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Students of Objectivism

BY THE AUTHOR OF ATLAS SHRUGGED
AND THE FOUNTAINHEAD

`The Fountainhead' and

with additional articles by NATHANIEL BRANDEN

AYN RAND
The Virtue of
Selfishness

A NEW CONCEPT OF EGOISM

For the first time in book form, here are col-
lected articles on the ethics of objectivism,
the challenging philosophy that has forged
a revolution among today's Intellectuals.

t
t

`Atlas Shrugged' have many

Jews looking to the philosophy

behind Ayn Rand's novels.

RUTH UTTMANN STAFF WRITER

COVER STORY from page 1

is the concept of man as a hero-
ic being with his own happiness
as the moral purpose of his life,
with productive achievement as
his noblest activity, and reason
as his only absolute."
Thus stated Ayn Rand, moth-
er of Objectivism. Ms. Rand was
born to a Jewish family in St.
Petersburg before the Russian
Revolution. She later became
an atheist, immigrated to Amer-
ica and won controversial ac-
claim for her views on, well, just
about everything: politics, eco-
nomics, religion, art and edu-
cation.
Despite Ayn Rand's antago-
nistic stance toward religion,
many Jews are avid supporters
of her philosophy. Throughout
the nation and around the
world, including Israel, people
have been captivated and mo-
tivated by what she had to say.
Many supporters of the phi-
losophy have formed objectivist
clubs. During meetings, mem-
bers explore the philosophical

Ms. Rand's
(above) ethical
treatise.

A compilation (left)
of controversy.

a_

tenets of Objectivism, outlined
in Ms. Rand's novels, plays and
works of non-fiction.
In Michigan, at least three
objectivist clubs have formed:
in Detroit, Ann Arbor and East
Lansing. Jews comprise a sig-
nificant percentage of the clubs'
membership nationwide.
Quoting the Rabbi Hillel, Ayn
Rand once quipped that she
could explain Objectivism
"while standing on one foot."
The basic tenets fall into these
four categories:
1.Metaphysics: Objective Re-
ality
2. Epistemology: Reason
3. Ethics: Self-interest
4. Politics: Capitalism
Now for the puzzling, seem-
ingly contradictory facts. His-
tory has it that most Jews
believe in the supernatural.
Most base their belief in God on
faith, not reason. Sacrifice, not
selfishness, is considered a
virtue. And, when it comes to
politics, Jews have been notori-
ous Democrats, most often sid-
ing with left-wing leaders.
So why, given our track
record, are a significant num-
ber of Jews students of Objec-
tivism? To understand why they
support Ayn Rand, one must
understand the philosophy at
large.
Get ready for Philosophy
Class 101:
Metaphysics is the branch of
philosophy that studies exis-
tence. It tells human beings
what type of universe they live
in "...whether they live in a
world of solid entities, natural
laws, absolute facts, or in a
world of illusory fragments, un-
predictable miracles and cease-
less flux. It tells men whether
the things they perceive by their
senses and mind form a com-
prehensible reality with which
they can deal or some kind of
unreal appearance which leaves

