Comments for An Absence of Empathy at http://www.pacificfreepress.com , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.pacificfreepress.com Tue, 02 Dec 2008 08:41:33 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/2870-an-absence-of-empathy.html#comment-2079 Though I disagree with your claim that Ayn Rand is one of the founders of what you claim to be "regressivism," I merely wish to point out how you've quoted her out of context. Neither of the quotes you bring up have anything directly related to a "lack of empathy." Here's more context for your first quote: "Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage’s whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men." [The Soul of an Individualist, For the New Intellectual, 84] http://aynrandlexicon.org/lexicon/civilization.html Rand here is merely remarking that a civilized life allows people to engage in more and more private activities, without everyone in the city, state, etc. having to know their business, unlike primitive tribes. Nothing about empathy in that quote. Second quote: "Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life." [“Introducing Objectivism,” The Objectivist Newsletter, Aug. 1962, 35] http://aynrandlexicon.org/lexicon/objectivism.html Here, Rand is summarizing her view of morality, known as "rational egoism." The part you quoted refers to her belief that each person was an independent, sovereign entity, whom could not be morally ruled and destroyed by others, nor could anyone morally rule (sacrifice) others. This concerns the type of proper relationships humans could engage in, not a statement advocating the suppression of empathy. Thanks for your time. - Roderick Fitts Sat, 26 Jul 2008 06:30:21 +0100