Russell Hasan has published the following open letter to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, UPenn, Cornell, Brown, and Dartmouth philosophy departments:
Philosophy departments should achieve diversity and inclusion in philosophy, with more women and minorities in philosophy, so that the list of famous philosophers is not merely a list of old white men. Please let me put forward a suggestion for how to help: begin to teach the philosophy of Objectivism in the classroom. Assign “Atlas Shrugged” in your introductory philosophy classes, and offer seminars devoted to Objectivism. Ayn Rand was a woman, and an immigrant from Russia to the United States. I myself, Russell Hasan, am a contemporary Objectivist philosopher. I am openly LGBTQ and of mixed race.
What prevents you from doing this?
Mischaracterizations of Objectivism:
(1) Objectivism is an ideology, not a philosophy.
When you consider this statement, it does not make any sense, and is intended to insult Objectivism, not to convey truth. In academics, an ideology is something less that a political philosophy, which asserts that a certain economic system is superior. Objectivism does not fit the definition of an ideology; however, the definition of “ideology” itself is highly dubious, because every political ideology either is, or implies, a political philosophy. Socialism, for example, is an economic system and a political ideology and a political philosophy formed by the ideas of the various socialist political philosophers. Its ideological aspect does not prevent professors from taking it seriously.
Objectivism does not merely assert that capitalism is superior to socialism as an economic system, as an ideology would. Instead, Objectivism explains why capitalism is superior to socialism, using arguments that are distinctly philosophical, and grounded in logic, ethics, and political philosophy. Objectivism is a complete philosophy, which holds positions in metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, logic, political philosophy, economics, and aesthetics.
(2) Objectivism does not deserve to be taken seriously.
Who decides what is, or is not, a “real” philosophy? How is that decision made? On the basis of what criteria? Is Confucianism or Daoism or Stoicism a “real” philosophy? Is Existentialism a “real” philosophy? What does “real” mean in this context? Objectivism contains a serious set of ideas on subjects such as epistemology, ethics, logic, and political philosophy. You might not agree with those ideas, but your disagreement does not prove that those ideas are not legitimate or that they should be banished from intellectual debate.
(3) Objectivism is a form of elitism.
Objectivism does not believe that great human beings form an elite who should rule. Instead, it believes that every human being can, and should, achieve greatness, or seek and strive to do so.
(4) Objectivism is a form of Far-Right Conservatism.
Objectivism is an atheistic philosophy which asserts that reason is superior to faith. It does not collapse into or imply the Christian Far Right.
(5) Objectivism is a form of Neo-Modernism, not relevant in the Contemporary Era.
Objectivism believes in freedom, reason, logic, rationality, virtue, knowledge, science, industrial capitalism, and the existence of the external physical world. It holds these beliefs in a simple and sincere way. It does seem like it would have belonged more in the 1700s or 1800s, not in the Contemporary Era. But many details of Objectivism are unique and deserve study.
(6) Objectivism is not important to the history of philosophy.
Since its publication in 1957, “Atlas Shrugged” has had more influence in philosophy, as measured by number of readers, than, for example, Plato and Aristotle, or the German Idealists. My own books related to Objectivism have sold, or been downloaded for free, thousands of times. “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead” have both sold millions of copies and been read millions of times, and had a huge influence on American culture and politics, which make them important to the history of contemporary philosophy.
When you exclude Objectivism from the academic debate, you exclude one of the greatest woman philosophers of the contemporary era ever, Ayn Rand, and you also exclude me, Russell Hasan, a philosopher who is openly LGBTQ and of mixed race, and I also consider myself to be one of the best philosophers currently doing philosophy. Objectivism disagrees with most of the basic ideas taken for granted in academic philosophy, and we do things differently than you. I can understand that you don’t want to have to address a philosophy that calls your basic unquestioned beliefs into question and which asserts that most of what you believe is wrong. But that is not a rational grounds, in itself, to exclude us, if we make arguments that can be rationally understood and which make valid points, and if you have a sincere desire for a lively intellectual debate in academic philosophy.
I request that you add Objectivism to your academic curriculums immediately. Although I, Russell Hasan, am a nobody, and you are the great and powerful Ivy League, I write this letter, not in arrogance, but out of a humble desire to help you find new ways to meet your diversity and inclusion goals.
