William Lane Craig on Ayn Rand's Objectivism

http://www.reasonablefaith.org - Can Ayn Rand's objectivism account for morality and meaning in life? William Lane Craig says no.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• William
• Lane
• Craig
• Ayn
• Rand
• Objectivism
• Atlas
• Shrugged
• Morality
• Ethics
• Philosophy
• Atheism
• Apologetics
• Axiom
• Altruism

[jonathanaconway]

He's right about duty. Everything in the Objectivist ethics is explained in terms of reality and cause-and-effect, so there's no room for mystical floating abstractions like "duty".

Of course, since there's no after-life, Objectivist ethics is based on living well *in this world*.

It seems that William Craig's main critique is that Objectivism is based on reality, and doesn't cater to mystical "feeling-worship".

[needtoalwayslearn]

@StudentOfObjectivism What is so egotistical about "Do unto others as would they unto you" ?

[Fett4]

@numb1010 Brindow1 said, if there is no God, man would invent one; religion is not evidence-based but a "necessary" compulsion. But atheists are not compelled to invent a God, so belief cannot be a compulsion in the species, but a choice. Thus, there must be other observable evidence for people's beliefs, which could be anything: Newton said gravity was compelling evidence for God. I'm just exposing the contradiction in an ATHEIST saying, "Belief in God is an inherent compulsion of human nature"

[drcraigvideos]

@StudentOfObjectivism LOL! What a dodge. Is it so hard to answer a straight-forward question?

[StudentOfObjectivism]

@CloverfieldMonster95 Ayn Rand observed that christian ethics is about personal salvation and therefore has some traces of egoism. However, simply saying that you want to achieve something does not make it rational. For a conclusion to be rational it needs to be independently induced from concrete reality by a logical process. Can you honestly tell me that the evidence of your senses - not ideas passed to you from a book - made you conclude that there is a heaven?

[StudentOfObjectivism]

@phookadude Ridiculous question. I'd rather he didn't pull the trigger.

[phookadude]

Robber points a gun at your head, would you rather that robber be an athiest or a christian?

[aaronstately]

@UnderTheTunk If you are moral you die anyway.So what is the difference? Thats the point.If there is no god there is not obligation to be moral at all.If others "humans" find your ways "immoral" based on societal morays you could easily just flout them and do your own thing,if they pursue you to stop what you are doing you can just kill them because there is no obligation to your fellow man to be "moral" because as you said we are involved in a basic pursuit of life only.Life is the only value.

[UnderTheTunk]

Craig "can't see any reason" why Objectivism isn't arbitrary because he has no clue what he's on about.

Human beings are acting creatures involved in a basic pursuit of life. Even somebody who commits suicide can't plunge the knife in their chest without valuing life, since life is the ultimate means to all their actions.

So, if life is the ultimate value, then there are certain virtues every human being should cultivate.

And if you fail to be moral, you die! What could be more "accountable"?

[numb1010]

@Fett4 how do you go from the premise "atheism itself proves man does NOT need to create god" to conclude " if we do believe in him, it is because there's observable evidence to do so"? and please elaborate on that evidence :)

where did brindow1 say it's "an inherent quality of man that it must create a god to believe in"? not sure that's what he actually meant :) some people coming up with the idea of a super father does not mean everyone will. it's an easy explanation that's bound to come up