In Which of the books does a character

[RagJohn]

I thought it was in Nat's THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELF ESTEEM, but when I tried to find it there, I couldn't. The answer was given by a secondhander, who was being advised to think and act for himself. He was terrified at the mere idea of doing such things.

[psychoanaleesis]

I thought it was in Nat's THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELF ESTEEM, but when I tried to find it there, I couldn't. The answer was given by a secondhander, who was being advised to think and act for himself. He was terrified at the mere idea of doing such things.

If I remember correctly, that was said/implied by Dr. Stadler because he wants to be left alone by the government/society which provides his grants (imo, he's more of a practitioner of solipsism) By the way, why is this in the psych forum friend?

[Reidy]

Though I don't have a citation, I remember this from one of Branden's articles in The Objectivist Newsletter. Much of the material in these articles found its way into The Psychology of Self-Esteem. It may have been in one of Rand's novels as well.

[Jerry Biggers]

I thought it was in Nat's THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SELF ESTEEM, but when I tried to find it there, I couldn't. The answer was given by a secondhander, who was being advised to think and act for himself. He was terrified at the mere idea of doing such things.

The quote you are referring to is contained in Chapter 8, "The Psychology of Dependence," in The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism, by Nathaniel Branden (2009: Cobden Press/ Laissez Faire Books), pages 213-214..

In that chapter (which is a transcription from the NBI lecture course, The Basic Principles of Objectivism), Branden alludes to an article on social metaphysics in The Objectivist Newsletter where the same incident was discussed. Discussion of the incident and its meaning in relation to psychological dependence, goes on for about four paragraphs.

Reference to this same incident may also be referred to in some of Branden's other books where he discusses "psychological dependence" and "social metaphysics" (e.g.,(Honoring The Self: Personal Integrity and the Heroic Potentials of Human Nature [1983], and Taking Responsibility: Self-Reliance and the Accountable Life [1996]).

Edited January 5, 2011 by Jerry Biggers