Ayn Rand and Approximate Thinking – Again : A collection of strange quotes by Ayn Rand can cast further light on the reasons behind the distribution success of “Atlas Shrugged”, as discussed in “Fuzzy on the Dark Side“.
“Atlas” on the Dark Side – Politics & Approximate Thinking
In “Fuzzy on the Dark Side: Approximate Thinking“, I include “Atlas Shrugged” as an example of a book with an influence that is very disproportional to its intellectual value.
The question asked is: Why is this book so successful, when it is not that original or coherent?
The answer is: It has to do with incompleteness, approximate thinking, and identities. The book’s ideas or intellectual value isn’t the reason for its success. The book is successful because it serves as an identity cloak.
I presented this argument based on the inflated distribution of the book (some sources say it is distributed only less than the bible), compared to the many naïve broad arguments it makes.
When I published this post (https://x.com/_AhmadHijazi/status/1697281844025118853?s=20) , some readers asked why I didn’t read the book. My answer was simple / lazy: “I didn’t need to.” The things I did read & learn give a clear view of the particular issue I’m exploring: conflating identity with knowledge.
Lazy John Galt: “.. but to assume that these geniuses of Ayn Rand (business leaders, mostly) are actually the geniuses she thinks they are (inventors, leaders, movers of civilization),.., is contrary even to the likely reason for their success.” #FDS https://ahijazi.website/2023/how-lazy-is-john-galt-ayn-rand-approximate-thinking-ideology-and-selling-books/
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When I wrote the above answer, I hadn’t seen the quotes that I’ve included below. I was happy to discover them later on.
My predictive powers must be better than I thought, because the many quotes by Ayn Rand included below, not only strengthen the case presented in FDS, but also show how the conflation of identity, limited understanding, and ‘expert-status’ can lead to a ‘prison of illusions’ (importantly, not just for her).
A Collection of Quotes on Cultures, Peoples, and Nations
I later came across a collection of quotes from Ayn Rand on different occasions. She expresses – in this collection- her feelings towards Arabs, Native Americans, and America. Her background is very important here.. and how her identity shapes what she thinks she thinks.
The quotes all reflect phenomena discussed in “Fuzzy on the Dark Side”, like conflation, identity soups, and incomplete perspectives. In the spirit of Approximate Thinking, check if these statements by Ayn Rand are ‘expected’.
The Quotes – Ayn Rand as Approximate Thinking
Ayn Rand On Native Americans
“I believe, with good reason, the most unsympathetic Hollywood portrayal of Indians and what they did to the white man. They had no right to a country merely because they were born here and then acted like savages.”
and:
“They (Native Americans) didn’t have any rights to the land, and there was no reason for anyone to grant them rights which they had not conceived and were not using.. Any white person who brings the element of civilization has the right to take over this continent.”
Ayn Rand on Arabs
“The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures. They are typically nomads. Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it’s the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent…
… When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter who they are.”
Ayn Rand and some (general) approximate thinking (Just like “Atlas Shrugged”)
“The intellectuals [of American society] are emotion-oriented, and seek in panic an escape from a reality they are unable to deal with, and from a technological civilization that ignores their feelings.”
Ayn Rand On America
(Yeee-Hawwwh)
“I can say — not as a patriotic bromide, but with full knowledge of the necessary metaphysical, epistemological, ethical, political, and aesthetic roots — that the United States of America is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the only moral country in the history of the world.”
In Summary : Ayn Rand , Ideology , Identity.. and Atlas
If the above sounds too extreme, even bigoted by today’s standards, it is no accident. Remember, though, Ayn Rand is someone whose books are distributed for free in schools! If a certain link between the Atlas Ideas and the above ideas can be established, it should be a source of concern.
Then again, when we see all the above, we understand more intimately why “Atlas Shrugged” has been distributed so aggressively, including to schools. It is the identity behind all the words.
“Atlas Shrugged” is an ideological / religious book… not a book of thoughts on political theory or economics. It is an identity cloak. The above confirms the obvious. Rand is simply a traumatized person, expressing her fears and gratitude through things that appear like thought and literature.
She is an ‘expert’, where ‘expertise’ as a product’s feature.
Further Reading
If you’re interested in reading more about how incomplete understanding and ambiguity can lead to illusions and the conflation of personal/group identities with knowledge, check out “Fuzzy on the Dark Side: Approximate Thinking and How the Mists of Creativity and Progress Can Become a Prison of Illusion “