An Open Letter to the Faculty of the Philosophy Departments of Ivy League Schools, Regarding the Teaching of Objectivism in College Classrooms
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 tr...