Ayn Rand
Also known as Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum, Alice O'Connor
Russian-American novelist and philosopher (1905 to 1982) who founded Objectivism.
At a glance
Main ideas
Objectivism, Reason over faith, Rational egoism …
See all 5Criticism
Philosophers, Critics, Her circle
See all 3Books to start with
The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, The Virtue of Selfishness
See all 3Connections
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Rand was born in Saint Petersburg and moved to the United States in 1926.
- She became famous with the novels The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957).
- She then turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, Objectivism.
- She advocated reason over faith, rational egoism over altruism, and laissez-faire capitalism.
- Academic philosophers have generally ignored or rejected her work.
Why it matters
- Her books have sold over 37 million copies, and her defence of selfishness and capitalism shaped American libertarians and conservatives, though she criticised both.
Key facts
- Born
- 2 Feb 1905, Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, as Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum1
- Died
- 6 Mar 1982, at her home in New York City, of heart failure1
- Education
- Graduated from Leningrad State University in October 1924; a year at the State Technicum for Screen Arts1
- United States
- Arrived in New York 19 Feb 1926; US citizen 3 Mar 19311
- Married
- Frank O'Connor, from 1929 to his death in 19791
- Novels
- We the Living (1936), Anthem (1938), The Fountainhead (1943), Atlas Shrugged (1957)1
- Periodical
- The Objectivist Newsletter (later The Objectivist), co-founded with Nathaniel Branden in 19621
- Sales
- Over 37 million books1
Main ideas
-
Objectivism1
"Man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life", productive achievement his noblest activity and reason his only absolute.
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Reason over faith1
She rejected religion and anything she saw as mysticism, and held to free will.
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Rational egoism1
She supported ethical egoism against altruism and against hedonism.
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Capitalism and rights1
She condemned the initiation of force and defended laissez-faire capitalism as the system that recognises individual rights.
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Romantic realism1
Her fiction shows the world "as it could be and should be".
Criticism
-
Philosophers1
Academic philosophers have generally ignored or rejected her work as polemical and lacking rigour.
-
Critics1
Reviews of her fiction became more negative with her later work; Sidney Hook and Gore Vidal attacked her first non-fiction book.
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Her circle1
Former students, including Nathaniel Branden, later described the Nathaniel Branden Institute's culture as one of conformity.
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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