Source: Notablog
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
“Where do we draw the line between Rand’s basic philosophical views and her opinions on subjects as diverse as: the history of philosophy; the history of what I’ve called ‘capitalism, the known reality’ (versus Rand’s ‘unknown ideal’); the history of science and the meaning of various scientific theories; Rand’s evaluations of various thinkers; her rejection of the very idea of a woman president; her aesthetic evaluations of various painters, sculptors, and composers; her condemnation of Native Americans and Arabs as ‘savages?’ Are all her published and publicly stated views part of Objectivism? I don’t believe so. But if not, why not? And how do we determine this? … if every viewpoint ever expressed by Rand is constitutive of Objectivism, does the rejection of any specific Rand opinion mean that one cannot be classified as an Objectivist?” (07/21/25)