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Rand is sort of like a presuppositionalist, except her presupposition is her own awareness of her self. Her starting point is basically the self-evident proposition “A is A”. From that she gets “I am that I am.” From that blasphemy, you can figure out where she is going.
Man’s mind is the objective standard of all things. Nothing has meaning unless it is interpreted by man. Nothing is worth knowing that can’t be experienced or known by man. And finally, man’s senses are the starting point for obtaining knowledge. Man’s reason is both the fundamental tool and the standard.
Her epistemology is pretty shallow, but functional: She doesn’t ask where reason comes from, she takes it as a given. In that sense, she could join with those who believe in a creator. Except she rejects a creator—not because of lack of evidence or because of logic, but because she assumes from the start that one is not needed.
That last assumption is what always trips them up. I once was a genuine card-carrying Objectivist. I went to seminars. One of the big shots I heard was Andrew Bernstein. The guy was considered “Mr. Objectivist.” In reality he was a prig and an insecure brat in a grown body.
His seminar was on one or another theme in Atlas Shrugged, but it really was a launching pad to discuss objectivist ethics. He spent a bit of time reviewing basic logical fallacies, talking especially about how to watch for the argument from intimidation.
OK, so far so good. We had a break. Out in the convention center hallway was a desk with refreshments for a Christian seminar in another room. Bernstein schmoozed with the people and walked away with some pastries and a cup of coffee. He came back in our room and said, “Look what I scored from the stinking Christians. Those fools don’t have a logical thought in their brain, but they put out a good spread.”
Well, I don’t know why, but that set me off. I asked, “What kind of ethic are you demonstrating with your contempt for someone generous?”
His response was something like this: “Excuse me? Why are you attacking me? These people believe in voodoo!”
Me: “Do you have any idea what they believe?”
Bernie: “Well they believe in some god, which we all know is impossible.”
Then I pointed out that it was his assumption that said God was impossible, not his epistemology. His epistemology rejects God at the beginning so it couldn’t be used as proof that God did not exist. And so forth.
Well, Bernstein started making threats, saying I should be kicked out (no, I wasn’t leaving because I paid money to be there). He walked right up to where I was sitting, bent over into my face, and started yelling that I had no business messing up a pleasant time with like-minded people. At that point I laughed and said, “What was that you were saying about the argument from intimidation?”
The room broke out in laughter, Bernstein fumed and stormed out of the room for a good half hour. Finally someone got him to come back and he finished his lecture, all the while giving me dirty looks.
You know them by their fruits.
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