Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies

by George H. Smith

In this wide-ranging collection of articles, essays, and speeches, George H. Smith analyzes atheism and its relevance to society today.The featured essay in this volume provides a full analysis of Ayn Rand's unique contribution to atheism, explaining how her objectivist metaphysics and laissez-faire economic principles rested on a purely godless worldview. Several chapters address the evolution of atheism; arguments in favor of religious toleration; the efforts of early Church fathers to discredit Roman polytheism and how these arguments can be used with equal force against later Christian descriptions of God; and a survey of the contributions to freethought made by the deists of the 18th and 19th centuries.With incisive logic and considerable wit, Smith ties atheism to reason and argues that reason itself can be a moral virtue. In one penetrating chapter, Smith salutes three Christian theorists who he believes embody the spirit of Thomas Aquinas, Desiderius Erasmus, and John Locke. This is followed by a philosophical drubbing of his "least favorite Christians" - St. Paul, St. Augustine, and John Calvin. In subsequent chapters, Smith examines religion and education; addresses the 20th century fundamentalist revival; offers suggestions on how to debate atheism with religious believers; critiques "new religions," including pop therapy, est, and tranactional analysis; and provides a comprehensive bibliographic essay on the literature of freethought.

Genres: Philosophy, Atheism

324 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1990

About the author

George Hamilton Smith was an American author, editor, educator, and speaker, known for his writings on atheism and libertarianism.

Reviews

[Eric_W · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heresy, Smith defines in his preface, is the rejection of the orthodox, and heresies are considered a threat to the established social order once the dogma of the institution (be it religious or otherwise) has become aligned with the power of the state or political force. The state, holding the reins of power, uses force, instead of persuasion, to enforce the orthodoxy. The Founding Fathers, most practicing Deists, itself a form of heretical thought, understood this and insisted on the separation of church and state, thus preventing the establishment of an official religion, preventing, they hoped, official heresies as well. Orthodoxy itself is not dangerous, only its alliance with political power. The central theme of Smith's book is the "crucial difference between the voluntary orthodoxy of organizations and the politicized orthodoxy of governments. "A free society, complete with orthodoxies and prejudices, is the best of all worlds for the heretic. Liberty permits the heretic to pit his beliefs against those of the orthodox majority." The paradox for the heretic is whether if and when his view becomes the dominant - to politicize the new orthodoxy or to permit liberty, which enabled the heretic to conquer ideologically, to possibly undermine the new orthodoxy?

Smith is unapologetically atheist; belief in God for Smith is simply unreasonable and irrational. Asked to prove the nonexistence of God, Smith's answer is simply that one cannot prove a negative and that the person who asserts the existence of something bears the burden of proof. He asserts that to believe in faith or to rely on faith is to "defy and abandon the judgment of one's mind. Faith conflicts with reason. It cannot give you knowledge; it can only delude you into believing that you know more than you really do. Faith is intellectually dishonest, and it should be rejected by every person of integrity.

The book is a loosely connected series of essays that discuss a variety of Christian and social heresies. He begins with his own philosophic journey to atheism. He is certainly a libertarian, and the essays on public education and the War on Drugs reflect that philosophy. But the reason I began this book was to discover his writing about Ayn Rand. He devotes two substantial chapters to her and the Objectivist philosophy.

Rand evokes fierce passions, both pro and con. "Accounts of Objectivism written by Rand's admirers are frequently eulogistic and uncritical, whereas accounts written by her antagonists are often hostile and what is worse, embarrassingly inaccurate." The situation has been made worse by her appointed heir to the throne, Leonard Peikoff, who has declared Objectivism to be a "closed" philosophy, i.e., no critical analysis will be tolerated; one must accept it as he says it is and that's that. Whether Objectivism will survive such narrow-mindedness remains to be seen. It's a classic case of the true believer "unwilling to criticize the deity. Thinking for oneself is hard work so true believers recite catechisms and denounce heretics instead." Typically, this was contrary to Rand's philosophy of individualism and critical, rational thinking where "truth or falsehood must be one's sole concern and the sole criterion of judgment -- not anyone's approval or disapproval."

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of essays in three parts: "Atheism," "Ayn Rand," and "Other Heresies" (very clever, I know). The content can vary pretty wildly between sections so I'll give each an individual score.

"Atheism" ★★★★ | Mostly a very good overview of the history of freethought in (mostly) Western European societies and the United States, with plenty of bibliographical citations.

"Ayn Rand" ★★½ | Smith argues that Ayn Rand was an important philosopher, even though he himself moved on from Objectivism into a more general individualist/anarchist view. He also argues that the Objectivists made important (i.e., the correct) contribution to atheist arguments by emphasizing the burden of proof and rejecting god-claims on epistemological grounds. Big if true; but I definitely got the feeling that something was being left out.

"Other Heresies" ★★½ | Surprising absolutely nobody, the "other heresies" are libertarian in nature, and range from mildly interesting to "deduction from natural rights" wanking-off. The article comparing the War on Drugs to the Catholic Inquisition was particularly dire, as it rests entirely on the similar rhetoric of "righteous persecution" and completely ignores any obvious differences between narcotic substances and books. (Namely, books are not toxic.) That should be addressed before affording drugs the same ironclad right to free circulation as books. (Of course, fuck the war on drugs, but still, no credit for missing an obvious sticking point.)

Overall the book rates ★★★½ or ★★★ depending on your various interests (and YMMV to the extent that you're even partially sympathetic to libertarian/individualist/non-Marxist-anarchist positions). Smith is a competent and lucid writer, and I wouldn't mind reading more of his articles. The book itself is in need of better copyediting, as there seemed to be a higher number of typos than I expect (that is, one or two, maybe) in a professionally-published book.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A COLLECTION OF ESSAYS BY A REKNOWNED LIBERTARIAN ATHEIST

George Hamilton Smith (born 1949) is an American author, who has also taught classes under the auspices of the Cato Institute and the Institute for Humane Studies; and served as General Editor of Knowledge Products, and was scriptwriter for their "Great Political Thinkers" series. He has written other books such as 'Atheism: The Case Against God' and 'Why Atheism?'

The essays in this 1991 collection are subdivided into three categories: Atheism; Ayn Rand; and Other Heresies (e.g., "Drug Consumers and Other Heretics," "Children's Rights in Political Philosophy," etc.).

In the opening essay, "My Path to Atheism," he recalls that Rand's lasting influence on him, as well as on thousands of other young people, was "to convince me... that ideas MATTER." (Pg. 30) He states that atheism is "not a belief; it is the absence of belief." The atheist is not a person who believes that a god does not exist; he does not believe in the existence of a god. (Pg. 183)

He rejects the "psychological atheism" of Freud and Feuerbach (i.e., that God is a "projection") on the grounds that they commit the genetic fallacy, which is the attempt to refute a belief through an examination of its psychological origins. (Pg. 185) He also criticizes linguistic philosophy: "Whereas medieval theologians made philosophy into the handmaiden of theology, analysts have transformed philosophy into the handmaiden of language." (Pg. 190)

He criticizes Rand for rarely quoting anyone except herself, and for actions such as criticizing John Rawls' book A Theory of Justice: Original Edition based on a book review, rather than actually reading the book. Smith comments, "Having herself been victimized by such tactics, one would have expected better from Rand." (Pg. 214-215)

Smith's observations are always thought-provoking, and well worth reading for any students of philosophy in general, or Objectivism or atheism in particular.

[Jeffrey Falk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is perhaps best understood as the George H. Smith reader and has a slightly misleading title. It is best when it functions as a temporal and intellectual history of various "heresies" (including those within Christianity, including Anabaptists, though the Manichean heresy is inexplicably not mentioned). When Smith presents his own views, it is weaker, particularly in his closing essay "Justice Entrepreneurship in a Free Market". While it is hard to agree with some of his opinions on the Objectivist Movement, he has some respectful insight on the nature of Objectivist ethics, its relationship to Aristotelian ethics, and the difficulty and mistakes of some of Rand's admirers as they try to apply them. Thanks to the inestimable Steven Schub for lending me this one.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron and I read the essays that we were interested in during our trip. Well-written and sensible, like all George H. Smith that I've read. I don't much care to read about atheism, but I found his essays about Objectivism, the history of children's rights, and third party defense very interesting indeed. Once again, he convinced me that Herbert Spenser should be reading for me, and soon.

[Craig Bolton]

"Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies by George H. Smith (1991)"