Assessing the Legacy of Nathaniel Branden

On 3 December 2014, Nathaniel Branden, a towering figure in the history of Objectivism, passed away at the age of 84.

In Objectivist circles, the mere mention of Branden’s name could set off fiery debate, primarily because of his acrimonious break with Ayn Rand in 1968. In a future issue of The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, we will be less concerned with that break and more focused on the work and legacy of Nathaniel Branden. With several articles already in the planning stages for this forthcoming symposium, we invite readers to submit papers for consideration as contributions to that forum.

In the interests of objectivity, I should mention that Nathaniel Branden was my friend, and I deeply mourn his loss. Whatever one thinks of Branden personally, however, there are several issues that should be acknowledged, in my view. As I wrote on the occasion of his passing,

It was Branden who created the Nathaniel Branden Institute, which brought Rand out of her post–Atlas Shrugged depression, and catapulted her into the role of public philosopher. It was Branden who presented the first systematization of the philosophy with his “Basic Principles of Objectivism” course [later published as The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism; see Branden 2009], a course that was given live, and heard by thousands of others on audio recordings, both on vinyl records and tapes. It was Branden who explored the psychological implications of Rand’s exalted conception of self-esteem, and whose work was fully and unequivocally endorsed by Rand during her lifetime (indeed, his book, The Psychology of Self-Esteem [Branden (1969) 1979] is largely a collection of all the work he did while under Rand’s tutelage, and it is, in many ways, the popular launch of the self-esteem movement in modern psychology). He also conducted, with the late Barbara Branden [who passed away in December 2013; see Sciabarra 2013], a series of interviews that have formed the basis of nearly every biographical work that has been published.

(Sciabarra 2014)

Yet, it was, perhaps, in his post-Randian years that Branden made his biggest impact, by analyzing earlier events in the Objectivist movement (and his role in them) and endeavoring to separate it from what he regarded as psychologism and a use of rationalism at odds with independent thought (see especially Branden 1970; 1971).

I will have more to say when our planned symposium is published. Until then, I look forward to seeing a discussion that will honor our commitment to fostering scholarly dialogue through a respectful interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, drawn from a variety of interpretive and critical perspectives.