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Online usersPollWhat should the government do about ailing financial institutions? Nothing, except to back off and get out—as any Objectivist knows, intervention is treating the disease with the disease 85% Intervene judiciously—enough to avert a catastrophe that is otherwise imminent 3% Intervene massively—as it's doing 2% Nationalize the whole economy and be done with it. Bring on the USSA! 2% Something else (specify) 8% Total votes: 59
 Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell
 Economics In One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt
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Nathaniel Branden's Psychology of Romantic Love Submitted by James Heaps-Nelson on Mon, 2006-01-23 18:45.
Given the nature and tone of the debate going on in the Betraying a Heroine thread and the fact that I'm still only 110 pages into PARC (I'm surprised so far. Valliant's tone is quite reasonable and the material is well-sourced. It's been slow going as I attempt to track down the sources and clarify my own recollections of what I've read), I thought I'd offer up a mini-summary of the main points in Nathaniel Branden's Psychology of Romantic Love which I think is a terrific book. One of my reasons for doing so is to highlight the stark contrast between his awful memoir and the terrific writings in psychology. My fear is that the negative reappraisal of Nathaniel Branden in the wake of PARC will keep many people from reading his books on psychology. That would be a huge mistake. In the Psychology of Romantic Love there is no mention of Rand, so she is not slandered in any way. Branden's slant is toward man/woman relationships as the subtitle: A New Vision of Man/Woman Relationships suggests. The following are important issues brought up in the book: Psychological Visibility: "...All life -by its very nature- entails a struggle, and struggle entails the possibility of defeat; we desire and find pleasure in seeing concrete instances of successful life as confirmation of the fact that successful life is possible. It is, in effect, a metaphysical experience..." Basic Similarities and Complementary Differences: "So here, in the area of vital similarities, we have the foundation of passionate romantic attraction. We are drawn to consciousnesses like our own. Admiration: For many people it is frightening to ask, "Do I admire my partner." It seems less frightening to ask, "Do I love my partner? Do I desire my partner? Do I have a pleasant time with my partner?" To ask, "Do I admire my partner?" is to risk discovering that I am bound to him or her more by dependency than admiration, more through immaturity of fear or "convenience" than genuine esteem. The Courage to Love: "In my experience a great deal of the so-called war of the sexes is a result of a fear of rejection, abandonment, or loss. Often men and women experience great resistance to owning how much they need each other, how important the opposite sex is for the enjoyment of life and the fulfillment of their own masculine or feminine potentialities. Often there is almost hatred of the fact that we need the opposite sex as much as we do." It is my hope that the above selections will spur comment and lead others to read this outstanding book. Jim
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Nathaniel Branden's Metaethics
Landon,
Thanks for commenting. And you're right. With the focus on PARC, the memoir and Benefits and Hazards. the writings on psychology are getting short shrift. Nathaniel Branden has a wealth of metaethical standing orders that help people to remain action-oriented, results-focused and purposeful.
A couple of my favorites:
Doing more of what doesn't work, doesn't work.
If you're going to accomplish anything worthwhile, you are going to know some fear.
Jim
Wow, trolling and he doesn't
Wow, trolling and he doesn't even understand the frickin arguement. And Jody if you're looking for a good place to start with Branden's non-official writings "Honoring the Self" and "The art of living consciously" are both great.
I guess with the arguments I'm seeing around, I just get sad when commenting about Branden's writing on psychology and how great it was/is (with a few notable exceptions whom Mr. Valliant or Fahey would be more than happy to point out).
"Mental Health Vs. Mysticism" has been invaluable to me in dealing with Amy's schizophrenia.
Life goes on I guess.
---Landon
It all basically comes back to fight or flight.
Brendan go away
I think he's disgusted by the fact that no one has given him his pacifier yet
.
Jim
Brenden go away
Stop being a troll. You've been in attack mode for the last several days ripping EVERYONE who has any connection to Objectivism. You aren't even an Objectivist. Why does any of this matter to you? What exactly are you disgusted with?
- Jason
More Brendan
I see you aren't through yet. If you post over on the Betraying a Heroine thread, you might even get James Valliant and Casey Fahy to rejoin and extend it to 200.
Jim
James: “Have you read the
James: “Have you read the book? We've had a whole 176 post thread to discuss how treacherous the Brandens are.”
Exactly. And have you ever come to a conclusion? Branden did. Took him a while, though. He had this lovely young hottie of a wife, and decided to throw her over in favour of a flaccid old bag with high maintenance. Ten years later it finally dawns on him he should have been with a young hottie all along.
Hello? Reality check. And 40 years on, we are expected to believe that this is a serious intellectual question? Young firm hottie: flaccid old bag? Not a hard choice. That’s the judgment I make about the quality of Branden’s work.
And if you think this made them happy, take a look at the wedding photo of the Blumenthals – have you even seen such a miserable bunch? Until you look in the background, and there you will see the little wizened-up face of the slightly merry alcoholic Frank.
I’m sorry, my disgust boils over. I must take a break
B
Brendan's illiteracy
Brendan,
Have you read the book? We've had a whole 176 post thread to discuss how treacherous the Brandens are. I wonder how many SOLOists have read enough of Nathaniel Branden's books on psychology to make any sort of judgment on the quality of his work.
Jim
Jody: “…given how crisp
Jody: “…given how crisp his articles were during the objectivist days...”
I’m sure Branden laid down many a crisp deposit in his day. The questions are: were the deposits fruitful or barren, and who cleaned the sheets?
There is a poison in Objectivism that is the spawn of these two mountebanks. Purge it from your systems before you die from the rancour of your worldly disgust.
B
James...
...Thanks for this recommendation. It sounds like an intelligent read. I have yet to read any of NB's post-"official" writings, but, given how crisp his articles were during the objectivist days, I've had a hankering to read some of his other stuff.