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Objectivism (capitalized) is the name chosen by Ayn Rand for her philosophy. She described Objectivism as a philosophy for living on earth, which is to mean, a philosophy grounded in reality with the purpose of enabling us to better deal with the natural world. Like Aristotle, Rand centered her philosophy mainly on practical questions. Objectivism rejects the existence of the supernatural. Objectivism also holds in high regard the individual human person. The sanctity of the human individual and his life is central to Objectivism.
According to Objectivism, the existence and nature of reality does not depend on anyone's awareness of it, nor on anyone's beliefs or desires. No two facts of reality can contradict each other- this is an important test of truth. Everything that exists has a specific identity and a specific nature that determines how it acts. Nature is to be explained in terms of nature, without reference to the supernatural.
Objectivism rejects the mind-body dichotomy, holding that the mind and body are an integrated whole. One cannot exist without the other. Objectivism therefore also rejects both strict materialism and strict idealism. Objectivism also rejects any value judgment that is based upon this dichotomy.
Objectivism does not comment on or posit an explanation for the metaphysics of how the mind and body interact.
According to Objectivism, the mind apprehends reality through a process of reasoning based upon sensory observation. Reasoning is the art of building from perceptions to concepts and propositions. In this way, conclusions are built up from the evidence. Reasoning, or logic, follows certain, non-arbitrary rules which must be adhered to if we wish to reach valid conclusions. These rules include non-contradictory identification and grouping by essentials. By applying the rules of logic consistently, we can achieve objectively valid knowledge about reality. (Compare: rationalism, empiricism)
Objectivism holds that concepts were formed by means of "measurement omission"--in other words, that to form a concept, such as "table", from the various particular tables (concretes), one disregards differences of degree or measurement and considers only differences and similarities in kind, defining a concept by its essentials. However, Objectivism rejects the analytic-synthetic dichotomy, holding that a concept holds all of the common properties of its entities. For instance, while a dichotomist would argue that while 1+1=2 is true in all possible realities, the atomic mass of hydrogen is not similarly constant. An Objectivist would reply that it is, and if the atomic mass differed, the substance in question would not be hydrogen.
Objectivism also rejects skepticism in holding that humans are capable of achieving knowledge. However, it must be kept in mind that Objectivism is a primarily practical philosophy--it does not reject skepticism as untrue so much as it rejects skepticism as a pointless negation of the power of the mind.
If we wish to survive we must act in certain ways. The base of Objectivist ethics is the recognition that the concept of "value" rests on the concept of "life." A human's life qua ('in the aspect of') a rational being is the standard of morality. Rand wrote:
Rand stated what is now known as the non-aggression principle. It is one of the most important moral rules of Objectivism. "Whatever may be open to disagreement," wrote Rand, "there is one act of evil that may not, that no man may commit against others and no man may sanction or forgive. So long as men desire to live together, no man may initiate - do you hear me? - No man may 'start' the use of physical force against others." Rand's reasoning is that since man's mind and capacity for free will is necessary for morality to exist at all, to take that from him with an immediate threat of force is to prevent and co-opt him from acting morally. Initiation of force is seen by Objectivists as a negation of morality itself.
If self versus others is a false alternative, so too is the question of the individual versus society. The individual good and the social good are in harmony. " the interests of the mind are one, no matter what the degree of intelligence, among men who desire to work and don't seek or expect the unearned." (from Atlas Shrugged)
A society is moral to the extent that individuals are free to pursue their goals. This freedom is the fundamental social value. It requires that human relationships of all forms be voluntary. Mutual consent is the defining characteristic of a free society. People are unfree to the extent that they are forced to do what they would not choose for themselves. As all governmental action is based on using force to this end, it is necessary to limit the scope of government action exclusively to the protection of individual rights, with no restrictions on individual freedom. This is the most significant impact of the non-aggression principle, as it would condemn almost all government actions including taxation. (Rand posits a voluntary form of funding the government as the only just way to support the government. She does not discuss how this can specifically be done, preferring to focus on more urgent matters.)
Politically, people can exercise their rights however they please, so long as they do not encroach upon the rights of others. The only means of violating another's rights is by the initiation of physical force. The proper role of government is limited to using force in retaliation against those who initiate its use--i.e., against criminals and foreign aggressors. Economically, people are free to produce and exchange as they see fit, which means: laissez-faire capitalism, with as complete a separation of state and economics as of state and church.
Rand also held that there ought to be only one government exercising jurisdiction over a given geographical area; that a monopoly of government was necessary.
See also : Minarchism, Libertarianism, Egoism, Psychological egoism, Ethical egoism
For the purposes of Objectivism, many terms and phrases have been coined or more precisely defined in order to better clarify Objectivism.
Objectivism defines sacrifice in an ethical context as a net loss, as opposed to merely a loss of one thing in order to gain another thing. For instance, a mother who doesn't purchase something for herself in favor of purchasing food for her child is not sacrificing her needs, because she values the child more than she values anything else she could have purchased. This definition differs from more common definitions; for instance, in chess, one often "sacrifices" a certain piece to gain a tactical advantage, and in baseball, one often hits a "sacrifice bunt" or a "sacrifice fly" to advance runners on base in exchange for an out. Objectivists do not view these as true "sacrifices" in the philosophical sense of the term, but merely as acts of trading a lesser value for a greater value for what is metaphorically termed "profit".
Evasion is the deliberate refusal to grasp a concept or to correctly complete a logical evaluation. When one "evades", one essentially refuses to hear reason and deliberately shuts his mind off so that his preexisting belief system is not challenged. George Orwell in Nineteen Eighty-four describes his concept of "crimestop", which is the prevention of "thoughtcrime" by what Objectivists would call evasion.
To be concrete-bound is to have a poor understanding of concepts qua concepts in favor of being "bound" to the particular concretes. It is considered a fallacy by Objectivists. One who is concrete-bound does not deal well with abstract concepts and fails to grasp analogies. This is commonly a form of evasion.
A constant phrase in Rand's Atlas Shrugged, "Check your premises" is shorthand for, "Whenever you reach a contradiction, check the premises that led to that contradiction and you will invariably find that one of them is false."
Ayn Rand writes "Man - every man - is an end in himself, not a means to the ends of others; he must live for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself; he must work for his rational self-interest, with the achievement of his own happiness as the highest moral purpose of his life."
Many forms of humanist philosophy, and most of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, hold this belief to be immoral. Both humanists and most members of the Abrahamic faiths hold that people must not live for their own sakes, and that morality calls for people to sometimes sacrifice themselves for others.
Objectivism also holds that all forms of religious ethics are literally immoral due to their inherent contradictions with Objectivist ethics. Critics hold that this line of reasoning is an assault on all non-Objectivist forms of ethics, and as a claim that Objectivist ethics are the beginning and end of all ethics.
Many anarcho-capitalists who are otherwise in agreement with Rand see a contradiction between the non-aggression principle and a monopoly of government. If a second government attempted to operate within the realm of an existing government, how could the preexisting government maintain that monopoly without the initiation of force?Objectivist tenets
Metaphysics: objective reality
Mind and Body
Epistemology: reason
Ethics: Rational self-interest
Moral behavior is that which tends to promote our survival as rational beings. Immoral behavior is that which tends to promote our destruction. Beyond mere physical survival, moral behavior will tend to promote success, well-being, and happiness; immoral behavior leads to unhappiness and, ultimately, destruction. There are different levels of value. The higher values are those which make the lesser values possible. At the higher levels of value there is a harmony of interests among all rational human beings. There is no conflict between self and others, in that one's rational self-interest and the rational interests of others are in fundamental harmony. The rational pursuit of one's interests promotes the interests of others, while the good of others promotes one's own good. As a practical matter, the good of each is best served when individuals pursue their own legitimate interests as they each see fit. (Compare: utilitarianism)Politics: natural rights and capitalism
Objectivist Terminology
Sacrifice
Evasion
Concrete-bound
"Check your premises"
Criticisms of Objectivism