Would anyone following Jesus' ethical teachings, Love thy neighbor as thyself."subscribe to Rand's philosophy?

Question

Ayn Rand's philosophy illustrated in "Atlas Shrugged", explained later in the non-fiction philosopy book "Objectivism." Doesn't the principle of unselfish love and the philosophy of enlightened self-interest clash?

Answer 1

They most certainly do clash. You have your facts right. So where is the problem? Rand explained her use of the word "selfish," and said anyone who wanted to love others in order to help them--as in the Salvation Army, perhaps, or even as Mother Theresa--were free to do so. But do not confuse this course of action as "unselfish." If one "feels" the need to help others, it would not be in his own enlightened self-interest NOT to help them. Doing what one wants is selfish. Doing it BECAUSE Jesus said to is not enlightened; but doing it because one agrees with Jesus is. Doing ANYTHING because someone else invokes HIS morality OVER YOURS is unselfish, and therefore immoral.

Answer 2

There is no inherent conflict between enlightened self-interest and unselfish love. For example, take the college student who works at a charity over the summer in order to pad his resume. On the one hand, he is acting in his own self-interest so that he has a better-looking resume. On the other hand, he could have also chosen to do an internship at some company instead, but figured, hey, why not help some people out while I'm building my resume?

Also, loving others can certainly be in your own interest. Certainly, being a sociopath is NOT acting in your own best interests. Humans are social, networking animals that place value on the relationships amongst each other. As such, acting in a loving, compassionate way toward others can be a good thing for you and greatly heighten your standing in the community.

The only real incompatibility I see is that many Randians/Objectivists are atheists, so while they may follow a secular analog of "love thy neighbor" (the concept definitely is not original to xtianity), they would probably reject the more religious aspects of Jesus' teachings like worshiping or not working on the Sabbath.

Answer 3

Objectivism assumes an individual always remains an individual and that we will always treat each other in an I-it relationship. Objectivism is just a way to be selfish yet feel good about it.

Christianity teaches that love somehow erases the boundaries between people so that we will find it difficult to distinguish from ourselves to our beloved. The Christian view of love cannot be separated from the supernatural.

Answer 4

NOT AT ALL. ANYONE WHO IS INCAPABLE OF UNSELFISH LOVE IS INCAPABLE OF ENLIGHTENMENT.