Ayn Rand's Alleged Admiration for William Hickman
Webcast Q&A: 9 October 2011, Question 1
I answered a question on Ayn Rand's alleged admiration for William Hickman on 9 October 2011. You can listen to or download the podcast of just this question below – or check out the whole episode of Philosophy in Action Radio.
Did Ayn Rand draw inspiration from the serial-killer William Hickman? I ask due to this article by Mark Ames on Alternet: "Ayn Rand, Hugely Popular Author and Inspiration to Right-Wing Leaders, Was a Big Admirer of Serial Killer." According to the article, Rand idolized the serial killer William Hickman and used him as inspiration for the leads male characters in her books, notably Howard Roark. Also, Rand is said to seek an environment in which sociopaths like Hickman can thrive. Are these claims true or not? If so, would they affect the validity of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism?
My Answer, In Brief: The article is a baseless, dishonest smear. If a person wants to reject Ayn Rand's ideas, he should do so on the basis of her actual mature views, not invented claims based on private journal entries written when she was 23 about a long-since abandoned writing project.
Tags: Ayn Rand, Ethics, Literature, Philosophy, Psychology
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- Duration: 20:26
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Relevant Links
- The Journals of Ayn Rand (pages 20 to 48)
- "Don't Let it Go" by Ayn Rand in Philosophy: Who Needs It
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I'm Dr. Diana Brickell. I'm a philosopher specializing in the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. I received my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. My book, Responsibility & Luck: A Defense of Praise and Blame, is available for purchase in paperback and Kindle. The book defends the justice of moral praise and blame of persons using an Aristotelian theory of moral responsibility, thereby refuting Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck."
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