And yet, without reflection on the content of those values, the notion of pursuing values is an empty exhortation. What values, exactly? Rand’s philosophy suggests that values are attained through reason. But reason alone cannot give us values; it cannot give us morals. Morality, that dark ocean into which reason cannot wade, is the realm of feeling, and only afterward do we develop plausible rationalisations for our beliefs. No matter how rational we believe ourselves to be, there is always some base axiom that cannot be justified through reason alone, some flicker of irrationality that trails like a shadow.
I wanted to ask about this, but I wasn’t sure how to frame the question. It seemed to me that there was a vast chasm between the core tenets of Objectivist thought – which all sounded appealing in the abstract – and the conclusions opined onstage. Why was “selfishness” only a virtue for a narrow definition of “self” aligned with traditional family structures? Why was it good to care for your spouse or children, but wrong to care for your aging parents? Why, in sum, was Rand’s apparently “revolutionary” rethinking of morality seemingly so conservative when it came to the question of what morality could entail? [...]
What if we turned that impulse towards different ends? What if we began with a more collective notion of “the self”, beyond just our immediate families, to include our communities and the systems that sustained the things we value? Seen from that perspective, seemingly “altruistic” activities such as voting for higher taxes, volunteering for causes, or refusing to cross a picket line no longer look like sacrifices. They look, instead, like investments – investments in the kind of world you want to live in. And as much as Ayn Rand has to say on the topics of reason or selfishness, she can’t tell you what that world should look like. That part is all up to you.
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