Barbara Branden on the Psychology of Ayn Rand

I hate people trying to explain her, she explain herself very well. She do not need any explanation from others who usually change what she stand for!

The problem with Ayn being as clever as she was, is that i doubt few if any people in her life had the willpower to hash out with her to get her to see her own self rationally. The singular problem with a great intellect is that you CAN and are capable of rationalizing just about anything morally.

I may be a terrible person. I could not read the story of Ayn's affair with Branden, and how it developed without laughing. So much intellect, so much philosophy, and not a smidgen of common sense...

This is a thoughtful and sensitive defense of a complicated woman who was dismissed, revered and vilified during her lifetime and continues to be. She is a feminist hero whether the ladies care to look up to her or not. Autonomous and gutsy. Controversial, creative, passionate and original. I love what Barbara has to say here. And she certainly has every reason to bash Rand.

I've got the itch to read Atlas Shrugged again!

interesting that Branden is so respectful of the woman who hurt her feelings, via the sexual liaison with her husband.

Another brilliant talk by the wise and deep Barbara Branden. Loved her biography of Ayn. 💚

What a lovely person this Barbara Branden seems to be. I went through my Ayn Rand "period" in the 60's. I loved her works, particularly her works "Anthem" and "We The Living." Her compassion toward humanity awakened in me a new depth of realization about the nature of the human condition. Then, in the 70's I got involved with a number of non-Aristotelian philosophies i.e., Alfred N. Whitehead and A. Korzybski and a number of gurus from India. Now, at 78, I am realizing that I've been a mystic-at-heart all along. I still believe in Jung and Joseph Campbell, and Chopin, fairytales and Mahler, and in a GOD That Is Incarnate as All That Is. Congratulations... on all of you who still breathe the free air of this world. Rt. Rev. Charles V. Davis, A.T.O.M.

Barbara Branden states that Ayn Rand's loneliness was rooted in the absence in her life of men like the heroes of which she wrote. Yet, Rand states, in the "About the Author" statement in the back of Atlas Shrugged: "I trust that no one will tell me that men such as I write about don't exist. That this book has been written—and published—in my proof that they do." In this matter, was Rand (to use her own words) "faking reality?"

Great talk! Thanks for the upload. Glad someone cared enough to save it all these years.

Barbara was a great woman. 

Alisa was a hero of another sort. She faced adversity from the beginning of her life, and like an affliction hurting one's self for satisfaction, she exemplifies the bravery of whistleblowers and inner integrity.

It's a shame that Rand never had a worthwhile adversary of equal calibre. The struggle would have strengthened her ideas, and I think she would have enjoyed it.

The Libertarians on the whole do not credit Ayn Rand, and the fundamental difference is the Libertarians' lack of objective ethics (as BB did state here at about 42min). But philosophically speaking you can't hold convictions in politics/economics without an objective moral code, to do so presents a mystical basis.

Ayn humiliated Barbara and Nathaniel. Ultimately she was dictatorial and utterly hypocritical. Her life was a travesty of her philosophy. Here Barbara sits as not telling the full story, merely a sycophant and spewing lies.

This video does well in describing the lives of many modern women today as they become more powerful and independent.

What do you think are the misrepresentations, out of interest? It was odd the way she started by claiming authority for claims she made about Rand, then later said she'd 'never understood' a fairly straightforward comment Rand had often made (namely the "fault of a virtue"). Also the nonsense about feminism and the inconsistent claims about her relationship with Frank O'Connor (she loved him the way he was, and was lonely for lack of a John Galt type man -- which was it?).

A young Walter Block asking question. :-)

Feminazi was a term used in 1986 lmao... damn.

First viewed July 2020. Pleasant surprise seeing Leon Louw (and his 'immediate superior' Frances Kendall) halfway through. Recognised him before he stated his name. Living in SA, too, but never met them. Aware of Leon's leadership in the Free Market Foundation, and have read his books. Always wondered if he ever had anything to do with Ayn Rand.