The Principle Behind the Dean

Article 168 of humanities.philosophy.objectivism:
Path: ai-lab!lechter.chautauqua.com!douzzer
From: douzzer@lechter.chautauqua.com (Daniel Pouzzner)
Newsgroups: humanities.philosophy.objectivism
Subject: Re: Objectivism's unpopularity-was: Brad Aisa's humanity
Date: 18 Oct 1996 07:27:06 GMT
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pmartin@csulb.edu asked:
>But now Objectivism is unpopular with these
>otherwise sensible folk too. Why should _they_ reject Rand's ideas?
>Derrida didn't make 'em do it. But what, then?

Many years ago, a cousin of mine presented me with a puzzle. He drew a
square matrix of nine dots, and challenged me to connect the dots
without retracing any lines. When I surrendered, he showed me how it
could be done, and the key was to swing some of the lines beyond the
boundaries of the square. The lesson was not lost on me.

The way to understand the allergic reaction with which most people
respond to Randian values is by thinking beyond the bounds of
philosophy, into the realms of sociology, psychology, and economics.

An individual who cultivates an emotional nature and focus consistent
with Rand's basic value system fulfills the prerequisites for becoming
an Objectivist. Once this has been accomplished, a consequent and
companion intellectual point of view develops naturally and easily.

Thus it is the cultivation of an appropriate emotional nature which is
the great barrier between the Objectivists and the rest.

Why is this so hard? Why is it so hard to _want to begin that
cultivation_?

Consider the incessant barrage of instructive experiences that
comprise the days of every human from their earliest days of
awareness. Most of the time, parents reward obedience and punish
independence. When the child is sent to school, be it public or
private, he is presented with an environment in which the rewards for
obedience and the punishments for independence and defiance are even
starker. He is taught that his immediate self-esteem *should* be
directly proportional to his grades, both absolutely and relative to
the grades of his classmates. He knows the teacher can demand
virtually anything of him within the context of the classwork, and he
knows the teacher can grade him based upon whimsy alone. If he dreams
of achievement, he probably dreams of college. He knows his grades are
important if he is to be admitted to, and be able to pay for, a good
college. So he is taught year after year that his will is subordinate
to other arbitrary wills, and that the means of his personal
achievement are predicated on the successful enlistment of support
from those he is subordinate to.

In this artificial pressure cooker, is it not surprising that many
students discover they can win, according to the rules set out for
them, by being second-handers, manipulators, social engineers, and
outright cheaters?

The price they pay at the time is very high, but the horrific reality
is that once they realize the high price they have paid, they continue
to choose as they have before, believing the price is already paid.
They further distance themselves from the world of authentic
first-handers.

By the time these children are adults, they are so completely given
over to the world of the second-hander that they can experience a
first-hander's extension of an olive branch only as an affront.  The
barrier is psychological, but not "just psychological." This barrier
is very real.

I now return to the specific example of the career academician.

An academician is a man who has played by the rules to the end,
jumping through every hoop, every signature on every thesis, every
entrance exam, every plea with every arbitrary referee and advisor,
every requirement in every curriculum, every problem set, every lab,
and all the right "extra-curricular" activities. Sound tiresome?
Sound demoralizing? To be sure! After the child chooses to believe the
orthodox definitions of achievement and its means, the child becomes a
man who is dedicated to the means and actualities of orthodox
achievement.

Objectivism says to this man, You are terribly wrong, You have
committed an almost unspeakable crime against yourself, You have
wasted so much and so soiled yourself.

Objectivism asserts (rightly) that achievement is simply the
externalization and unadultered actualization of the greatness
inherent and unique to the able individual. Evil is simply that which
impedes this actualization.

Objectivism also asserts that achievement of this type is the only
source of immediate, lasting, robust joy for man.

When such a man as the academician I have described is presented with
such a proposition, he cannot afford to believe it, because his
torment would be greater than the meager remains of his courage can
support. He is all the more terrified when he recognizes the complete
honesty of the Objectivist.  This man is a great enemy of the
Objectivists. In a world of Objectivists, he has no power base. Every
Objectivist reminds him of his weakness and failure. In his
concomitant mission to destroy the Objectivist, he manipulates
curricula, policy, and law.

This is the principle behind the dean.

-Daniel Pouzzner
 System Architect