Objectivism is no excuse for dehumanization

This evening I watched a lecture on Objectivism from Gregory Salmieri named, "The Distinctly Human Form of Life." It was overall a good introduction to Objectivism, but, it was filled with allusions to things that I found downright disturbing to say the least. It was not Objectivism or anything Ms/Mrs. Rand said that was disturbing to me. It was the wording used to describe what a "human life was."

While I find myself agreeing that we need to use our Reason as a means of survival and all of the actual philosophical stuff. I disagreed highly with the idea that human's have so little baked into our natures as humans. We have a lot baked into us; including our means of survival Reason itself. We also have Evolved and baked into us that which we call Free Will as well it is an evolved trait. In addition, we have Ultimate Goals or Values very much baked into us as well.

Our species; both of the sexes is evolved to put their genitals in the other and spread their seed. This is a baked in value or goal to procreate. Some of us go a different direction which is how you get the Gay and Lesbians, but, that does not negate the baked in reaction of sexual activity. We also can see baked in differences in the sexes on other fronts too. Most of them around males being more thing oriented at birth and females more social oriented. This does not mean we are born with innate knowledge or innate ideas as such. In this way Gregory is right that we are a Blank Slate in the sense that one does not come out of the womb with the knowledge to understand anything whether innate or not.

However, to argue as he does that basically all we have baked into us is things like a pleasure and pain mechanism nothing else is absurd beyond belief. It is a total denial of any of the science we actually have about human nature. On top of this near the end his lecture becomes dark when asked about suicide from an audience member in the audience. He dehumanizes anyone that might be having issues of any kind that effect their thinking mechanisms. By saying that to live not as a Rational Animal every second of the day and if one ever is overwhelmed by their other mechanisms like emotion this is a "living death." Apparently this includes not having a career or being chronically single.

So, do all the single men and women need to go off and hang themselves if they cannot find a suitable partner? Should all of the people in between jobs due to issues outside of their control just find a gun or a knife and off themselves this instant, so, they are no longer in such a non-human condition? Should all Non-Atheists just go on a Mass Suicide and drink their own poisoned Kool-Aid for the sake of all of the Rational and Truly human animals on this planet? Should any man or woman that has bedded someone due to their hormones being totally overwhelming go jump off the nearest bridge right now?

Gregory. I agree that to live at all times and in all instances as the most Rational Animal that is possible within the type of brain you have at the given time is the morally proper thing. I also agree that Reason and being Rational is our means of survival. Evolutionary Psychology is correct, but, so, is the idea that our psychology as evolved is not necessarily suited for making the best life possible for us in the modern environment. I actually agreed with about 95% of the lecture, but, what kept coming back to me was the wording being used. As well as the idea that we have nothing baked into us.

Gregory; please stop using such dehumanizing language for people that either have issues or just whom do not understand the importance of Reason due to their ignorance. Not everyone that is a Whim Worshiper or Emotionalist is evil. Most them are just ignorant and even if they are highly ignorant living according to immoral ideas they do not deserve to suicide themselves. Most people are not philosophically grounded on this Earth. This does not mean they are not human nor that they should off themselves from their "living death." Even people immoral according to our philosophy as opposed to ignorant are not deserving of a self created end to their lives.

Taking Objectivism seriously is not an excuse to call people that are not living according to our philosophy not living a human life. They very much are human just like you and me. They do not deserve to be dehumanized and treated like they are of less value just because they and us might disagree on philosophical matters. Objectivism is not a dogma and it is not a cult. It is to use reality as its arbiter and reality shows homo-sapeins are humans even if they are living on nothing, but, their emotions as immoral and irrational as that would be it does not remove them from being human qua human.