Is Ayn Rand and Objectivism anti-acadamic?
I do not believe Rand’s Objectivism is anti-academic. I think it is more accurate to say that much of academia is critical of Rand’s philosophy. Criticism is fair and should be given to all philosophical positions, so Objectivism need not feel picked on for being targeted in this fashion. Evidence of Rand’s view of academic life is plain from her works. Rand’s major characters in Atlas Shrugged were praised for their work as students together at the university. Their professor, at least until he “sold out,” was held in equally high esteem. Similarly, in The Fountainhead, it was made plain that Howard Roark was quite a strong student. Admittedly, academia frowned upon his rebelliousness, but I do not think that was a criticism of academics per se. Rather, I think that was a criticism of those who favored a well-packaged pseudo-intellectualism over a brutally honest real intellectualism. To your second question, Rand’s philosophy is often criticized for being elitist and selfish. Rand wo
