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This question is [[Conservapedia:Can Objectivism develop beyond Ayn Rand's original formulation?|debatable]]. Many students of Objectivism are not likely to admit that Ayn Rand's original system had any flaws. Branden, of course, asserted that Objectivism ''was'' flawed, but was not prepared to reject it entirely. He still found its emphasis on logic and of an independent reality important and beneficial.

This question is [[Conservapedia:Can Objectivism develop beyond Ayn Rand's original formulation?|debatable]]. Many students of Objectivism are not likely to admit that Ayn Rand's original system had any flaws. Branden, of course, asserted that Objectivism ''was'' flawed, but was not prepared to reject it entirely. He still found its emphasis on logic and of an independent reality important and beneficial.

Objectivism's chief limitation appears to be the unwillingness of its adherents and formulators to consider that anything might exist ''outside'' of perceptual reality, that might nevertheless influence that reality. This either led to, or followed from, the [[atheism]] that is one of this school's most prominent attributes. Branden reports one interesting interaction, however: Rand was not willing to accept the theory of [[evolution]] as more than an hypothesis. She couldn't accept [[Creationism|creation]], but evolution discomfited her nevertheless--perhaps because it blurred the distinction between man and animal.<ref name=BrandenBenHaz/>

Objectivism's chief limitation appears to be the unwillingness of its adherents and formulators to consider that anything might exist ''outside'' of perceptual reality, that might nevertheless influence that reality. This either led to, or followed from, the [[atheism]] that is one of this school's most prominent attributes. Branden reports one interesting interaction, however: Rand was not willing to accept the theory of [[evolution]] as more than an hypothesis. She couldn't accept [[Creationism|creation]], but evolution discomfited her nevertheless--perhaps because it blurred the distinction between man and animal.<ref name=BrandenBenHaz/> Branden has been accused of distorting Rand on this point by those who note that Rand refused to endorse evolution merely because she believed she did not have the required scientific knowledge to make an informed judgement [http://www.dianahsieh.com/blog/2005/07/poisoning-well.html].

== References ==

== References ==