Atheism, Ayn Rand, and other Heresies [Hardcover]

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."

Smith's discussion of Deism is the highlight of this book. As a philosophy accepting a god without a structured religious organization, Deism was a major theme among critics of Christianity. Abolishment of church hierarchies, with their inevitable moral and monetary corruption, led many thinkers to leave Christianity in favour of a personal relationship with a deity. Many of the Founding Fathers of the United States adhered to this view, a product of the European Enlightenment of the 18th Century. Arising coincidentally with many philosophies of personal freedom, it was almost inevitable that a nation experimenting with democratic ideals would espouse it. Smith's essay on the writings of Deists is enlightening.

Smith's discussion of Ayn Rand's ideas came as a bit of a shock. It's difficult to find anyone, apart from a few feminists, in this era who knows who she was. Smith's account of her life includes a smattering of choice quotations, but the brevity of the entries demonstrates the paucity of adherents. There is an Ayn Rand Institute site on the 'Net, but seems hardly worth the bother.

The two essays on public education and the War on Drugs are heartfelt expressions of a true libertarian. Neither will add to Smith's popularity in a nation where 'Christian virtues' reign with such strength, but they're required reading for anyone who wishes to understand views other than the accepted 'norm'. Smith appears to forget that public education in the United States, even given its Puritan foundation, was furthered by a desire to free education from the thrall of an Established Church. The struggling economy of a growing nation would have led more children into hazardous and fatiguing work situations from which they would never recovered. Extending the years of compulsory education freed many children and opened job opportunities. The result put more women into the work force, ultimately leading to improving their role in society.

Smith confesses his lack of a formal education, but he's certainly managed a wealth of research to produce this book. Not a deep study of the challenges to established thinking, this book is a valid starting point for those seeking further knowledge of libertarian thinking.

I wish I could give the book five stars, but there doesn't seem to be much of an underlying theme, as the title suggests. I would've liked to have seen something where the chapters lead to an inevitable conclusion, as in A:TCAG.