Ayn Rand - No Proof of God

[@americancitizen748]

She was a gifted writer and a brilliant thinker.

[@lifeisabadjoke5750]

Lancelot Arc then why you watching her hypocrite.

[@jedimasterham2]

She may have been a gifted writer, but thinker? No. There were a number of statements she made which are fallacious and subjective.

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

@@jedimasterham2 how so I certainly don’t agree with her on everything but I wouldn’t say that.

[@FHARTZENGIGGLES]

I disagree. Look at society today. She was a an arrogant individual who never got to see the fruits of that arrogance and the lack of humility a foolish society today has.

[@Currer471]

Older Ayn Rand is my favorite. I think she mellowed out a little on her self-righteousness and became much more direct about her beliefs, rather than trying to make a name for herself. I love seeing an older woman like this having stuck to the same beliefs for decades, especially on atheism. She really was something.

[@Jazzper79]

@theyoungmrt 2/2 "I will not die" means her accomplishments. "The world will end" means her consciousness. Let me repeat: She was coming from a primary of consciousness attitude, she wanted to say that when her mind dies, the world i.e. her perception is gone forever.

[@Virtueman1]

The quote in the end is only meant poetically, not to be taken literally - her philosophy does not say the world disappears when one dies.

[@blahblah60]

So ahead of her time. It must have been lonely.

[@LaSouthernGemini]

Good point.

[@tragickingdom15]

I felt very lonely until I discovered her.

[@patrickmccarron5059]

The great philosopher she is paraphrasing "I will not die, it is the world that will end" at the end of this video is none other than herself. She is the great philosopher that she is quoting. She is quoting herself. Like the creation of life itself. Life created life.

[@JM-sj1rk]

It's Lucretius; the poem is "De Rerum Natura" ("on the nature of things"). And, as you said, it is a paraphrase.

[@steveouk90126]

The very first question is presumptive. When someone asks, "You do not accept the existence of God?", the correct answer is: "None of them. Not gods, not goddesses, not faeries, not djinn, not werewolves, not demigods--nothing." The arrogance of the Judeo-Christian construct is that it dismisses all the other supernatural fantasies and presumes that only its version exists. But confronted with the fact that there's just as much reason to believe in billions of other beings (3.3B in the Hindu faith alone), they immediately discover basic Atheism.

[@Pani-y2g]

Wonderful writer and woman

[@yapchunglabhutia9000]

Outrageous to see how television was staging her all the time to insult her..

[@jedimasterham2]

I guess it's a consequence of promoting sociopathy and narcissism.

[@kangaroo3708]

The host defended her like 50 seconds into the clip

[@apokalypthoapokalypsys9573]

​@@jedimasterham2looks like a collectivist is triggered by the thought of not being pampered undeservedly by others.

[@rithvikreddy8621]

Such intensity 🔥 what a women💯

[@DoomResetR]

It's incredible how much Christian hate us for pointing out the obvious (not talking about the existence of God or not, but about how very little progress has been made during 2000 years of Christian philosophy and how all the "proofs" produced had logical inconsistencies, even Aquinas admitted that all his formalisms were for the pious and believers and not for those who looked for evidence)

[@Jazzper79]

@theyoungmrt You think she is making a contradiction here? - Guy, the first person to discover a contradiction is Ayn Rand. I think you are underestimating her intelligence A LOT. She was not making a philosophical statement when she said that. She was talking about her view of death, and she is by the sentence implying NO AFTERLIFE. Suppose the sentence was: I will die, it is the world that will not end" - That could mean that she would come back from the death.

[@ClassicalTheist]

It's amazing how she champions Aristotle so much and yet it was Aristotle who argued for the unmoved mover.

[@kevinphillips404]

Denying reason by being illogical.

[@afocusonsatisfaction]

Rand was a woman of contrasts- atheist, but a strong proponent of objective morality. Libertarian in nature, but vehemently in denial of it. In my honest opinion, the only thing she wrote that was of much real value was Anthem, and that's one of her shorter works. Atlas Shrugged is a complete snore-fest.

[@sonrouge]

Christopher Pennington Morality has to be objective or it doesn't exist.

[@LizaFan]

Why?

[@apokalypthoapokalypsys9573]

​@@sonrougemorality is objective for all beings who feel suffering objectively. No god required.

[@HotelEarth]

What Rand gets right is the subjective nature of reality. For all the hard facts thrown at us, we are essentially brief incarnations of eternity. Existence is permanent as long as we breath and utterly non existent when we stop breathing.

[@resgresg]

I'm not sure you're completely correct on that one mah dude

[@kitchencarvings4621]

I can't believe that in 9 years, no one called this person out on this. This person is shockingly ignorant of what Rand actually said. Do you know why she called her philosophy Objectivism? It's because Objectivism is entirely consistent with the primacy of the object in the subject-object relationship. In other words, reality is an objective absolute.

[@pleaseenteraname1103]

I admire Rand’s work, what does statement that you can’t prove a negative is complete nonsense itself refuteing, because that was in itself is a negative statement, so if the statement that you can’t prove a negative is True, then that means that you can prove negative because if that negative statement is true. It’s not a law of logic either there’s literally a law of logic dedicated to proving a negative it’s called the law of non-contradiction.

[@Jazzper79]

@Jazzper79 Correction: She was NOT coming from a primary of consciousness attitude. Sorry for the mistake.

[@Foxie635]

She’s so smart

[@saire1th627]

*We can't prove a negative*

[@kitchencarvings4621]

But we can prove that the positive claim that God exists is false.

[@alanthorpe3640]

We should reject every idea that involves imposing views on us and attempts to control how we behave.

[@airgin3000]

That is retarded.... stop being childish. Control how you behave is literally every single law in existence. Drunk driving? Indecent exposure? Do you want guys walking around with there dicks out of public?

[@geethamadhuri4.033]

Super

[@wc7zr]

This is under the guise of secularism that limits God to a being. What God is between humans is the excuse we make to exist over one another. If that answer can’t be rationalized to an entity outside of creation, than you cannot be a moral person bc your mediator isn’t objectively neutral, but is instead in an entity that you can associate with in order to rationalize your right to exist over someone else. Our argument to exist when challenged is what steers us into faith.

[@MrEverth007]

Genius woman.

[@saire1th627]

1:33😂😂😂😂😁

[@mr.grumpyface527]

I don't understand the "prove a negative " statement. Don't scientists do this all the time?

[@Rhino1188]

i.e. there is no evidence that there is a floating teapot beyond Saturn, why would you believe it?

[@thetriiiippyredneck3561]

Another way of putting it is the burden of proof is on the person making the claim that God exists.

[@americancitizen748]

How big is the teapot? Is it full or empty?

[@vidyanandbapat8032]

Russell's Teapot or The famous invisible pink Unicorn. Hahaha. You cannot technically disprove the existence of an IPU, it does not at all mean that it does exist.

[@vidyanandbapat8032]

Russell's Teapot or The famous invisible pink Unicorn. Hahaha. You cannot technically disprove the existence of an IPU, because being invisible, it's neither probable nor disprovable by definition, it does not at all mean that it does exist.

[@lovebeast6653]

There is a limit to reason. There are limits to the mind. Reason takes second place to God. This is a divine principle. You can choose of free will to disregard the divine. Adam and Eve had proof in themselves. You are living proof of God. Creation screams of God. What is the reason for your heart working so well? What is the reason your lungs work for you and your stomach serves you? The heart receives no compensation necessarily except that you eat and it is nourished but you eat because you crave it and it also brings you pleasure. So you are rewarded in the effort to sustain yourself and give to your heart the necessary nourishment it requires which it is unconscious of. Yet it works for you. Why? Even your hunger mechanism

[@joebuydem]

You presuppose the existence of god with out proof of it’s being an existent.

[@IlicSorrentino]

Why the interviewer is so unpolite? I mean I am agree with the lady but in primis is an old smart lady so... why be so unpolite? It's probably a strong sign of inner stupidity. non english native speaking sorry for mistakes.

[@vidyanandbapat8032]

Ilic Sorrentino Atheists don't get offended very easily. That's the work of religious people.

[@sdprz7893]

@@vidyanandbapat8032 FACTS

[@jdsheleg8332]

It is all part of the show. They are often briefed before the show, they know what is coming. Besides that, the interviewer is aware that she can easily make a "intellectual pretzel" out of him.

[@patrickwithee7625]

I find it odd that she doesn't make reference to the axiom of existence to refute--not just argue against--the belief in a god. If god is necessarily existent and necessarily conscious, he cannot be real.

[@stewartmair3995]

I know this comment is five years old, but could you elaborate on this, it seems interesting

[@patrickwithee7625]

If god is omniscient and conscious, god is also the subject of experience. If god exists and created all of reality, then s/he must have experienced its creation. But, before creation there was nothing to experience because there was no time for an experience to happen.

[@kitchencarvings4621]

Possibly because the audience' eyes would glaze over if she started using technical terms like that. The average person does not understand what an axiom is or a fundamental, self-evident, conceptually irreducible starting point. They don't know what a starting point is or what theirs is so she explained it in simpler more common terms.

[@keesdenheijer7283]

This man would be foolish enough to call Bertrand Russell arrogant.

[@gambinalvarezjesusdavid3454]

You'd be foolish enough to call Werner Heisenberg, Kurt Gödel, Blaise Pascal, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, etc. arrogant people (all of them Christians, Gödel believed in a Personal God as he himself testified, and he also read the Christian Bible regularly as her wife testified). It's easy to play that game.

[@Jazzper79]

@theyoungmrt Okay, and I am saying how can you agree with 99% of her philosophy, when you disagree with that kind of basic stuff. Her whole philosophy is based on the fact that reality exist independent of man's mind, but man has the faculty of reason to understand it.

[@petrockanroll]

These comments aren't genuine

[@primitivepatriot]

What the hell is that supposed to mean? I just said you shouldn't judge a label, because the word 'atheism' says nothing about a person's beliefs, it only addresses the rejection of the claim that a god exists. What does my username have to do with anything? Are you seriously that infantile?

[@SoteriosXI]

"You are never called upon to prove a negative" is definitely not a law of logic.

[@SoteriosXI]

Ya, her language is really fuddled. When she says "there is no proof (of the existence of a God)" does she mean "there's no proof that has been discovered" or does she mean "there is no proof that can be made since there is no God"? Probably the former. Also, when she said "You are never called upon to prove a negative", what she probably meant to say was "you are never called upon to prove something false if you don't have a proof for it being true" which makes a lot more sense.

[@Stalysfa]

What she just meant is that you can't prove something doesn't exist. The only thing you can do is prove something exists. Like, you can't prove that there aren't any flying monkeys living inside a planet in Proxima Centauris. Technically, you can't prove there aren't. But right now I can't prove there are. Therefore, we shall not consider this as something which exist for now. This logic then applies to whether of not God exists.

[@americancitizen748]

I compare this with the idea in the American justice system that you are not obligated to prove yourself innocent when you are accused of a crime - but the person accusing you is obligated to prove that you are guilty.

[@americancitizen748]

You cannot prove or disprove the existence of God because that would subject God to the intellectual powers of man and make God less than all-powerful. We have faith, not proof. With that said, I have no faith that God exists. But I don't have to prove it to you.

[@vidyanandbapat8032]

American Citizen Absolutely right. That's everyone's indiv8dual liberty. But it cannot be put forth as a scientific fact.

[@imaginativelads]

The real problem with Ayn Rand is not that she was an atheist, but that she had no natural affection for humanity unless they were wealthy. She also fails to define what "acting in ones own self interest" means. Does she mean a constructive long term self interest or it's more destructive counterpart short term interest? Ayn Rand enthusiasts will not, because they can not, answer that question. Henry Ford was a decent example of an industrialist who acted in his own long term self interest by raising the wages of his employees from $ 2.50 to $5.00 a day, an unprecedented wage for that period of time and a good example of how her philosophy could work, if everyone acted in their long term self interest, not in their short term self interest. Unfortunately, because she failed to define the two, she will always be a 2nd rate Nietzsche.

[@primitivepatriot]

"secularism has killed more then any religion." Please provide your sources for this claim. And by sources, I don't mean whatever creationist webshite you got this idea from. I'm talking facts, figures, numbers, demonstrable evidence.

[@Jazzper79]

@theyoungmrt Of course reality can only be proved through human consciousness. And the only way to discover reality is using reason. She does not say that man is incapable of knowing reality - ("a provable reality independent of what we perceive")- she says that reality is that it is and that man can only know reality if he uses reason. That has nothing to do with subjectivism. Objectivism refers to that existence comes before consciousness.

[@kitchencarvings4621]

I know this comment is very old but I wanted to set the record straight here. Objectivism holds that we don't need to prove existence exists, we know it the first time we open our eyes. Before that even. We perceive existence directly and reason is the faculty that identifies what we perceive in the form of concepts. But if we had no perceptual awareness there'd be nothing to identify.

[@Jazzper79]

@@kitchencarvings4621 Could not have said it better myself.

[@itsddt]

Watch my recent video with my bro talking about his beliefs

[@Jazzper79]

@theyoungmrt Yeah? - But to disagree with the basics means that the foundation will collapse - in other words, how other words you have to live with a HUGE contradiction in your mind.

[@charandanta4573]

Ayn rand is a person, who is destroyer of reason because she can't find reason.

[@srinivaspillai4622]

You are never called to prove the negative, so God Himself does in the midst of people according to His word (Bible) the dead raise to life, the blind see, the deaf hear, the dumb speak and so on, this is proof, what evidence you need? Readers do not be deceived, God do exist, miracles happens all over the world where Jesus Christ name is taken.

[@bluesville13]

Period Jesus exists. Here we have a god who has been around. He can do anything. Yes science and our creator go together. He can do anthing. Here we have a perfect god. But has humans where being created . Thats when fear is put about. Judgemental attitudes arise. Religion is only a word. God is not to blame when groups of people get together then start arguing. This man is a supernatural God who came to take on the worlds sin. Like this Women who is talking absolute nonsence. We all die. Those of us whom commit ourselve to God will go to heaven. He left the world to get on with it after he arose again. Still some did not believe what they where seeing. Its not Rocket Science. You only have to take a ride in the country to see how beautiful it looks That had to be created. Everything has a creator. I have commited myself to the most beautiful God Of all,The lord Jesus Christ. He knocked on the door of my heart in 2008. A feeling that would not go away. I knew it was him. He never pushed himself. I knew it was my time to commit. One stupid arrogant man. Christopher Hitchens was arrogant and nasty to the core when putting his resdons for there being no God. He, like all of us will go before our God for his explanations as to why he denied him. I cannot wait for the day that l witness that. We are all sinners. The world is broken. l want to emulate Jesus. Ive said change me lord. chizzle away at my mind. So l can be like you. He is changing me. He lives within me. Believe you me.It is the best decision l have ever made. Even as a eight year old child l knew Jesus was my maker. I asked lots of questions. Thst is what our lord wants he loves it. I knew even at a young agd but l did not have the tools untill l got older. So l kept at it. Now 63 nearly. People only want to live for themselves. They l am certain are making the biggest mistake. Because He is about to return. We know not the Hour. So be ready. It may not happen in my life time. But be ready. Getting Drunk taking drugs. Financially getting out of control is a spiral downwood turn to the wrong place. Todays society is all about how beautiful do l look. I cannot be bothered to think about my neighbour. I must have the latest gadgets that give you a moments pleasure. But following jesus is more rewarding. There are so many youngsters in my church. Its wonderful. Church today offers the youngsters a different slant on Jesus. More relaxed. More fun and lovely youthful songs coupled with the originals. I live a proper wholesome life. Even though l am now disabled in my left leg. Through having a burst Aunersym. I am not stupid enough to say. This is Gods fault. Not at all. Its all in the bible. Why we get ill, why we die. The bible is food for the Christian person. I have always looked outside the box. What l said about Christopher Hitchins is my opinion only. I found him to be nasty and a bit on the evil side. Writing books as he did fine. Saying that he thought there where no god fine. It is how he said these things in Semanar's he was a very nasty man. Things he said about the Late Princess if Wales was nasty. A very unintelligent man. He will go before God!!!!

[@badgerlife9541]

Crazy that even half of a hundred years later, so many humans still believe in “a God” or an afterlife in some mystical realm 😂 What do you think happens to a flea after you kill it? What happens to the ant? The mosquito? Or a chimp in the forest? They’re gone, non-existent forever. You think they go to some “heaven” or “God”? Some judgement day for insects? 🤣🤣🤣 Our species goes exactly to the same place that all bacteria, plants, and animals go, because we’re animals. Simple non-existence.

[@pacifiedfools]

@theyoungmrt I'm in the same boat as you. Good point about the quote she used.

[@user-vv1do1wg1j]

What a brilliant woman that has contributed so much to man, such a shame that she burns in hell for eternity, whilst i disagree with 99% of what she says i can still value her insights.

[@zapkvr0101]

My word she was plain

[@TheGreyHollowRoad]

Belief in God is irrational, yet we don't think about the fact that rationality is present within purely irrational atoms that make up the grey jelly of the brain. Rationality itself is a supernatural gift of God.

[@BobDaPumpkin]

holy shit!! you just blow my mind

[@ApoloSh71]

They're actually pretty rational in the original meaning of the word :P anyways trying to extrapolate anything that happens in our life experience at our human scales to atomic scales it's pretty nonsense. We _cannot_ talk about it and it is somehow noumenic as Kant's God.

[@Stalysfa]

That just doesn't mean anything. Could be more clear in what you are saying ?

[@lifeisabadjoke5750]

Interesting

[@primitivepatriot]

Ornery? HA! You don't hear that everyday! My friend, you don't understand what immorality is. Imposing infinite punishment for finite "sin" is immoral. A religion that requires man to follow laws that god is allowed to break is immoral. To create humanity and allow it to suffer and die so that some might come to love you is selfish AND immoral. The flowery version of god in your mind is actually a pretty vile dude. Your blanket dismissal of atheists doesn't change that. Sorry.

[@solb101]

God is beyond the ego and pride of the intellect

[@apokalypthoapokalypsys9573]

Which god? Zeus?

[@mehmetokay7073]

As two dimensional as her characters.

[@petrockanroll]

What a demon

[@resgresg]

Who? Donahue?

[@aek12]

😂🤣 dogmatic people peed in their pants.

[@saviohermandsouza8734]

She's wrong. You can prove to yourself that God exists. Anyone can, and so can she, if she's willing to follow the method of scientific enquiry established by India's yogis that God exists. I dare her to first read "Autobiography of a Yogi" and follow the instructions of Sri Sri Paramahansa Yogananda on how to find the proof of the existence of God.

[@jebavjeb]

Where is the proof that god exists. Where? How did you prove it to yourself? Also she is not alive anymore.

[@lifeisabadjoke5750]

Bet.

[@harjasdhariwal5960]

@@jebavjeb the proof of god is to witness his love, he will come to you in mysterious ways and send his angels to communicate with you. God soothes in troubled times, the reason that we adopt must co exist with religion and you are to understand what god teaches. Many things cannot be proven yet they still are there. Anomolies we say.

[@badgerlife9541]

Crazy that even half of a hundred years later, so many humans still believe in “a God” or an afterlife in some mystical realm 😂 What do you think happens to a flea after you kill it? What happens to the ant? The mosquito? Or a chimp in the forest? They’re gone, non-existent forever. You think they go to some “heaven” or “God”? Some judgement day for insects? 🤣🤣🤣 Our species goes exactly to the same place that all bacteria, plants, and animals go, because we’re animals. Simple non-existence.

[@carolfights6747]

So sad that this brilliant woman was foolish to God. Look outside at a bee pollinating a flower, the birds migrating south, the sun setting, etc. and that's not to mention all the supernatural experiences people have. Proof is all around, but her own intellect made her too arrogant to see it.

[@Justin_Beaver564]

No Rand is correct. We shouldn't invent stories just because we don't know everything.

[@carolfights6747]

@@Justin_Beaver564 not made up stories. God's written Word.

[@Justin_Beaver564]

@@carolfights6747 Nope written by humans over hundreds of years. The Old Testament is Jewish nationalism, the New Testament is a cult of personality.

[@carolfights6747]

@@Justin_Beaver564 scholars and scribes have poured over these books yet beaver here believes he knows more. It's called having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth. Only being born again does that. You aren't and you are unable to know the truth until you willingly seek and receive. You've been blinded

[@Justin_Beaver564]

@@carolfights6747 I'm not blinded. I believe in humility and everyday I'm in a battle with my ego. I just believe it's a mistake to take something literally that we have no proof of. Just because we don't know or understand the universe doesn't mean we should make things up. A lot of the things you're talking about are also experienced by New Age spiritualists. Their's a "spiritual" part of the brain that is the same area stimulated by drugs and alcohol. Religion for a lot of people is a self induced high with little to no connection to history or reality.

[@lawgirl0]

She committed a basic fallacy of reasoning here. There is no proof therefore it is not true or does not exist is a common fallacy taught in basic logic (introductory philosophy course on argumentation and reasoning). I wish she showed more credibility as a philosopher and thinker...I'm not saying she is not smart

[@ourlordpapajohn4370]

Doesn't fallacy only apply when there is a Burden of Proof. Let me give you an example, I see that penguins are lizard who speak French. You may ask "What's your proof?". Well, I have none. You will probably say penguins are not French speaking lizards. If the tables were flipped and I said "Well there no proof the French speaking lizard penguins don't exist!". Then it would be a fallacy.

[@lawgirl0]

+Illuminati Duck Good morning! I'm getting ready to go somewhere but I will be happy to provide you with a link that may be interesting explaining fallacies. I took logic during obtaining a degree in Philosophy and learned about the fallacy. Perhaps my memory is tricking me but I will provide a fuller response when I can.

[@lawgirl0]

+Illuminati Duck You make a good point. I will think about it a little while because it makes sense.

[@Millionsofpeas]

Well that is the funny thing, Rand isn't a philosopher. The jury is still out on her being a thinker. To other folks who call themselves philosophers she is seen as a fraud. Philosophy, like all academic pursuits, is collaborative. You have to engage with the other people in your field. Build on their work, knock their work down, argue with them, and read their work. Ayn Rand didn't do that. She tried to build her philosophy from nothing and it shows. Also her novels are boring.

[@americancitizen748]

Let's say you are correct -- we must accept the possibility that God might exist. But with no other proof how can we make statements about the characteristics of God?

[@scotthullinger4684]

And guess what ... ? On the other hand, there is also NO proof that God does NOT exist.