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Ayn Rand was wrong 2  Journal by daemonburrito  Ayn Rand was
wrong.  Rand asks us to take as a given that her conclusions
necessarily follow from a logical examination of humankind,
hence the term, "objectivism."  The sophism aside, the
scientific advances of the last 50 years make it near certain
that her conclusions were flawed; in particular, advances in the
understanding of animal behavior, neurology, and cognitive
science.  We now know that altruism and empathy are assets. We
know that they have a biological foundation. And, rationally, we
know that we possess these traits for an evolutionary reason.
If Rand could examine our existence with logic (as scientists
do) now, she would have to accept that her understanding of
human drives was, at best, incomplete.  But if she were alive
today, I don't think she would. Her examination was not, as she
believed, of the human condition; it was of herself.  She
dissected her own mind and found a person