Jacob A. McCleese

3 July 2013

Ayn Rand’s Utopian Religion

            Institutionalized religion is an intricate part of the human experience. Institutionalized religion drives many people towards greatness and causes others to despair. However, many of the utopian novels assigned in this course are mute on the religious issue. God, gods, Allah, Zeus, Jesus, Muhammad, and Odin are all ignored or forgotten in the utopian dialogue. However, Ayn Rand in her novel, Anthem, does not ignore the gods of human culture she replaces them. Her protagonist, Prometheus, writes, “This god, this one word: I” (11.21). It was Rand herself who said, “I swear by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine” (video). For Rand, the human individual is the ultimate life form; humans are the highest form of intelligence. My research was aimed at finding out more about Rand’s point of view and some objections to her philosophy.

            Ayn Rand is famous for her vociferous atheism; it would be a mistake, however, to limit her beliefs to any preconceptions of the word atheist. Rand’s objectivist philosophy is fervently opposed to all things supernatural, not just gods. Ghosts, demons, heaven, hell, purgatory, angels, vampires, etc. all receive equal disdain from Ms. Rand. Leonard Piekoff, a loyal devotee of Rand’s philosophy, is the author of Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, explains Rand’s philosophical position in a way that granted me a better vantage point from which to view Rand’s claims about the supernatural.

Piekoff, working with Rand’s premises, defines supernatural as, “a form of existence beyond existence; a thing beyond entities; a something beyond identity” (31). For Rand and her followers, the supernatural assaults everything real, the enemy of all rational thought, and tangible experience. Piekoff’s book continues to present Rand’s philosophy in a positive light. He clearly bought into Rand’s doctrine of the individual’s dominance. In Anthem, Prometheus must declare himself god because there is no other being he can observe that is higher than himself. This character mimics his creator’s personal worldview. I wonder is that all there is to the world? Does man solely exist to satisfy him or herself without being concerned about others?  Is Rand correct? Something seemed intensely unsatisfying with her perspective and I’m not the only one who feels this way. Stephen A. Parrish, author of “God and Objectivism: A Critique of objectivist Philosophy of Religion,” challenges all of Rand’s philosophical assertions.

Parrish begins his article by defining what he means by “God.” He uses this word as an all-inclusive term, grouping together the Judeo-Christian God, Allah, Greek gods, Nordic gods, Zombies, and all other super natural phenomena. Parrish’s main issue with Rand’s philosophy is her assumption that “God” is unknowable and that this is universally agreed upon. Many religious practices around the world claim to have some sort of relationship with their deity. However, Parrish admits that, “God can never be completely comprehended” (173) but Parrish does not see this as a valid reason for disbelief. This was a very good article to counter the theological claims made by Rand. However, the language was too exclusively Christian. People in the Western world would understand most of the comments, but many of Parrish’s assertions would not hold up outside of Western culture.

John W. Robbins’ book, Answer to Ayn Rand, varied in its cultural expression. Robbins is obviously a Christian. He is vehemently against Rand’s beliefs and her opinions about God (in this case, exclusively the Judeo-Christian version). However, Robbins does not focus his attack on simply decrying Rand’s atheism. As stated earlier, Rand believed that all supernatural phenomena are anti-reason. Robbins’ main assertion is that people go through life everyday without fully relying on reason. He uses examples like believing in the existence of individual brains, riding a bus to an expected destination, or driving a car. All of these everyday beliefs, according to Robbins, are examples of faith being applied by all of humanity. He does a great job in this book of countering Rand’s assertions from a varied philosophical standpoint. I prefer this book for a literature research project. Literary scholars have to remain objective, while not ignoring their subjectivity. Robbins does this expertly when wrestling with the difficult philosophy of Ayn Rand.

During my research, I watched several videos of Ayn Rand explaining her beliefs. It’s hard to listen to her speak and ignore her genius. She professes to abhor supernatural beliefs, but she certainly holds to her own axioms as absolutes. After listening to her, I’d argue that her dogmatism is just as senseless as supernatural beliefs. Although she claims to be guided by reason, her insistence that man is the highest form of creation is irrational. Ayn Rand will not be a philosophical or literary mentor for me in the future. However, the fact that Rand does not ignore religion still intrigues me and I plan on continuing my exploration into her version of atheism.

Works Cited

Parrish, Stephen E. “God and Objectivism: A Critique of Objectivist Philosophy of Religion.” The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 8.2 (2007): 169-210. Online.

Piekoff, Leonard. Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. New York: Dutton, 1991. Print.

Robbins, John W. Answer to Ayn Rand. Washington D.C.: Mount Vernon Publishing, 1974. Print.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZqF4ixFX24

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rydsea_Y8xI