From: nelson_p@apollo.hp.com (Peter Nelson)
Newsgroups: alt.postmodern
Subject: Re: Non Serviam, Issue #1
Date: 27 Jan 93 15:56:13 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Chelmsford, MA

In article <hayesstw.229.728129022@risc1.unisa.ac.za> hayesstw@risc1.unisa.ac.za (Steve Hayes) writes:
>In article <26JAN199314264455@ctrvx1.vanderbilt.edu> mcgeege@ctrvx1.vanderbilt.edu (MCGEEGE) writes:
>
>>>>	"In that world, you'll be able to rise in the morning with the spirit
>>>>you had known in your childhood: that spirit of eagerness, adventure and cer-
>>>>tainty which comes from dealing with a rational universe."
>>>>                                                              AYN RAND
>>> 
>>> 
>>>  Obviously Ayn Rand makes you happy.
>>
>>All this time I thought you Rand Nazi's had gotten over it.  Try reading real
>>philosophy sometime, or at least Rand in the original German (Mein Kampf). 
>
>I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who finds a strong resemblance 
>between Ayn Rand's witings and Nazi philosophy.

  There are similarities and differences.  The chief similarity is
  that Randroids, like NAZIs, are sure they're right and think anyone
  who doesn't see the obvious rightness of their views, or of their
  epistemological assumptions is an idiot.    Since they operate from
  a different epistemology, i.e., they reject the reiterative process
  of observation-->hypothesis-->experiment-->theory-->experiment-->
  theory (etc) that forms the basis of modern western epistemology,
  for the less successful Aristolelian one of observation-->theory,
  they are able to comfortably insulate themselves from demands
  for the sort of proof or evidence that they are likely to get
  from anyone who has read Rand's philosophical musings (as I have)
  and actually thought about them.  

  The use of a different epistemology is a common technique with 
  religions, and that plus their emphasis in finding some grand
  ethos puts Randianism more in league with Christianity or Islam
  than with a political movement like NAZIism.
  
  A major difference with NAZIs is that NAZIism elevated the role
  of the state whereas Randroids nearly reject the state, and 
  also deny the significance of culture, preferring to focus
  on the individual as a kind of free agent.   The NAZIs very
  astutely recognize the role of the individual *within a cultural
  context* (race, ethnicity, national identity, whatever) and 
  have employed this to great effect.    

  Randianism is a philosophy fit for Vulcans -- it's a science 
  fiction philosophy in that it characterizes humans in terms of
  features that they don't demonstrably possess, at least to
  the extent that Randianism supposes.  (e.g., Randianism
  assumes humans are "rational".   All humans?  All the
  time?   To what extent?  How do we tell? ).   And the result
  of this is that it doesn't demonstrably map to the real
  world -- as a philosophy or a movement it seems to have had
  no significant impact on anything.

  NAZIism, on the other had DOES map to real, flesh-and-blood
  earthlings, all too well.  It proceeds from a more accurate
  model of humans to start with.   It does not assume rationality,
  but instead, tribal IRrationality.   And it has been able to 
  use this deeper understanding to much greater effect.


---peter
Newsgroups: alt.postmodern