I think this is intrinsic in any community of thinkers who are focused on optimality/rationality/etc in general, because inevitably people will feel differently on a given issue, and then everyone goes around blaming the other group that they aren’t really rational or optimal, etc.
That is at least “inevitable” in groups that habitually mistake feelings for something objective.
That being said, identifying optimal, mainstream positions of a given philosophy is absolutely good for the philosophy per se.
Good grief, how can you do that when there is no agreement about what optimal means?
That is at least “inevitable” in groups that habitually mistake feelings for something objective.
People inevitably feel differently on given issues in any group. Blaming the other side for not really being objective/rational/etc happens no more in Objectivism than any other group.
Let me add that there is no inherent propensity in Objectivism to substitute one’s feelings for objective evaluations; if that’s what you think, you’re misunderstanding something. For example, Ayn Rand had an entire branch of her philosophy talking about art, music, and “aesthetics” in general. Her opinion on music wasn’t purely based on her trying to pass off her personal feelings for an objective judgment, but rather was indeed a derivative position of her philosophical system. And there’s nothing wrong with trying to identify objectively best or optimal music or other things, that’s actually perfectly fine to do in philosophy—but if you’re going to use differences as a basis for building a community, you’re going to produce a horrible mess with schisms and splinter groups galore, which unfortunately hit the Objectivist community pretty badly. Hence: “firewall optimal philosophy from optimal community”
Good grief, how can you do that when there is no agreement about what optimal means?
Well each person does it for themselves. Naturally the creators and leaders in the philosophy set the mainstream (er, sort of by definition)...
That is at least “inevitable” in groups that habitually mistake feelings for something objective.
Good grief, how can you do that when there is no agreement about what optimal means?
Unilaterally.
People inevitably feel differently on given issues in any group. Blaming the other side for not really being objective/rational/etc happens no more in Objectivism than any other group.
Let me add that there is no inherent propensity in Objectivism to substitute one’s feelings for objective evaluations; if that’s what you think, you’re misunderstanding something. For example, Ayn Rand had an entire branch of her philosophy talking about art, music, and “aesthetics” in general. Her opinion on music wasn’t purely based on her trying to pass off her personal feelings for an objective judgment, but rather was indeed a derivative position of her philosophical system. And there’s nothing wrong with trying to identify objectively best or optimal music or other things, that’s actually perfectly fine to do in philosophy—but if you’re going to use differences as a basis for building a community, you’re going to produce a horrible mess with schisms and splinter groups galore, which unfortunately hit the Objectivist community pretty badly. Hence: “firewall optimal philosophy from optimal community”
Well each person does it for themselves. Naturally the creators and leaders in the philosophy set the mainstream (er, sort of by definition)...