The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z

The Ayn Rand Library #4

by Ayn Rand, Harry Binswanger (Editor)

A prolific writer, bestselling novelist, and world-renowned philosopher, Ayn Rand defined a full system of thought--from epistemology to aesthetics. Her writing is so extensive and the range of issues she covers so enormous that those interested in finding her discussions of a given topic may have to search through many sources to locate the relevant passage. The Ayn Rand Lexicon brings together all the key ideas of her philosophy of Objectivism. Begun under Rand's supervision, this unique volume is an invaluable guide to her philosophy or reason, self-interest and laissez-faire capitalism--the philosophy so brilliantly dramatized in her novels The Fountainhead, We the Living, and Anthem.

Genres: Philosophy, Reference, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Economics, The United States Of America

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Polemical novels, such as The Fountainhead (1943), of primarily known Russian-American writer Ayn Rand, originally Alisa Rosenbaum, espouse the doctrines of objectivism and political libertarianism.

Fiction of this better author and philosopher developed a system that she named. Educated, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early initially duds and two Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame. In 1957, she published Atlas Shrugged , her best-selling work.

Rand advocated reason and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism as opposed to altruism. She condemned the immoral initiation of force and supported laissez-faire capitalism, which she defined as the system, based on recognizing individual rights, including private property. Often associated with the modern movement in the United States, Rand opposed and viewed anarchism. In art, she promoted romantic realism. She sharply criticized most philosophers and their traditions with few exceptions.

Books of Rand sold more than 37 million copies. From literary critics, her fiction received mixed reviews with more negative reviews for her later work. Afterward, she turned to nonfiction to promote her philosophy, published her own periodicals, and released several collections of essays until her death in 1982.

After her death, her ideas interested academics, but philosophers generally ignored or rejected her and argued that her approach and work lack methodological rigor. She influenced some right conservatives. The movement circulates her ideas to the public and in academic settings.

Reviews

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read Rand previously I was already well-versed in her philosophy. This, however, is a good book for someone new to her or looking for her opinions on certain topics ranging from metaphysics to ballet. Be warned that being a lexicon, you'll have to study it carefully to understand her language where it regards the thoughtful sections of her philosophy. Many would not bother reading this, already turned off perhaps by the scathing terms her critics have for her, but something I've found with Rand is that most of what is said of her in that regard tends to be blatant misrepresentation. Indeed, in television interviews, she herself stated as much.

[Russ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Ayn Rand Lexicon can be a great resource. Now it is available for free at http://aynrandlexicon.com/

[Michael Morrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fans and followers can be divided into several groups, including Objectivists (although Rand herself didn't want anyone using that term and she preferred they call themselves "students of Objectivism"), Randians, and Randroids -- the cultists.
I admit to Randian. I like her novels, and have read "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" and "Anthem" dozens of times in the preceding decades, especially "Atlas."
I even liked the movie trilogy based on "Atlas," although the Randroids are still, after nine years, foaming at the mouth.
I keep the "Lexicon" near my desk. It's a very useful reference book, as is my "The Story of Philosophy" by Will Durant, and some dictionaries and others.
But sometimes I regret looking at some of Rand's comments, such as the one about D.W. Griffith. I can't help wondering WHY did she make such a dumb comment? How could she not know how totally wrong she was?
However, she was more often right than not, and I really wish more self-styled intellectuals and/or philosophers would recognize she really was a genius, even if not perfect.
She and her ideas do deserve respect and a person might be able to use the Lexicon to get a start on understanding the philosophy of Objectivism, although it might be better used as a check on one's understanding after one has read her fiction and her non-fiction for a fleshed-out explanation of "A is A" and "objective reality."

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful reference, identifying relevant passages from Rand's fiction and nonfiction that indicate her thoughts on a wide variety of topics. Not exhaustive, but a great first stop. I recommend this to anyone interested in Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent companion piece for any Ayn Rand novel. Nice reference.

[Dusti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked reading this because it made me feel smart and I agree with lots of the ideas in it. Just being honest. But I really didn't have the vocabulary to keep up.

[Marco den Ouden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Haven't read all of it. I keep it as a reference book and use it to look up things occasionally. Not really the kind of book you read cover to cover.

[Ritattoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lexicon therefore I am going to read it again and again

[Steven H · Rating 3 out of 5]

A VERY USEFUL REFERENCE WORK FOR RAND AND OBJECTIVISM

Leonard Peikoff wrote in the Introduction to this 1986 book, “[Ayn Rand’s] writing… is extensive, and the range of issues she covers [is] enormous---so much so that it is often difficult for a reader to know where in her many books and articles to look for a specific formulation or topic…. ‘The Ayn Rand Lexicon’ solves this problem. It is a compilation of key statements from Ayn Rand (and from a few other authorized Objectivist texts) on several hundred alphabetized topics in philosophy and related fields. The book was initially conceived by Harry Binswanger, who undertook it during Miss Rand’s lifetime with her permission and approval… Those who know Miss Rand’s works will find it a comprehensive guide to the literature… Newcomers to Ayn Rand will find the book an intriguing introduction to her thought, one eminently suited to browsing.”

Editor Harry Binswanger wrote in his Preface, “I conceived the idea of creating a reference work, organized by topic, to function as an Objectivist dictionary or mini-encyclopedia. I first proposed this idea to Ayn Rand in 1977… [She] gave me permission to go ahead… One value of the book had special meaning to her: it eliminates any shred of excuse (if ever there had been one) for the continual gross misrepresentation of her philosophy at the hands of hostile commentators… I have endeavored to cull from the Objectivist corpus all the significant topics in philosophy and closely allied fields, such as psychology, economics, and intellectual history.”

Here are some excerpts:

ABORTION: “An embryo has NO RIGHTS. Rights do not pertain to a POTENTIAL, only to an ACTUAL being. A child cannot acquire any rights until it is born. The living take precedence over the not-yet-living… Abortion is a moral right---which should be left to the sole discretion of the woman involved; morally, nothing other than her wish in the matter is to be considered… Never mind the nonsense of claiming that an embryo has a ‘right to life.’ A piece of protoplasm has no rights---and no life in the human sense of the term.”

ALTRUISM: “The basic principle of altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the only justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and value. Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect for the rights of others… The irreducible primary of altruism, the basic absolute, is SELF-SACRIFICE---which means; self-immolation, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-destruction… Do not hide behind such superficialities as whether you should or should not give a dime to a beggar. That is not the issue. The issue is whether you DO or do NOT have the right to exist WITHOUT giving him that dime. The issue is whether you must keep buying your life, dime by dime, from any beggar who might choose to approach you.”

AMERICA: “[T]he United States of America is the greatest, the noblest and, in its original founding principles, the ONLY moral country in the history of the world.”

CHRISTMAS: “[In answer to the question of whether it is appropriate for an atheist to celebrate Christmas.] Yes, of course. A national holiday, in this country, cannot have an exclusively religious meaning. The secular meaning of the Christmas holiday is wider than the tenets of any particular religion: it is good will toward men---a frame of mind which is not the exclusive property … of the Christian religion… The best aspect of Christmas is the aspect usually decried by the mystics: the fact that Christmas has been COMMERCIALIZED… the street decorations put up by department stores and other institutions… provide the city with a spectacular display, which only ‘commercial greed’ could afford to give to us.” (Pg. 71)

CONSERVATIVES: “Objectivists are NOT ‘conservatives.’ We are RADICALS FOR CAPITALISM; we are fighting for the philosophical base which capitalism did not have and without which it was doomed to perish… The moral treason of the ‘conservative’ leaders lies in the fact that they … do not have the courage to admit that the AMERICAN way of life was CAPITALISM… and that THAT is the system which they are now allowing to perish by silent default.”

FEMININITY: “the essence of femininity is hero-worship---the desire to look up to man. ‘To look up’ does not mean dependence, obedience or anything implying inferiority. It means an intense kind of admiration… Hero-worship is a demanding virtue: a woman has to be worthy of it and of the hero she worships. Intellectually and morally… she has to be his equal; then the object of her worship is specifically his MASCULINITY, not any human virtue she might lack… a properly feminine woman does not treat men as if she were their pal, sister, mother---or leader.”

LIBERTARIANS: “I do not join or endorse any political group or movement… I disapprove of… the so-called ‘hippies of the right,’ who attempt to ensnare the younger or more careless ones of my readers by claiming simultaneously to be followers of my philosophy and advocates of anarchism… Anarchism is the most irrational, anti-intellectual notion ever spun by the … whim-worshipping fringe of the collectivist movement, where it properly belongs.”

MYSTICISM: Mysticism is the acceptance of allegations without evidence or proof, either apart from or AGAINST the evidence of one’s senses and one’s reason Mysticism is the claim to some non-sensory, non-rational, non-definable, non-identifiable means of knowledge… Mysticism is the claim to the perception of some other reality---other than one in which we live---whose definition is only that it is NOT natural, it is supernatural, and is to be perceived by some form of unnatural or supernatural means.”

RACISM: "Today, racism is regarded as a crime if practiced by a majority---but as an inalienable right if practiced by a minority. The notion that one’s culture is superior to all others solely because it represents the traditions of one’s ancestors, is regarded as chauvinism if claimed by a majority---but as ‘ethnic’ pride is claimed by a minority. Resistance to change and progress is regarded as reactionary if demonstrated by a majority---but retrogression to a Balkan village, to an Indian tepee or to the jungle is hailed if demonstrated by a minority.”

This book will be “must reading” for those seriously studying Ayn Rand and Objectivism.

[L E X (Analyyttiset kirja-arvostelut) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kirjan toteuttamiseksi on tehty seuraavaa:
1) on kerätty pääasiassa Ayn Randin ja Leonard Peikoffin sitaatteja.
2) on luokiteltu ne aihepiireittäin.
3) on luokiteltu aiheet aakkosjärjestykseen.

Tämä on siis filosofinen hakuteos ja sitä tulee arvioida sellaisena. Teoksen toimittanut Harry Binswanger korostaa, ettei tämän hakuteoksen tarkoituksena ole korvata alkuperäisteoksia. Käytännössä teos on siis suunnattu henkilöille, jotka jo tietävät objektivismista jotain, mutta haluavat muistin virkistämiseksi varmistaa yksittäisen asian nopeasti.

Teoksen julkaisusta on kulunut muutama vuosikymmen, joten lukija haluaa varsin nopeasti tarkistaa, onko teos ajan tasalla. Tarkoitan tällä sitä, löytyykö hakuteoksesta sellaiset aiheet, jotka ovat nykyään hyvin ajankohtaisia. Teosta pitkään lukeneena olen toistaiseksi löytänyt seuraavat puuttuvat otsikot:

*Yksityisyys
*Nationalismi
*Monikulttuurisuus

Tosin on huomautettava, että näkemyksen näihinkin asiakysymyksiin pystyy helposti päätellä ja tämän kirjan lukija todennäköisesti ne jo tietääkin. On myös todettava, että nämä puutteet ovat pieniä kaiken hakuteoksen tarjoaman tietomäärän rinnalla. Näin ollen voidaan todeta, että kattavuuden näkökulmasta hakuteos on onnistunut. Teoksen asettelu on myös selkeä, joten moitittavaa on vaikea löytää.

Arvosana: 5/5

[Paschalis]

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[Michael Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a collection of ideas of Ayn Rand, organized by topic. She criticizes the German idealist philosopher Immanuel Kant for his denial of moral approval to the man who desires to do the right thing and does it. Instead, Kant gives moral approval only to the man who desires to do the wrong thing, but does the right thing anyway, out of a sense of duty. On this topic, Rand is in agreement with the Aristotelian philosopher Mortimer Adler, who asserted that virtue is right desire. That is, Adler (and Aristotle) give moral approval to the man who desires to do the right thing. Kant gets it wrong. The Buddhists are also on the wrong side of the issue. They assert that desire itself is evil. But only wrong desire, the desire to do things that harm our long-range goals, is evil, according to Aristotle and Rand. (Ayn Rand did not discuss Buddhism, or even Mortimer Adler, in this book, I am just voicing my own opinions). Ayn Rand also criticizes the American philosopher John Dewey, who was a major contributor to the philosophy of pragmatism. Rand objects to pragmatism, because it denies that there are general principles that apply in all places and at all times. She also criticizes Dewey for deriving his philosophy from Hegel, a philosopher she despises. Although Ayn Rand does not mention moral relativism in this book, one of its origins was Dewey's pragmatism. Ayn Rand writes about man being a creature with a "self-made soul". Here she emphasizes the importance of free will, in comparison to heredity and environment. The materialists deny the existence of the soul, the right-wing scientists emphasize the importance of heredity, the leftists emphasize the importance of the environment, and the religionists see the soul as an unearned gift from God, and not as self-creating. Her philosophy is thus distinct from all the major philosophies in our current world. Her position represents a part of common sense that has not received much past support from articulated philosophy.

[Paul Fredric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a series of essays illustrating the philosophical ideas at the basis of most of Rand's fiction. If you've read her fiction and dug it, and you have decent comprehension of western philosophy, you'll dig it. If you don't really understand the differences between Plato and Aristotle, or the difference between a free market vs a regulated market, then don't brother reading this. That's the only reason i gave it 3 stars - its relevant only if you already have a certain amount of relevant study under your belt. That being said, Rand's philosophical basis is in Aristotle e.g. there is a 'real' world and it's the one we all live in and it's made of material. Science might not know everything but they can sure get closer than a bunch of religious fanatics. Her critique of the then burgeoning, well-intentioned albeit misguided/collectivist and inquisitional Civil Rights movement is particularly relevant now, even prophetic. If she were alive today you would never even hear about her, not even on Fox News because of all the mean things she says about religion. We should consider ourselves lucky her books are still even being published.

[Sari · Rating 4 out of 5]

very helpful. a well-organized and successful lexicon of all of Rand's philosphies organized by topic. a perfect introduction to objectivism or supplement to previous knowledge.

[Craig Bolton]

The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z (Ayn Rand Library) by Ayn Rand (1988)

[Eric McLean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I good book to find those quotes and core ideas of Ayn Rand. I can't give this 5 stars because I don't agree with a lot of what she says, but there is some great stuff in here.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great exploration into the mind of Ayn Rand

[Violeta]

A is A.

[Curtiss]

A prime reference to her political philosphy of Objectivism.