1 I actually looked into that particular schism. It's not easy to get the straight story, but it all started when Kelley gave a speech to a group of Libertarians. Some folks in the Objectivist camp disagreed with that, saying that the appearance provided moral sanction to a bunch of anarchists. Kelley responded with something along the lines that Libertarians need the Objectivist message, and that toleration of differing opinions was, in fact, a virtue. Since Rand nowhere mentions "toleration" as one of the Objectivist virtues, Peikoff came back with the "closed system" bit, saying that you're free to believe what you like, but you're not free to call the result Objectivism.

Try Googling for "Truth and Toleration", which was the name of Kelley's essay, if you'd like to find out more.

2 Yes, toleration is the center of this issue, but I wanted to point out that all I have found that Ayn Rand actually said homosexuals was that it is that she finds them very unfortunate. Plus, her doctor did prescribed a medicine for her to help her keep her shape, a type of amphetamines. Many years later, another Doctor saw what prescriptions she was taking and told her how bad it was for her to be on that particular medication, and she immediately stopped taking it. The same thing occurred when her doctor told her smoking is beginning to cause health problems. She immediately quit.

[Trey Givens repsonds] Thank you for pointing this out. I'm sure, however, you've heard of Objectivists taking a highly moralized position regarding homosexuality along with exalting the act of smoking which has long been held as unhealthy.

I'm inexperienced in Objectivist circles and that is why I have reserved unqualified judgment of either side. I have my initial thoughts on things, of course, but I remain reserved about it all because I admire Objectivism as a system of thought so much.

Specifically on the homosexuality topic, a topic you will note I take very personally, Chris Matthew Sciabarra has written the following:Rand herself said very little about homosexuality, and what she did say was particularly unflattering. The Objectivist literature included a few fleeting references to the subject; Rand was livid, for example, that some "Women's Libbers" were declaring "spiritual sisterhood with lesbians, "part of a set of such "repulsive . . . premises from so loathsome a sense of life that an accurate commentary would require the kind of language I do not like to see in print" ("The Age of Envy"). A few comments here and there ridiculing sensitive homosexuals or boys fleeing into homosexuality because of their fear of the opposite sex can be found in various early Objectivist publications. But no statement was quite as explicit as the one made by Rand, in 1971, during a question-and-answer session following her Ford Hall Forum lecture, "The Moratorium on Brains."

As I summarize in Ayn Rand: The Russian Radical:

Rand asserted that although every individual has a right to engage in any consensual sexual activity, homosexuality is a manifestation of psychological "flaws, corruptions, errors, unfortunate premises," and that it is both "immoral" and "disgusting." Ignoring factors of social environment and/or genetic-biological endowment, Rand viewed homosexuality as a moral issue, based on her implicit assumption that it was a consciously chosen behavior.

Of course, I have always believed that by describing homosexuality as "disgusting," Rand was probably not focusing on ethical concerns, so much as very specific sexual imagery that turned her stomach. After her death, Rand's attitudes were subsequently challenged - to varying degrees - by her successors, including Leonard Peikoff, Edith Packer, and Nathaniel Branden. As I state in Russian Radical, "these thinkers continue to regard homosexuality as a psychological detour from the norm, [but] they are less inclined to moralize about it."That quotation can be found in this essay: http://solohq.com/Articles/Sciabarra/Objectivism_and_Homosexuality_-_Again.shtml

Which I believe is actually the first part of his five-part essay on the topic. I can send you the links if you’re interested.

Thank you again for your comments!

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