Nathaniel Branden 1930-2014
"After the publication of Rand's magnum opus Atlas Shrugged, Branden created the Nathanial Branden Institute and presented lectures on Rand's philosophy, Objectivism. Branden systematized Rand's philosophy, something she had not done, and presented lectures on the ideas, published as The Vision of Ayn Rand."
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-pero...
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/james-pero...
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What serious scholarship of David Kelly should be mentioned? It's no surprise that he has been distanced following his philosophical "toleration" episode, which went far beyond treating people civilly in an academic setting instead of the embarrassing caricature of spinning away as if with a "cape waving behind them". (We used to call them "cape wavers".)
I don't know anything about the FB group you were on, what they wanted you to defer on, why you lost your membership, or who the particular people are you are referring to. There has always been the false alternative of those make snide taunting comments about Ayn Rand versus sycophantic followers maintaining a kind of "deference" that crosses the intellectual line -- and likewise for many other figures throughout time. I stay away from both, but don't assume people I don't know are either. Whatever the people on your ex-FB group are and whatever the details of your experience, it sounds like the result of your not being there anymore is mutually beneficial. So you continue on with those more amenable to you -- which is what you should do -- at no personal loss. Such is the nature of social movements and their factions. Just keep doing what you think is best.
Dave Harriman has subsequently been meeting with Dave Kelly and given talks at the Atlas Society. ARI still publicizes his lectures and book.
Eric Stoltz as Branden. TV movie based on a book by Barbara Branden.
It was originally confusing in the period after the break for several reasons, especially for students just starting out and who didn't know what had happened, and I don't think that the people close to Ayn Rand properly took that into account. As time went on, there was at least less confusion over what happened, if not why, as Branden's ideas and writing changed dramatically -- right down to embracing New Age mysticism and personal sarcasm and dishonest attacks against Ayn Rand, which was staggering for those who had expected better. He had clearly messed himself up and was grasping at all kinds of nonsense along with his personal attacks on Ayn Rand. As for what happened around the time of the break and the misrepresentations of Ayn Rand regarding it, see James Valliant's The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics: The Case against the Brandens, 2005, based on Ayn Rand's private journals.
ARI does not disagree that Ayn Rand's philosophy stands on its own. The word "Objectivism" refers to Ayn Rand's philosophy as she formulated it. It is "closed" to those want to appropriate the term to mean something else. The philosophy did not close with the death of its creator; her own formulations of it and its applications necessarily did.
The Thomas polemic sounds desperate and paranoid: "What it is it they value more than the truth", etc. etc. There are many individuals who belong to or who have belonged to both organizations. ARI, however, is a scholarly organization dedicated specifically to Ayn Rand's philosophy and does not want affiliations or implied endorsements with those who re-write and misrepresent it, which it doesn't encourage and otherwise doesn't waste time arguing about every time it comes up, preferring to pursue its own organizational goals. Ayn Rand did the same. She took her ideas and their impact very seriously. (Ironically, it seems that it was Branden himself most responsible for the huffy, pompous attitude at NBI before it disbanded).
That there are those who wrap themselves in momentous crusades on behalf of Truth, Objectivity, and the defense of Philosophy Itself over personal infighting, different beliefs, and organizational political and operational disagreements seems to be more a symptom of any social movement and its politics in just about any realm. Be thankful that Ayn Rand's ideas are popular enough to make that possible, and maintain your own knowledge and objectivity in determining what is right.
I am dino. Hear me roar!.
Retired guy thanks you for your support.
Jan
*(Or is just curious to see what their brains were 'programmed with' when they were too young to be able to screen info.)
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