Become an Objectivist in Ten Easy Steps (with illustrations)

[metaxa]

 Become an Objectivist in Ten Easy Steps (with illustrations)

[Mr_Pin]

lol, pollen var meget treffende...

[metaxa]

The Objectivist Recovery Guide
or, How to Stop Being an Annoying Randroid and Start Thinking Rationally

1. Rand was not Galt or the Devil

2. Branden is not Galt or the Devil

3. Peikoff is not Galt or the Devil

4. Just stop it with the damn Galt/Devil shit, okay?

5. If The State is so bad, then why are you so eager to let them put you to trial and execute you by their incompetence and unfettered power. Remember kids, the same people who run the DMV decide how much they should steal from you and if you've committed any executable crimes

6. What the hell does Rand mean by "identity"? No really, I don't have the foggiest idea what she means. It's way too fucking vague. "Consciousness is conscious"? Huh?

7. Libertarianism: The Perversion of Liberty is intentionally attacking a straw man, and Schwartz is the guy teaching Oists how to write! Why in hell are they appending Rand's books with his shit? Intentionally writing fallacious tracts is (surprise) considered to be a bad writing trait.

8. The Constitution is a piece of paper. Any "boundedness" to it felt by the State is completely with a grain of salt.

9. Kant is actually a really good and important philosopher whom Rand didn't either read or didn't read carefully enough to understand it.

10. Rand rejected Peikoff's "Intuitive Induction" passive approach of "grasping" Platonic truth as the justification of axioms. So, why the hell are even the "neo-Objectivists" still repeating it as if it were canon. Oh ya, axioms aren't fucking self-evident, bucko!

11. Emotions tell you a lot. If you decide if you're in love with someone by purely rational means, then you're gonna fuck yourself up pretty much. They are tools of cognition! Anyway, loosen up. You're so fucking uptight, so serious about everything, and ready to moralize everything and everyone. Take a timeout, smoke a joint, and watch some hardcore porn.

12. Remember that intrinsicism in Rand is just as bad as intrinsicism in someone else. Intrinsicism is intrinsicism.

13. Read Heinlein. Read what Aristotle actually said (Rand's "quotes" are very bad paraphrases). Read Nietzsche. Read David Friedman. Read the Market of Liberty by the Tannehills. Read Rothbard's For A New Liberty. Read George H. Smith. Read Mises to find out where Rand stole her economics from. Fucking go to www.lfb.org and buy as much shit as you can. Read Sciabarra's books. Read Kelley's Truth and Toleration (or whatever it is called now). Read Branden's works. Read Kant. Read Plato. Read Hume. Read Popper. Read Kuhn. Read as much of the western canon of philosophy as possible (the primary sources, people! Peikoff's courses don't fuckin' count!) Read as much of the western canon of literature as possible. Some Eastern stuff will do you some good as well. Go to enlightenment.supersaturated.com and read up. Read a bunch of other libertarian SF. Oh ya, when you are reading them, attempt to understand what problems they are attempting to resolve and try to give a generous reading. Do not just say, "Well Rand said he was evil, and she gave us the right answers anyway, so why bother trying to learn from this evil people".

14. A right answer arrived at by a bad argument is still worth shit. Note that there are some very bad arguments in Rand and in Basic Principles.

15. Make Marxist and Christian friends and have discussions with them without yelling out them or calling them names. Anyway, stop saying "Evader!", "Mystic of muscle!", "Whim-worshipper!", "Attila!", "Witch-Doctor!", or "Social Metaphysician!" unless it is meant in sarcasm.

16. Egoism and Natural Rights conflict. No really, they do. Deal with it.

17. If you don't know who Muttnik is, then find out.

18. Objectivism as an ideology is not a philosophy. It is a dead end.

19. When reading Rand, try to draw out some conclusions. Say, if Rand was really right about property, then wouldn't it follow that initial acquisition would be handled a specific way. If I justify abortion with this argument, then can I also justify infanticide? If Dagny killed that guy who wouldn't think near the end of Atlas, then can I kill my unemployed alcoholic neighbor who keeps playing the Brittany Spears?

20. Post this list on you dorm room door. Rinse. Repeat.

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