0 (talk) 21:51, 1 April 2024 (UTC)
Was Ayn Rand a Soviet Spy?
I find it suspicious that hat she was granted a visa to visit relatives in the United States. Visas to go to America and other free countries were almost never granted to Soviet citizens unless they enjoyed a position of great trust in the Communist party. In the looking-glass world of espionage, people are often the exact opposite of what they appear to be in public. 2603:7000:CF00:1202:898B:3640:2608:EAF8 (talk) 19:51, 1 May 2024 (UTC)
- If there are reliable sources to support this theory, please provide details about where they are. If not, relevant information can be found here and here. --RL0919 (talk) 01:22, 2 May 2024 (UTC)
Opposition to ethical hedonism
Ayn Rand opposed ethical hedonism, this should be specified in the lead.
Source: http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/hedonism.html 93.38.68.234 (talk) 19:48, 8 August 2024 (UTC)
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