Atlas Shrugged-Contradictions Where None Can Exist(VANITY)

dubyagee

[dubyagee]

Having heard Atlas Shrugged touted often on Free Republic as one of the greats in literature, I recently undertook reading all 1,000 plus pages of this “objectivist bible.” I was suprised to find that I thoroughly enjoyed this book and while I agree with much that Ayn Rand preaches (and boy, is she preachy) I find the fact that she denies that God exists quite contradictory to her reason. So from a Christian perspective, I have decided to place some of these contradictions before you, in order that I might be abused by your intellectual snobbery (grin)…

IMHO…

First, Rand makes the mistake of lumping all believers in with “looters.” Were this the case, there would be no believers here at FR decrying big government or taking offense at the fact that the government wants our paychecks each month. The “right wing fundamentalist bigots” would not exist. Christians would be considered left wing lunatics. Clearly, there is a mistake in her presumption that all “supernaturalists” are the same. On a personal level, I have never met a Christian who would presume that the government should take care of those who refuse to take care of themselves, but only Christians who might venture to say, “But by the grace of God, go I…”

Secondly, for someone who professes any form of supernaturalism as contrary to reason, Ayn Rand repeatedly refers to the ugly side of man as “evil.” Rand obviously believes that evil does exist. But if man is only truly alive and good when he is true to himself and his virtue, how can evil exist? Where did it come from? How could this good and wonderful being called man, distort and pervert good to the point that it became evil? What is the source of this evil? Religion, Rand might say. But why would this marvelously intelligent creature pervert what he knows to be true for the sake of destroying his species? In the words of Francisco D’Anconia (I love this character, btw), “Contradictions cannot exist.” Good and evil contradict one another. The presence of both in this world is clearly a contradiction. Reason tells me that there must be a source from which each came. My reason tells me that each is trying to destroy the other, knowing that the two cannot exist indefinitely together.

Third, Rand does not believe that men are made up of nothing more than chemical reactions, but that they have a soul. A soul is supernatural in itself. We cannot see it. We cannot prove that it exists, but there are few who believe that it does not exist. If reason overrides all superstition, how can she make the claim that a man is more than what meets the eye? Does this not contradict the very essence of reason?

Finally, imagine Hank Reardon, creator of a vast empire, watching it be torn apart by those he has aided. The helplessness he felt, knowing that nothing he could say or do would convince them of their own smug self-righteousness. In that smug self-righteousness they desire to kill Reardon because he causes them to think, and therefore to see the evil within themselves. Now, if you would humor me for a moment, imagine the execution of a man named Jesus, who comes to this world He created, in a desire to save it from destruction by “looters.” He is, indeed, killed by smug self-righteous men who fear his logic. But instead of going to the ground, never to return in his greatness, he does return. And he acknowledges those who acknowledged him. And he gives gratitude to those who have shown him gratitude. And to those who did neither, he says simply, “I knew you not.” It is often said by those who belittle the intellectual capabilities of Christians, that the bible is full of contradictions and that a loving God would not turn his face from humans simply because they did not believe. But God, above all, would know, as did Ayn Rand, that evil does exist. The difference is that God would know from whence it came. And if he accepted all humans, regardless of their belief or unbelief, wouldn’t he be aiding the looters in his own destruction and the destruction of those who were “right”? Wouldn’t He be denying that He desired gratitude? Wouldn’t he be denying that he deserved gratitude? Wouldn’t that be a contradiction of all Ayn Rand professed to be right? If God exists, isn’t acknowledgement and gratitude the least he deserves in return for his creation?

If a soul can exist, so too, can God. If, for the sake of argument, God does indeed exist, Rand has brought herself down to the level of the evil “looters.” Her greatest contradiction is her refusal to acknowledge the possibility that God does exist, thereby offering him no acknowledgement and no gratitude for that which she worshipped above all…a great Mind. IMHO, Rand errs in her belief that this great mind that man possesses came from nowhere and from nothing because that in itself in contradictory. My reason tells me that greatness must come from that which is greater. Her denial was for the purpose of pursuing her own code of morality, which she perceived to be superior to that of God. She praises man and ignores the possibility of God, thereby corrupting her own belief system of giving gratitude and adulation to that which is greater than her.

The last thing that I am doing when I choose to believe in God is abandoning my reason. I am not practicing “Morality of Death” because before I believed in God I still believed in doing what is right. The bible does not contradict this; the bible simply makes it clear that men consistently choose that which is wrong over that which is right. Has history not proven this? Good and evil exist on this earth, of that no one can deny. Good and evil are contradictions in themselves, yet they both exist. Therefore, contradictions do exist. Although, according to my beliefs, one day they will cease to exist. But they will not cease before Atlas(God) shrugs(wink).

[MonroeDNA]

Having heard Atlas Shrugged touted often on Free Republic as one of the greats in literature,

That the above is nonsense.


Atlas Shrugged is one of the greats in literature. And I've been here on FR since '97.

Any questions?

[Bob]

Sorry, my earlier reply should have been directed to enfield and to you rather than ken5050.

[Hank Kerchief]

I agree, Hank. Jesus said to love others AS WE LOVE OURSELVES, not instead of or more than, etc.

Exactly!

Altruism is a worldly and collectivist philosophy, and, unfortunately, way to many who call themselves children of God have spread and supported this morality destroying philosphy.

Hank

[PatrickHenry]

I know.

[parsifal]

Thank you for your analysis. I was afraid it was just elitism. You know, Poor Eddie didn't have the money or the big idea that could be patented, so all the rich folks just ignored him. parsy

[PJ-Comix]

Atlas Shrugged is one of the greats in literature.

Atlas Shrugged is an important book but as literature it just ain't great. The characters just aren't believable. They might as well be on another planet because they bear little relation to sweat and blood humans.

[PatrickHenry]

I was afraid it was just elitism. You know, Poor Eddie didn't have the money or the big idea that could be patented, so all the rich folks just ignored him.

A lot of people get that impression, but Rand was way above that kind of thing, and considerably more tolerant than she's given credit for. She had some people in Galt's Gulch who wouldn't get into anyone's country club.

[Hank Kerchief]

We have many desires ... which do not emanate from reason!

Never denied it. What I said was, you cannot know what your desires are without reason. Reason, in part, is the process by which we identifiy things, including the things we percieve, understand, and desire.

We all have desires and passions arising out of our natures, but until we have identified them, "this is the desire to eat," they are just vague feelings and impulses, to which we have no idea how to react.

Hank

[dubyagee]

The characters just aren't believable.

I agree with that. As a disclaimer she writes, "I trust that no one will tell me that men such as I write about don't exist. That this book has been written-and published-is my proof that they do." I don't see either one of those as proof that men such as John Galt exist.

[lelio]

She had some people in Galt's Gulch who wouldn't get into anyone's country club.
One passage that sticks out is Dagny talking to someone asking sarcastically where he got his PhD. Turns out he was a truck driver but had the drive that was present in all the other Gulchers.

[Nick The Freeper]

Could you name a few of today's "serious philosophers"? How does one become a "serious philosopher"?

I don't know any or how you become one, but I think philosophy majors in college just practice saying "May I take your order?" or "Would you like fries with that?" So, you might be able to find some at McDonald's.

[Hank Kerchief]

Either you accept the existence of God (and good and bad) outside of ourselves, or you make up your own definitions of good and bad. But again, the use of reason, without God,...

Reason is the ability that God has given us for understanding the truth. It is the only ability God has given us for doing so. It is impossible to use the ability correctly and not agree with God. It is impossible to use reason correctly and "make up your own definitions of good and bad." God and bad are completely understandable by our reason. It is God who says, "Come, let us reason together...," (Isaiah 1:18) It is men who do not understand that reason is God's chosen way for men to learn the truth, that denegrate it.

Hank

[dubyagee]

It is men who do not understand that reason is God's chosen way for men to learn the truth, that denegrate it.

I see where you are coming from and understand it. I have not, up to this point, been able to put it in words. There is just something screwy with what is being taught out there, and it is difficult to pin point it. I know that God is out there. I know that the bible is his word. But the "Christian" community leaves me searching for answers still. (That is not intended to knock any Christian on this forum.)

[tpaine]

John Galt exists.
---- America is full of 'john galt' types , and I've met many in my 65 years.

Who is John Galt?
So asks Ayn Rand in her novel, Atlas Shrugged, published in 1957. It is the first line of her panoramic vista of over 1,000 pages that follows the exploits of "giants" as they come to understand the vision and the mission of this man named John Galt, " . . . who said that he would stop the motor of the world - and did."
         In 1991, the Library of Congress of the United States and the Book of the Month Club announced that Atlas Shrugged was the most influential book ever published in America - after the Bible. In 1998, a documentary film titled, "Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life," was nominated for an Academy Award as best documentary film of the year. Such have been the accolades given to this novelist philosopher and the principles she wrote about over fifty years ago. As such, these principles are worthy of personal consideration and emulation in our lives.
         The philosophies of Ms. Rand are interwoven throughout the narrative of her book. The major thesis in most of her works is that we live in a "benevolent universe" and the "happiness is the lot of man, not pain." And this work, Atlas Shrugged, in essence, presents:
…The concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.
This concept is also expressed in the statement: "Man is that he might have joy." It is also proclaimed in the lines attributed to John Locke, as written by Thomas Jefferson in America's Declaration of Independence, "...that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
John Galt embodies all that subscribe to the truths that he espoused and followed. He was a man of principle and the values of his life were based on those concepts. He was a man who never compromised, as are those like-minded people who join The John Galt Society.
These are they who stand on principle and never compromise.
These are they who are concerned with what is happening within the society and the communities in which they live.
These are they who are willing to protect that which is held dear and sacred among us.
These are they who wish to take back control of their lives.
These are they who are willing to read, to study, to work, to invest, to stretch and todiscover their rights as a freedom-loving people.
These are they who will be the heroes of the 21st century.
We submit an answer to that simple question of just who is John Galt?
We, who take his name for our organization's mentor, proclaim that every man and every woman has the capacity and ability to become a John Galt.

[billybudd]

I think Ayn Rand was the screenwriter.

[dubyagee]

I suppose I would have to meet a member and decide from there. My husband is pretty close. He is a truly remarkable man in this day and age. But even so, he is no John Galt.

[billybudd]

Atlas Shrugged was supposed to be a futuristic novel, but somehow railroads and diesel locomotives seem just a tad antiquated. Dagny should be running a spaceship company and Reardon Steel can be Reardon Fuel instead. The other technologies are still applicable though, like the giant holograms and the voice-recognition security. Maybe Galt's Gulch can be on the Moon.

[dubyagee]

Thanks to all for the enlightening conversation. I, unlike Dagny and her lot, like to sleep. So off I go...

[tpaine]

I suppose I would have to meet a member and decide from there.

My husband is pretty close. He is a truly remarkable man in this day and age. But even so, he is no John Galt.

---

How do we get his opinion of you?

As to 'members', I just posted that essay as an easy way to illuminate what many people consider to be the Galt type, and to illustrate their principles.
--- Obviously, you have had little experience with men of principle. Sad.

[stylin_geek]

We can come up with plenty of supporting actors, but men for the leading roles? This is the problem. Where is a modern day Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, Alan Ladd, John Wayne, or Gregory Peck? I do have one, though. Val Kilmer as John Galt....