Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand
Photo of Ayn Rand
Rand in 1943
Native name
Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум
BornAlisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum
(1905-02-02)February 2, 1905
Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire
DiedMarch 6, 1982(1982-03-06) (aged 77)
New York City, U.S.
Pen nameAyn Rand
Occupation
  • Author
  • philosopher
Language
  • English
  • Russian
Citizenship
  • Russia (until 1931)[a]
  • United States (from 1931)
Alma materLeningrad State University
Period1934–1982
Notable worksFull list
Spouse
(m. 1929; died 1979)
[b]
Signature
Ayn Rand

Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;[c] February 2 [O.S. January 20], 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (/n/ EYEN), was a Russian-born American author and philosopher.[3] She is known for her fiction and for developing a philosophical system she named Objectivism. Born and educated in Russia, she moved to the United States in 1926. After two early novels that were initially unsuccessful and two Broadway plays, Rand achieved fame with her 1943 novel The Fountainhead. In 1957, she published her best-selling work, the novel Atlas Shrugged. Afterward, until her death in 1982, she turned to non-fiction to promote her philosophy, publishing her own periodicals and releasing several collections of essays.

Rand advocated reason and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism as opposed to altruism and hedonism. In politics, she condemned the initiation of force as immoral and supported laissez-faire capitalism, which she defined as the system based on recognizing individual rights, including private property rights. Although she opposed libertarianism, which she viewed as anarchism, Rand is often associated with the modern libertarian movement in the United States. In art, she promoted romantic realism. She was sharply critical of most philosophers and philosophical traditions known to her, with a few exceptions.

Rand's books have sold over 37 million copies. Her fiction received mixed reviews from literary critics, with reviews becoming more negative for her later work.[4] Although academic interest in her ideas has grown since her death,[5] academic philosophers have generally ignored or rejected Rand's philosophy, arguing that she has a polemical approach and that her work lacks methodological rigor.[3] Her writings have politically influenced some right-libertarians and conservatives. The Objectivist movement circulates her ideas, both to the public and in academic settings.


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  1. ^ Heller 2009, p. 65.
  2. ^ Gladstein 1999, p. 121.
  3. ^ a b Badhwar & Long 2020.
  4. ^ Gladstein 1999, pp. 117–119.
  5. ^ Cocks 2020, p. 15.