Whim Worshipping

I have always been confused by "whim worshipping" in the Objectivist context. This is roundly condemned but virtually all of my everyday actions are based on whims. What will I have for breakfast this morning? What will I wear? Maybe I'll see if there is anything interesting on SOLOHQ. But I don't think that's what Rand was referring to.— this are trivial things.

On the other hand, a major whim that would affect my life would be to, for instance, get a penis tattooed on my forehead (if I did it on the sperm of the moment, of course), or to decide to build a space ship and go to Venus. These are ridiculous examples but what are real examples of whim worship?

Is anything that deviates from a long term, rational goal a whim and to be condemned? Insight please.

Post 1

Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 3:09pm

Sam,

Well, I wouldn't exactly call your choice of what to eat for breakfast, a "whim"... it is based on real physiological cravings and nutritional requirements... Even the choice is not completely arbitrary; you could not rationally choose to eat light bulbs and bottle caps for breakfast... That would be a true whim.

But if you made a choice to get a penis tattoo on your forehead based on some fleeting impulse, that would be a whim. If, however, the shape of a penis had some important metaphysical connotation to you, then no, it would not be a whim.

I guess that was her point about whims.

I will also add, however, that whims could conceivably be better than some drawn-out, rational plan... Because it takes longer to construct a rational argument for why you should do something urgent, than simply going with the rapid, subconscious calculations that whims provide, let's say in the form of cravings.

In that example, I would say that sometimes obeying a whim could be a very good thing.

Post 2

Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 4:11pm

Thanks, Orion. The question remains, though — apparently some people "worship" whims, in the sense that they revere them and make them a central part of their lives ... at least that is what I get from the context of "whim worshipping" in Objectivism.

Post 3

Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 7:08pm

Here's an answer off the top of my head. Haven't checked if it's consistent with how others use it. So use your own judgment.

I believe the term "whim-worshipping" has to do with people who say that just because they want something, it's moral. I kind of hedonism, although at least hedonism aims at pleasure. Contrast this with Objectivism which would say "Okay. Fine. You want to do this one a whim. But is it right?". Basically, we maintain that your values and actions can be judged objectively. A whim-worshipper would ignore that and just accept it as good because they want it to be. It's kind of an extreme case of subjectivism.

Post 4

Saturday, June 26, 2004 - 7:42pm

Sam,

Okay, now I think I see what you're after...

Yes; I would say that you're right about that... it is a sort of addiction of worship, these whims. The way I look at it, it's a rush of pure ethereal power, for a person to be able to tell themselves that they can transcend the laws of natural consequence so much so that they can even live by whims.

I see it as a kind of vanity addiction, this pursuit of whim-worship.

By the way, if you want to see some hardcore whim-worshipping, rent the recent movie with MacCaulay? Culkin, called Party Monster, about the rise of the "club kid" scene in New York.

Post 5

Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 6:15am

Whim: "a capricious or eccentric and often sudden idea or turn of the mind"

I know that Rand was meticulous in her choice of words but I can't help thinking that perhaps what she meant was closer to a wish. The oft-heard sentiment of of beauty pageant contestants, "I'd like to rid the world of hunger" would belong to that category. Some people just identify an evil or shortcoming of society and advocate that it be done away with without any rational strategy or appreciation of negative ramifications. They just get to feel that they are good people.

Post 6

Sunday, June 27, 2004 - 12:40pm

Sam,

I don't think that's what she had in mind... I truly think she meant "whim". She meant those irresponsible, power-mad brats of all ages, who get off on flattering themselves with a lack of accountability... hence, "whims".

Whims and wishes are like apples and oranges, and as I see them, very different concepts.

A whim is worse than a wish, because a whim is actually put into action, with no pre- or after-thought as to consequences, whereas a wish is not put into action, only contemplated.

The upside of wishing is that a malevolent wish not put into practice, saves the individual and others from a certain measure of destruction. The downside is that a positive wish not put into practice, robs the individual and others from the benefits of whatever it might have been.

Post 7

Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 12:34pm

I just happened to be re-reading Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology and in the foreword Rand said, "The philosophers were unable to refute the Witch Doctor's claim that their concepts were as arbitrary as his whims and that their scientific knowledge has no greater metaphysical validity that his revelations." (This also statement occurs in For the New Intellectual.)

This makes a lot more sense to me in understanding what Rand meant by "whims". Witch doctors just make stuff up with no rational justification at all and their "patients" revere their proclamations.

Post 8

Friday, July 2, 2004 - 2:52pm

'A "whim" is a desire experienced by a person who does not know and does not care to discover its cause.'-- Ayn Rand, "The Objectivist Ethics," The Virtue of Selfishness

Perhaps the above definition will clear up what Rand meant by "whims." I assume when she spoke of whim-worshipping, she was in fact referring to people who blindly act on their desires, whatever those desires might be. Or perhaps more to the point, "whim-worshipping" is elevating your desires to be the standard of morality (i.e. "It is right because I desire it"). This, of course, is non-objective, irrational hedonism, and this is the reason it is roundly condemned.

Post 9

Friday, July 2, 2004 - 8:31pm

Thanks for your insight, Gordon.

Sam

Post 10

Monday, July 5, 2004 - 5:39am