“Could it be that she didn’t believe in ghosts?”
I don’t understand your question. I have no idea as to her views on ghosts. I don’t even know if she ever wrote about them.
I think that Objectivism can be criticized on several grounds:
1) It states that giving is immoral. If I give willingly, the Russian midget can go f**k herself while she passes moral judgment on me. If I am free, I am free to give, or not. If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. Some Rush lyrics, perhaps ironically.
2) Objectivism assumes Judeo-Christian ideas about various non-sexual aspects of morality and property rights without coming up with its own reasons for such moral precepts and rights to exist. I’m bigger than you, so that’s mine. Argue against me, Objectivist, but make it fast, before I bash in your skull and take your stuff (welcome to open borders USA). Why non-aggression? Do I owe you non-aggression? If so, why? Just making me an evil/dumb character in a book isn’t going to cut it. Why not Cuffy Meigs? Does he owe something to John Galt? His strength is in strength itself. Why can’t he use it? Is it because of the suffering that follows? Why do we see the suffering of the masses in Atlas Shrugged? What do we owe them? Why must engineering, physics, and the mind be protected? By whom? Economics Man will answer that doing so will produce the best for the most. Randian Man cannot use that reasoning because he doesn’t owe anyone anything.
3) If we owe nothing at all to any other person, then child-rearing is going to be interesting, to say the least. It’s a logical end to Rand’s reasoning, but to my knowledge she only barely touched on it: a passing reference to a couple of children in Galt’s Gulch (a really wonderful little scene). Having them and raising them requires the “sanction of the victim”. I’m feeling a bit victimized by my teenager right now. Maybe there’s a payoff for me in this, but I’m not seeing it, and I’m really not seeing it in caring for my aged mother. Geez!
There’s three off the top of my head, and I love Atlas Shrugged. It’s one of my favorite books. I didn’t even say “Cult of Personality” until just now.
WTF about ghosts?
Holy ghost?