RoR: Forum

Just in time for Christmas! I just received an email that the pre-ordered paperbacks start shipping tomorrow. I will formally review the book as soon as possible.

Post 1

Monday, December 21, 2009 - 8:27pm

You can read my review of the book here

Post 2

Monday, September 17, 2012 - 6:21am

Our local Ayn Rand Meetup has been discussing this book at the rate of one chapter per month. Chapter 16 on "The Psychology of Sex" proved the most dissatisfying to date. Branden totally omits the context of biology, evolution, and tribalism, crucial factors needed to explain how this psychology came to be. None of us found this to be anything close to a sound, concise treatment of the subject. Branden's later book The Psychology of Romantic Love does touch on these, but even that text could have used more fleshing of the biology (no pun intended). I also personally found the complete omission of any mention of contraception utterly evasive and inexcusable. The blurb about abortions at the end of the chapter hardly did justice to the relationship between making love and making babies.

Post 3

Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 3:21am

context, lads, context - in this case the difference of half a century and what was known in those times, and what was not.........

Post 4

Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 5:58am

Robert, please explain how Branden can legitimately omit the "probabilistic" causality between sexual intercourse and reproduction in his lecture. Even Ayn Rand at least mentioned this in her first novel when a character asked about how to prevent making babies. Too bad the question was never answered there. I find the abortion argument alone unsatisfying. If people are going to do this, they need to know more about how to prevent unwanted consequences. Condoms have been around for quite a long time, for instance. The cause of making babies has been known since the legend of Genesis, e.g. thousands of years.

(Edited by Luke Setzer on 9/20, 5:59am)

Post 5

Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 8:35am

Luke,

You said, "Branden totally omits the context of biology, evolution, and tribalism, crucial factors needed to explain how this psychology came to be." I'm not clear on what you mean. What explanation of the basic principles of psychology should have been in a book about the Objectivist philosophy but was missing?

In regards to contraception, it's a chapter on psychology in a philosophy book - not part of a Middle School health course. I think he assumed this audience knows where babies come from, how to use condoms, about STDs, etc.

Post 6

Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 8:52am

A single question: "Why?"

Why did humans come to value sex so highly?
Why do humans go to such extreme actions centered on the act?
Why did the proscriptions against the act arise?

We asked and answered these questions but they all came down to a single answer: "Tribalism." Proscriptions against birth control arise because the tribe needs more members to outsize enemy tribes and achieve safety in numbers. Proscriptions against fornication and adultery arise because the acts degrade accountability and increase jealousy within the tribe. You get the idea.

None of us has studied anthropology so likely there are deviations from these answers in parts of world history. But I see no sense in discussing psychology divorced from the wider context. This especially holds true given just how strongly the sexual urge demonstrates itself in so many ways for good and ill.

Post 7

Thursday, September 20, 2012 - 1:54pm

Luke,

Branden does give an explanation of the mystic's damnation of sex and the resulting laws against abortion. And he mentions that it is the mystics values that need to be addressed. And tribalism is the primitive collectivist's application of mysticism. But Branden is explaining the psychology of sex and he only addresses the morality of sex, or the history of sex, or the politics of sex as needed to discuss the psychology of sex.

I can see value in writing a broader chapter than he did, even if strays a bit from being psychology. Such a chapter could be labeled "Human Sexuality" instead of "Psychology of Sex" - but that isn't what he intended.

And, I just can't see your statement where you allege his "complete omission of any mention of contraception [is] utterly evasive and inexcusable." That seemed to be way over the top. I don't even understand what it is you're saying he is evading! {Neither Branden nor Rand were shy or deceptive in their approach to topics - it just wasn't in either of them to be evasive on any intellectual subject I can think of.)

And the idea of telling those people taking this philosophy course that contraceptives prevents pregnancy is not just straying away from philosophy and psychology, but is massively condescending - do you really think they don't understand where babies come from or what they need to do to prevent unwanted pregnancies?

Post 8

Friday, September 21, 2012 - 5:26am