Ben BayerA slightly edited version of this letter was published in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, February 14. The letter was written in response to a piece that appeared on January 30. The Ayn Rand Institute makes an effort to defend Ayn Rand and her philosophy when they are misrepresented, especially in high-profile venues like the Journal.
Why does Rainer Zitelmann (“The Ayn Rand Contradiction,” Jan. 31) want to convince us that Ayn Rand, a philosopher committed to reason, was some kind of emotionalist and her fans just religious adherents?
Zitelmann thinks that because Rand’s readers are inspired emotionally by her novels, it’s not logic that explains their appeal.
Readers should judge for themselves whether this is true. When you admire a hero like architect Howard Roark for his creative, independent thinking and his defiance of conventional dogmas, is this just a blind, illogical reaction? Or does something about Roark resonate with your own observations of the character traits that lead to success in life, and inspire you to emulate him?
The fact that a philosopher and her fans have emotions is a triviality. To twist it into a charge of hypocrisy works only if you don’t understand the principle Rand professed to practice. When asked by Playboy if she thought we should eliminate emotions from our lives, Rand said, “Of course not. . . . [Man’s] emotions are not his enemies, they are his means of enjoying life. But they are not his guide; the guide is his mind.”
Rand also distilled this observation into the heroes and heroines of her novels. Howard Roark, Dagny Taggart, and John Galt are passionately committed to using their minds to understand the world around them and thereby to achieve their happiness.
Readers who want to see if their outlook resonates with them should pick up a copy of The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged and find out for themselves.
Ben Bayer
The Ayn Rand Institute
Austin, Tx.
Itamar Feldman
Brandon Lisi
