Integral Life | Nathaniel Branden and Ken Wilber — Atlas Evolved @IntegralNaked | Uploaded December 2018 | Updated October 2024, 2 hours ago.
00:00 — Falling in Love with Ayn and the Vision of Objectivism
47:18 — Falling Out with Rand and Rediscovering Emotion
Excerpted from the full 6-hour dialogue here:
integrallife.com/atlas-evolved
Nathaniel Branden, Ayn Rand’s former lover and the inspiration for her famous John Galt character, was at ground zero during the rise of the Objectivist movement. In this exclusive six-hour dialogue, Atlas Evolved: The Life and Loves of Nathaniel Branden, Nathaniel offers an intimate insider’s view of the origins, major contributions, and inevitable limitations of Rand’s philosophy and the intellectual movement it sparked. Masterfully hosted by Ken Wilber, this talk offers invaluable insight into Ayn Rand’s legacy, the human potential movement, romantic love, self-esteem, self-transcendence, and the art of conscious living.
From Ayn Rand to the Art of Conscious Living
The writings and philosophies of Ayn Rand continue to impact and influence the world in many profound ways, seen everywhere from national budget debates to Wall Street ethics to the recent rise of the Tea Party. The Economist and the New York Times have both reported that the sales of Atlas Shrugged have spiked in the wake of the 2000’s recession, and a new film adaptation has just been released in theaters across America. Think whatever you want about Ayn Rand and the Objectivist philosophy she founded, but you shouldn’t underestimate her influence upon contemporary thought and culture.
Nathaniel Branden, Rand’s former lover and the inspiration for her famous John Galt character, was at ground zero during the rise of the Objectivist movement. In this exclusive six-hour dialogue, Nathaniel offers an intimate insider’s view of the origins, major contributions, and inevitable limitations of Rand’s philosophy and the intellectual movement it sparked. Masterfully hosted by renowned Integral philosopher Ken Wilber, this talk offers invaluable insight into Ayn Rand’s legacy, the human potential movement, romantic love, self-esteem, self-transcendence, and the art of conscious living.
Rand’s legacy is staggering. Her Objectivist philosophy continues to influence modern “greed is good” economic theory (think Alan Greenspan), conservative and libertarian ideologies (think Rep. Paul Ryan), and is even resurfacing in recent years as the rise of Tea Party politics. Even one of the most successful video games of the past decade, BioShock, was based explicitly upon Rand’s philosophy.
Who is John Galt?
Atlas Shrugged, published in 1957, is regarded by many as Rand’s magnum opus. Within you can find all the core tenets of her Objectivist philosophy, expounding upon Rand’s views on reason, individualism, and self-reliance, the concepts of achievement and human progress, the importance of free market economies, and the dangers of socialism and government coercion.
One of the most important characters in Atlas Shrugged is a man named John Galt, a mysterious philosopher and inventor who, in the end, symbolizes all the most admirable qualities described by Rand’s worldview. What many people do not realize, however, is that John Galt was largely based upon Ayn Rand’s real-life partner and lover, Nathaniel Branden, who Rand considered to be the living embodiment of the principles of her Objectivist philosophy.
Okay, so who is Nathaniel Branden?
Psychologist and philosopher Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D. is a founding member of Integral Institute and author of twenty books on the psychology of self-esteem, romantic love, and the life and thought of Ayn Rand. His work has been translated into 18 languages and has sold over 4 million copies, and includes such titles as Taking Responsibility, The Art of Living Consciously, A Woman’s Self-Esteem, and the 1969 classic, The Psychology of Self-Esteem. Branden currently works as both a practicing psychotherapist and a corporate consultant through the Branden Institute, conducting seminars, workshops, and conferences to demonstrate how the principles of self-esteem can be applied to the challenges of the modern business organization.
Nathaniel begins his story at the beginning: a boy of fourteen who stumbled across a copy of The Fountainhead lying on the coffee table. “I disappeared from this earth for the next two days, until the book was finished. It was an electrifying experience.” Little did he know then that as a young man, a shade under twenty, he would actually meet Ayn and soon begin one of the most passionate and turbulent romantic relationships of his life, the effects of which would touch the lives of thousands.
00:00 — Falling in Love with Ayn and the Vision of Objectivism
47:18 — Falling Out with Rand and Rediscovering Emotion
Excerpted from the full 6-hour dialogue here:
integrallife.com/atlas-evolved
Nathaniel Branden, Ayn Rand’s former lover and the inspiration for her famous John Galt character, was at ground zero during the rise of the Objectivist movement. In this exclusive six-hour dialogue, Atlas Evolved: The Life and Loves of Nathaniel Branden, Nathaniel offers an intimate insider’s view of the origins, major contributions, and inevitable limitations of Rand’s philosophy and the intellectual movement it sparked. Masterfully hosted by Ken Wilber, this talk offers invaluable insight into Ayn Rand’s legacy, the human potential movement, romantic love, self-esteem, self-transcendence, and the art of conscious living.
From Ayn Rand to the Art of Conscious Living
The writings and philosophies of Ayn Rand continue to impact and influence the world in many profound ways, seen everywhere from national budget debates to Wall Street ethics to the recent rise of the Tea Party. The Economist and the New York Times have both reported that the sales of Atlas Shrugged have spiked in the wake of the 2000’s recession, and a new film adaptation has just been released in theaters across America. Think whatever you want about Ayn Rand and the Objectivist philosophy she founded, but you shouldn’t underestimate her influence upon contemporary thought and culture.
Nathaniel Branden, Rand’s former lover and the inspiration for her famous John Galt character, was at ground zero during the rise of the Objectivist movement. In this exclusive six-hour dialogue, Nathaniel offers an intimate insider’s view of the origins, major contributions, and inevitable limitations of Rand’s philosophy and the intellectual movement it sparked. Masterfully hosted by renowned Integral philosopher Ken Wilber, this talk offers invaluable insight into Ayn Rand’s legacy, the human potential movement, romantic love, self-esteem, self-transcendence, and the art of conscious living.
Rand’s legacy is staggering. Her Objectivist philosophy continues to influence modern “greed is good” economic theory (think Alan Greenspan), conservative and libertarian ideologies (think Rep. Paul Ryan), and is even resurfacing in recent years as the rise of Tea Party politics. Even one of the most successful video games of the past decade, BioShock, was based explicitly upon Rand’s philosophy.
Who is John Galt?
Atlas Shrugged, published in 1957, is regarded by many as Rand’s magnum opus. Within you can find all the core tenets of her Objectivist philosophy, expounding upon Rand’s views on reason, individualism, and self-reliance, the concepts of achievement and human progress, the importance of free market economies, and the dangers of socialism and government coercion.
One of the most important characters in Atlas Shrugged is a man named John Galt, a mysterious philosopher and inventor who, in the end, symbolizes all the most admirable qualities described by Rand’s worldview. What many people do not realize, however, is that John Galt was largely based upon Ayn Rand’s real-life partner and lover, Nathaniel Branden, who Rand considered to be the living embodiment of the principles of her Objectivist philosophy.
Okay, so who is Nathaniel Branden?
Psychologist and philosopher Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D. is a founding member of Integral Institute and author of twenty books on the psychology of self-esteem, romantic love, and the life and thought of Ayn Rand. His work has been translated into 18 languages and has sold over 4 million copies, and includes such titles as Taking Responsibility, The Art of Living Consciously, A Woman’s Self-Esteem, and the 1969 classic, The Psychology of Self-Esteem. Branden currently works as both a practicing psychotherapist and a corporate consultant through the Branden Institute, conducting seminars, workshops, and conferences to demonstrate how the principles of self-esteem can be applied to the challenges of the modern business organization.
Nathaniel begins his story at the beginning: a boy of fourteen who stumbled across a copy of The Fountainhead lying on the coffee table. “I disappeared from this earth for the next two days, until the book was finished. It was an electrifying experience.” Little did he know then that as a young man, a shade under twenty, he would actually meet Ayn and soon begin one of the most passionate and turbulent romantic relationships of his life, the effects of which would touch the lives of thousands.
