Would Rand Still Be An Atheist Today?

Honestly, I don't think so. In light of the scientific developments since her death in 1982, I think Ayn Rand would be a "believer" if she were alive today. Like another prominent atheist, Anthony Flew, I'm pretty sure she would "follow the evidence wherever it leads" - even if it directly contradicted literally decades of her literary work. After all, atheism was never fundamental to "Objectivism." It was only a product of it. And therefore, it could be removed relatively easily.

In fact, if I recall correctly, when I read the book, The Letters of Ayn Rand a few years back, there was a letter from Ms. Rand in which she said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "I know plenty of good reasons for the existence of God, but they're not the ones other people mention." There was also a note from the editor saying that Ms. Rand never elaborated on what those reasons might be! Talk about a missed opportunity! Anyway, I tried finding this quote through the Internet, but I wasn't successful. And I no longer have a copy of the book. So you'll just have to take my word for it!

But I digress...while looking for that quote, I found some intellectual nuggets on the relationship between Ayn Rand and Darwinism...

The Conservapedia page on Objectivism relates this story...

Rand was not willing to accept the theory of evolution as more than an hypothesis. She couldn't accept creation, but evolution discomfited her nevertheless--perhaps because it blurred the distinction between man and animal.

In regard to this last: Diana Mertz Hsieh accuses Branden of distorting Rand on this point, and says that Rand refused to endorse evolution merely because she believed she did not have the required scientific knowledge to make an informed judgement.

In actual fact, Branden details that conversation: I remember being astonished to hear her say one day, "After all, the theory of evolution is only a hypothesis."

I asked her, "Ayn, you mean you seriously doubt that more complex life forms, including humans, evolved from less complex life forms?"

She shrugged and responded, "I'm really not prepared to say," or words to that effect.

I do not mean to imply that she wanted to substitute for the theory of evolution the religious belief that we are all God's creation; but there was definitely something about the concept of evolution that made her uncomfortable.

What that something was, Branden never said. Neil Parille offers this explanation: that evolution cannot explain the development of consciousness, and that some of evolution's proponents, among them Ernst Haeckel, put Rand off by their explicit rejection of the human will.

Then there's this article, Ayn Rand and Evolution, by Neil Parille...

Parille quotes Rand...

"I am not a student of the theory of evolution and, therefore, I am neither its supporter nor its opponent. But a certain hypothesis has haunted me for years; I want to stress that it is only hypothesis. There is an enormous breach of continuity between nature and man’s consciousness, in its distinctive characteristic: his conceptual faculty. It is as if, after aeons of physiological development, the evolutionary process altered its course, and the higher stages of development focused primarily on the consciousness of living species, not their bodies. But the development of a man’s consciousness is volitional: no matter what the innate degree of intelligence he must develop it, he must learn how to use it, he must become human by choice. What if he does not choose to? Then he becomes a transitional phenomenon—a desperate creature that struggles frantically against his own nature, longing for effortless “safety” of an animal’s consciousness, which he cannot recapture, and rebelling against a human consciousness, which he is afraid to achieve." (Rand, Philosophy: Who Needs It?, p. 45.)

According to Parille: "What is must curious about Rand’s hypothesis is her statement that it has 'haunted' her 'for years.' One wonders if what haunted Rand is the implication of her theory (which she made explicit in her journals) that at least some non-rational human beings are literally sub-human. Later, he says… Rand’s hesitation about evolution calls for an explanation. As Rand must have been aware, many religious conservatives (who were a frequent target of hers) reject evolution. There are a few possibilities for this hesitation.

First, evolution is generally seen as a deterministic and ultimately hostile to free will. (Machan, Ayn Rand, pp. 142-43.) For example, evolutionist Ernest Haeckel (1834-1919) asserted that free will had to be rejected along with other “cherished ideas” such as human immortality and a personal god. (Schwarz, Creation, p. 7.) Even before the advent of Darwinian evolution, materialists from Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) forward often rejected free will.

Second, if biological evolution is true, then many areas of philosophy might need to be reexamined. For example, how can man have a qualitatively different value from animals if is every bit a part of nature as animals?...One of La Mettrie’s (1709-1751) followers was the Marquis de Sade (1740-1814) who argued that 'If human passions are mere physiological itches, man’s proverbial dignity is a fraud, and there is nothing—not even our normal revulsion against rape and torture—to stand in the way of treating other human beings as sex tools. From the materialistic perspective, nothing can be entirely unnatural.'"

Clearly, Rand's followers today consider Objectivism to remain an atheist creed. But it's still intriguing that Rand herself was so ambiguous about Darwinism, and even offered hint of a possible spark of faith inside her. One can only wonder what she would say today.

-Todd