Does anyone know if a copy of Barbara Branden's master's thesis is available online somewhere? My searches are coming up empty. Info on the web is practically non-exist and it is not listed in the Bibliography of her works in JARS. It's not even mentioned by name in most sources that do reference it--it's simply stated she "authored a thesis on free will, under the direction of Sidney Hook at New York University."
As far as I can tell the title is: "Human Freedom and Human Mechanism", written circa-1956
As this piece appears to be the subject of a history unto itself I shall summarize my findings thus far:
1) It is the first(?) exposition of the Objectivist theory of free will in print.
2) Barbara gave a reading of it at her and Nathaniel's apartment in NYC for a group of Objectivists, with Ayn Rand in attendance. Events recounted by Daryn Kent-Duncan:
https://atlassociety.org/atlas-shrugged/movie-and-news/5463-how-i-met-ayn-rand
3) Nathaniel Branden accused Murray Rothbard of plagiarizing it in Rothbard's essay The Mantle of Science.
Another question for those in the know: Is there more to the history or reputation of this piece? Perhaps I'm reading into it too much, but it gives the appearance of being suppressed even by its own author. Which is surprising given its apparent historical significance to Objectivism.
Anyhow, to the original inquiry, I would be grateful for any leads on tracking this down.
