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Atlas Hugged: The Autobiography of John Galt III
“Call me anything but John Galt. That is my name, but it is also the name of my father and grandfather. I am not like them and the world they created is not the one I desire. The III after my name does not sufficiently set me apart.”
With these words, famed scientist and nonfiction writer David Sloan Wilson launches a devastating critique of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism and its impact on the world. Just as Rand advanced her ideas through fiction in addition to nonfiction, including her iconic novel Atlas Shrugged, Wilson pursues his quarry into the fictional realm with the story of John Galt III, the grandson of the main protagonist of Rand’s novel, and his quest to defeat the Evil Empire constructed by his father, grandfather, and grandmother—Ayn Rant.
With these words, famed scientist and nonfiction writer David Sloan Wilson launches a devastating critique of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism and its impact on the world. Just as Rand advanced her ideas through fiction in addition to nonfiction, including her iconic novel Atlas Shrugged, Wilson pursues his quarry into the fictional realm with the story of John Galt III, the grandson of the main protagonist of Rand’s novel, and his quest to defeat the Evil Empire constructed by his father, grandfather, and grandmother—Ayn Rant.
- GenresFictionPhilosophy
ebook
First published October 1, 2020
25 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
David Sloan Wilson
27 books175 followersDavid Sloan Wilson has been a professor of evolutionary biology at Binghamton University for more than twenty years. He has written three academic books on evolution, authored hundreds of papers, some with E.O. Wilson, and his first book for a general audience was Evolution for Everyone: How Darwin's Theory Can Change the Way We Think.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
January 12, 2021
As someone who in my younger days was briefly excited by Ayn Rand’s novels, I really appreciate what the author has attempted here. He is quite honest up front that this is a full-throated rebuttal of Objectivism and other “selfishness as virtue” value systems, while simultaneously being an homage to Ayn Rand’s attempts at “philosophical persuasion via fiction”. I admit to being hungry for a world in which keeping each other intellectually honest is accorded a supreme moral value, especially where it helps humanity, life in general, and the natural environment we depend on survive into the future.
January 31, 2021
[2 December 2020]
My first reaction was that scientists shouldn't try to write fiction.
My second reaction was "...duh..."
Actually it wasn't bad, but it was not great fiction. It really is a polemic and if you're interested in the philosophy, you might enjoy it.
The first half of the book was pretty ordinary -- young man trying to figure out who he was and what he wanted to do with his life. Nothing exciting, nothing thrilling. Not really boring either. He was a likable guy, a little naive. About halfway through, when he confronted his father, the plot picked up, but that's when it really got into the philosophy. If you understand the libertarian viewpoint of Ayn Rand, you may appreciate the alternative view of Wilson. It seemed to me to be a little pie in the sky simplistic, but there were some interesting ideas (especially about money). It made me realize how cynical I really am.
My first reaction was that scientists shouldn't try to write fiction.
My second reaction was "...duh..."
Actually it wasn't bad, but it was not great fiction. It really is a polemic and if you're interested in the philosophy, you might enjoy it.
The first half of the book was pretty ordinary -- young man trying to figure out who he was and what he wanted to do with his life. Nothing exciting, nothing thrilling. Not really boring either. He was a likable guy, a little naive. About halfway through, when he confronted his father, the plot picked up, but that's when it really got into the philosophy. If you understand the libertarian viewpoint of Ayn Rand, you may appreciate the alternative view of Wilson. It seemed to me to be a little pie in the sky simplistic, but there were some interesting ideas (especially about money). It made me realize how cynical I really am.
April 15, 2021
It’s a safe bet that someone who calls Rush Limbaugh a libertarian has nothing useful to say about political philosophy, but what finally killed this book for me was a character named (no, I am not making this up) .
December 5, 2021
As an admirer of David’s work, it’s not surprising that I gave it 4 stars. It’s very advanced for its time, and people who disregard it would probably tend to do so out of ignorance or ideology.
It’s quite engaging and well-written, but it’s the idea that the book embodies that forces me to rate it so highly. Whose opinion is more on the mark: mine, or those individuals who gave it one star? You be the judge.
In any case, I love this book! David’s life is an example of what it means to be an Evolutionary.
It’s quite engaging and well-written, but it’s the idea that the book embodies that forces me to rate it so highly. Whose opinion is more on the mark: mine, or those individuals who gave it one star? You be the judge.
In any case, I love this book! David’s life is an example of what it means to be an Evolutionary.
February 9, 2022
It has a respectable aim, but fails completely. Flat story for those who don't know anything about Ayn Rand, embarrassangly naïve for those who do. Enthusiastic teen-lit: very rich (ofcourse), good-looking hero (ofcourse) is loved by everybody (ofcourse) and is up to change the entire world. The secret island of Jules Verne comes to my mind, where a bunch of people create roads, bridges, telegraph, etc out of nothing in no time.
September 8, 2022
Professor Wilson is an evolutionary biologist who has write several excellent non fiction books on the subject of evolution. His work and that of others has shown that humans have evolved to be an altruistic cooperating species in contrast to the notion of the “selfish gene”. He applies evolutionary science to questions beyond what you normally think of when you hear the word 'evolution' to include questions of society, economics, social structures etc. He is an advocate of the concept of 'group selection' in species in addition to the more well known notion of individual natural selection.
He asserts, for example, that: “Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups. Everything else is commentary.” and that with respect to social structures that “'laissez faire' doesn't work. It's simply not true that everybody pursuing their own self interest benefits the common good. At the same time, 'centralized planning' doesn't work. The world is just too complex for any group of geniuses to be able to understand it all to be able to plan it.”
His novel, “Atlas Hugged” uses the device of a fictional story to illustrate the ideas in his non- fiction works and is a rebuttal to the assertions that Ayn Rand makes in her fiction (“Atlas Shrugged”) that 'greed is good' and 'selfishness is a virtue. As a novel is a bit clunky to be honest, but not a bit more clunky than Rand's fiction. And it has the advantage of being MUCH shorter. I recommend this book without question but would also recommend that you read some of Wilson's non-fiction works on Altruism, Evolution, and the like.
He asserts, for example, that: “Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups. Everything else is commentary.” and that with respect to social structures that “'laissez faire' doesn't work. It's simply not true that everybody pursuing their own self interest benefits the common good. At the same time, 'centralized planning' doesn't work. The world is just too complex for any group of geniuses to be able to understand it all to be able to plan it.”
His novel, “Atlas Hugged” uses the device of a fictional story to illustrate the ideas in his non- fiction works and is a rebuttal to the assertions that Ayn Rand makes in her fiction (“Atlas Shrugged”) that 'greed is good' and 'selfishness is a virtue. As a novel is a bit clunky to be honest, but not a bit more clunky than Rand's fiction. And it has the advantage of being MUCH shorter. I recommend this book without question but would also recommend that you read some of Wilson's non-fiction works on Altruism, Evolution, and the like.
June 9, 2023
Just finished reading the Novel by evolutionary biologist D. S. Wilson titled "Atlas Hugged." It draws on Evolutionary Biology, but also a bit of Behavioral and Social Science, to make it clear that the premises of the original Ayn Rand "Atlas Shrugged" book, so favored by market fundamentalists, like represented in The Neoliberal Order, is fundamentally flawed. The Ayn Rand frame is both unscientific & unethical.
The scientific & ethical foundation upon which "Atlas Hugged" rests is also confirmed in tests of Dual Interest Theory in Metaeconomics ( https://www.metaeconomics.info/ ), said tests of the null hypothesis that shared other-interest does not matter (as Ayn Rand and market fundamentalists claim). That hypothesis has been rejected every time it has been tested, as documented in the scientific literature underlying Atlas Hugged, which is also, then, the facts (& ethics) base reflected in the Atlas Hugged Novel.
The overall point made in Atlas Hugged is straightforward: Human reality is about far more than individuals maximizing self-interest, and, said act is not inherently moral as Ayn Rand and Market Fundamentalists believe. Also, then, maximizing self-interest is clearly inadequate to the task of building a humane economy and society.
It is a GoodRead ... a Novel with lots of fact content under the story, with the latter entertaining!
The scientific & ethical foundation upon which "Atlas Hugged" rests is also confirmed in tests of Dual Interest Theory in Metaeconomics ( https://www.metaeconomics.info/ ), said tests of the null hypothesis that shared other-interest does not matter (as Ayn Rand and market fundamentalists claim). That hypothesis has been rejected every time it has been tested, as documented in the scientific literature underlying Atlas Hugged, which is also, then, the facts (& ethics) base reflected in the Atlas Hugged Novel.
The overall point made in Atlas Hugged is straightforward: Human reality is about far more than individuals maximizing self-interest, and, said act is not inherently moral as Ayn Rand and Market Fundamentalists believe. Also, then, maximizing self-interest is clearly inadequate to the task of building a humane economy and society.
It is a GoodRead ... a Novel with lots of fact content under the story, with the latter entertaining!
April 2, 2022
I enjoyed this book. If you’re familiar with Atlas Shrugged, much of this will come across as a polemic response, but that’s a worthwhile target. And though this book’s characters often seem to be constructed to respond to a specific technical defect in Atlas Shrugged, Wilson is able to show those characters’ humanity much better than Rand. I disagreed with these characters sometimes, even after consideration, but that was true in Atlas Shrugged most of the time. This book has the advantages that I agreed with the characters far more, and that I even grew to like the characters (including those I disagreed with!). Wilson makes a special effort to draw out the humanity of even the punching bag characters, and he succeeded very well for me.
This book is a good, human, technical, and loving response to the errors in Atlas Shrugged, and in Rand’s objectivism generally. I’m looking forward to reading some of Wilson’s more technical nonfiction writing!
This book is a good, human, technical, and loving response to the errors in Atlas Shrugged, and in Rand’s objectivism generally. I’m looking forward to reading some of Wilson’s more technical nonfiction writing!
Want to read
April 8, 2021Read free online at https://atlashugged.world/
December 21, 2023
Sad attempt, more like a rant.
March 30, 2021
The best part is people trash talking him when he uses the same tropes as Ayn Rand (abvious to the iniciate and also what he said on intervious) so you already know this have no intentions to be amazing fiction. If you never read the original it can be kind of duh though. As for me, I prefer the theories ones
September 3, 2022
Not a bad concept...but a pretty simplistic story. I got all the comparisons to present Trumpers and QAnon folks. Ending was not great...to contrived and bloody.
Any Gab people reading this post...God, what an awful hateful platform for expressing free speech...sure, you have the right to spew nonsense and hate, but it doesn't show civility or courage nor does it help make things better. Why should I give up my freedoms to bow down to your gods and leaders? I shouldn't.
Any Gab people reading this post...God, what an awful hateful platform for expressing free speech...sure, you have the right to spew nonsense and hate, but it doesn't show civility or courage nor does it help make things better. Why should I give up my freedoms to bow down to your gods and leaders? I shouldn't.
Read
June 9, 2023Excellent Read, better than just Good! D. S. Wilson does a superb job at bringing the underlying facts (scientific-method sourced) & ethics into view. The book convincingly demonstrates how the original Ayn Rand "Atlas Shrugged" book (and Market Fundamentalism as in Neoliberalism in general) fails on both fronts, and, as a result is both unscientific & unethical. And, one can read Atlas Hugged as just a Novel, too, with an intriguing story being weaved.
February 4, 2024
This book offers a counterargument to Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. While the author does succeed at his task of offering an alternative to Objectivism, I wish it were more compelling. The story reads well, and there is more than ample evidence that humans exist today because they were not essentially selfish. The argument against wealth being the only true measure of success is well presented. Alan Greenspan became disillusioned with Objectivism after the 2008 market meltdown.
March 25, 2021
By the cover it looks like a governmental bureaucrat is taking yet more money from the public. Apparently the wages received for simply occupying a desk aren't enough and the public needs to pay for the sermons too. I am most probably wrong. I will be back once I read the book.
October 1, 2023
Promises too much for nothing
October 24, 2023
Challenging, interesting, scientifically informed exploration of how we get to the future, and what it could look like-if we are lucky.
December 27, 2024
Edit: I do not agree with the judgment of character based on sexuality of Rant. I had to re-read that part which was in the very beginning of this novel. Apart from that I liked the story and thus wrote this review.
Review:
I read this rebuke of the Rant novel before I saw the ratings it has here. I'm not surprised to see a lower rating than it actually deserves.
The people who read this book are mostly the same people who read the first one and the set of and the people who read the first one are themselves biased towards individuals who read the book because they happen to agree with whatever Rant has said about supposed superior morals of selfishness.
On top of that it seems the people who use the good reads website is a demographic highly skewed towards uncritical thinkers who took everything Rant said at face value.
What stood to me most about this book by David Sloan Wilson is at first the comparison of the Rantian Selfish with cancer cells and later the concept of an organism which doesn't just contain the individual but a group of them as well (maybe a meta-organism).
As with the cancer cells, the selfish tend to show that they are better than others by taking more stating that they supposedly are more productive and the justification they provide for taking more as the right and moral thing to do. As time progresses this unbound greed and apathy towards others is same as what happens to a non-healthy body when it has progressed towards more dangerous stages of cancer, it becomes unsustainable.
The sad reality is people who are blind to their privilege do not see a problem with this mindset which was vehemently argued by Rant based on faulty interpretation of scientific facts. This mindset is as baseless as the claim of racial superiority preached by the Nazis.
Moreover the so called objectivists fall short of their own premise that "there are no conflicts of interest among rational men" (strangely noninclusive word by a closeted self loather and misogynist that Rant was). That premise is faulty because it has been found by numerous studies that we tend to overestimate importance of their own work as compared to work of others no matter how rational and fair one says they are or try to be. Eg. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1980-2...
Their self interest will triumph over the "rationality" because of this preposterously naive view towards oneself everyone has.
Another important thing that Rant was mistaken about was people who see monetary transactions as the only thing that matters and the "doors" should be favored is the view of the privileged minority who have been blind towards the realities of life. This was also a reactionary view given that Rant was raised in communist Russia and had some mistaken views regarding her own privilege.
There are more important things in life than trying to maximize only the profits in life at expense of everything else (including our humanity). Picturing all life through the narrow lens of fake objectivism and putting a monetary value on all interactions, including love, compassion, and creativity will just make an individual a sex worker, a businessman in the disguise of "priest", and the sort of artist who will have a statue of currency symbol as their most important piece of art, respectively.
There's more to say about how the entire movement of Objectivism as promoted by Rant was just a "tissue of lies" but I'd like you to read the book by David to make sense of it.
I've made one observation about the society regarding the kind of individualism that Rant promotes is that it's toxic individualism which culminates as toxic isolationism. They say everyone can be a "billionaire" if they channeled their greed in the "right" way are living in fools' echo chamber. That definitely can isolate people from suffering of their peers. If they don't care about the other person's well being because "selfishness is a supreme virtue" they become isolated from each other and that's what con-men want so that they are easier to control and mooch. The doers of that fake objectivist movement ultimately become the "moochers" that they supposedly championed against in first place.
So ultimately human society becoming the healthy meta-organism is what we should aim for rather than what Rant's naive pseudo-utopia, which comprises of fragmented humanity, and becomes a dystopic world that our world outside of this fiction is headed towards.
One important note: not all novels are to be read just for entertainment. If you read the original one as entertainment and still follow the wrong ideas it has you have lost the original use of literature: to educate oneself.
Review:
I read this rebuke of the Rant novel before I saw the ratings it has here. I'm not surprised to see a lower rating than it actually deserves.
The people who read this book are mostly the same people who read the first one and the set of and the people who read the first one are themselves biased towards individuals who read the book because they happen to agree with whatever Rant has said about supposed superior morals of selfishness.
On top of that it seems the people who use the good reads website is a demographic highly skewed towards uncritical thinkers who took everything Rant said at face value.
What stood to me most about this book by David Sloan Wilson is at first the comparison of the Rantian Selfish with cancer cells and later the concept of an organism which doesn't just contain the individual but a group of them as well (maybe a meta-organism).
As with the cancer cells, the selfish tend to show that they are better than others by taking more stating that they supposedly are more productive and the justification they provide for taking more as the right and moral thing to do. As time progresses this unbound greed and apathy towards others is same as what happens to a non-healthy body when it has progressed towards more dangerous stages of cancer, it becomes unsustainable.
The sad reality is people who are blind to their privilege do not see a problem with this mindset which was vehemently argued by Rant based on faulty interpretation of scientific facts. This mindset is as baseless as the claim of racial superiority preached by the Nazis.
Moreover the so called objectivists fall short of their own premise that "there are no conflicts of interest among rational men" (strangely noninclusive word by a closeted self loather and misogynist that Rant was). That premise is faulty because it has been found by numerous studies that we tend to overestimate importance of their own work as compared to work of others no matter how rational and fair one says they are or try to be. Eg. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1980-2...
Their self interest will triumph over the "rationality" because of this preposterously naive view towards oneself everyone has.
Another important thing that Rant was mistaken about was people who see monetary transactions as the only thing that matters and the "doors" should be favored is the view of the privileged minority who have been blind towards the realities of life. This was also a reactionary view given that Rant was raised in communist Russia and had some mistaken views regarding her own privilege.
There are more important things in life than trying to maximize only the profits in life at expense of everything else (including our humanity). Picturing all life through the narrow lens of fake objectivism and putting a monetary value on all interactions, including love, compassion, and creativity will just make an individual a sex worker, a businessman in the disguise of "priest", and the sort of artist who will have a statue of currency symbol as their most important piece of art, respectively.
There's more to say about how the entire movement of Objectivism as promoted by Rant was just a "tissue of lies" but I'd like you to read the book by David to make sense of it.
I've made one observation about the society regarding the kind of individualism that Rant promotes is that it's toxic individualism which culminates as toxic isolationism. They say everyone can be a "billionaire" if they channeled their greed in the "right" way are living in fools' echo chamber. That definitely can isolate people from suffering of their peers. If they don't care about the other person's well being because "selfishness is a supreme virtue" they become isolated from each other and that's what con-men want so that they are easier to control and mooch. The doers of that fake objectivist movement ultimately become the "moochers" that they supposedly championed against in first place.
So ultimately human society becoming the healthy meta-organism is what we should aim for rather than what Rant's naive pseudo-utopia, which comprises of fragmented humanity, and becomes a dystopic world that our world outside of this fiction is headed towards.
One important note: not all novels are to be read just for entertainment. If you read the original one as entertainment and still follow the wrong ideas it has you have lost the original use of literature: to educate oneself.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 5, 2023
Dual interest theory (DIT) at play
Multilevel Selection Theory ( MLTS) is the Evolutionary Biology side foundation under DIT in Metaeconomics. MLTS and DIT make sense of the key role of the shared interest, the other-interest in DIT, in tempering the selfish self-interest.
Multilevel Selection Theory ( MLTS) is the Evolutionary Biology side foundation under DIT in Metaeconomics. MLTS and DIT make sense of the key role of the shared interest, the other-interest in DIT, in tempering the selfish self-interest.
October 24, 2023
Challenging, interesting, and scientifically literate discussion of possibilities for the future.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews