A Comparison of the Philosophies in Atlas Shrugged and War and Peace

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy are two great novels written to share two conflicting philosophies with their readers. Their philosophies are so different that Rand once said "I cannot stand Tolstoy . . . his philosophy and his sense of life are not merely mistaken, but evil, and yet, from a purely literary view point, on his own terms, I have to evaluate him as a good writer" (Johnson). The philosophies in Atlas Shrugged and War and Peace differ in their views on human rationality, reality, the purpose of life, happiness, religion, and free will.

In Atlas Shrugged, Rand emphasizes rationality as the basis of our humanity. According to her, "Man's mind is his basic tool of survival" (Atlas Shrugged 926), his "only means of perceiving reality, only source of knowledge" ("Introducing Objectivism"), and reason is a moral code and source of creative power (Atlas Shrugged). Rand even states that Adam was a "robot" and wasn't a man until he ate from the tree of knowledge and became a rational being (Atlas Shrugged 939).

In War and Peace Tolstoy illustrates the irrationality of mankind by showing how often we do things that are contrary to our desires ("Sparknotes:War and Peace"). For example, as the French army advances towards Moscow, Tolstoy repeatedly states that reaching Moscow would start their destruction yet they continue to make Moscow their goal. The Russian army repeatedly tries to stop the French from reaching Moscow even when that would ensure the French army's destruction (Tolstoy). Tolstoy also mocks those who create complex plans when the great Russian general Kutuzov sleeps during one of these planning meetings and is eventually victorious not due to rational planning but due to his ability to adapt to the Russian army's moods.

In Atlas Shrugged Rand says "A thing is itself" (930) and absolutes exist (952). She says that "reality is an absolute independent of man's feelings, wishes, hopes, or fears" ("Introducing Objectivism"). She rejects those who say truth is subjective and agrees with Aristotle's 3rd principle of logic: A is A. She also says that the denial of that principle causes people to forget that "Man is Man" (930).

In War and Peace Tolstoy shows his belief in an unseen force that governs the actions of the masses. He says that the only way to explain the events that happened is belief in an unseen force that is beyond human reason. This contradicts Rand's belief that reason is the only way to discern truth ("Introducing Objectivism").

Ayn Rand believed that the purpose of life is for man to pursue his own happiness (Atlas Shrugged 927) and to exist for his own sake with a rational self interest ("Introducing Objectivism"). She also believed that for a man to truly live he must have reason, purpose, and self-esteem (Atlas Shrugged 932). She said that living for the good of others forces you to admit that you are worth less than the rest of society (Atlas Shrugged 943) and that you shouldn't sacrifice your values for the sake of anyone (Atlas Shrugged 923). In fact one of the protagonists in Atlas Shrugged proudly declares "I'm selfish, conceited, heartless, cruel. I am. I don't want any part of that tripe about working for others. I'm not" (141).

Tolstoy's novel talks a lot about the searching for the purpose of life because much of the novel is about two characters' search for meaning in life. As Tolstoy's characters' try to find the purpose of life they join the military in a search for glory, join the free masons in a search for inner peace, marry a beautiful wife in a search for contentment, and sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of others. Unfortunately none of these give them the peacefulness they desire and instead often lead to more inner conflict. Ultimately Pierre finds purpose in life by living with a love for all humankind (Tolstoy).

Happiness in Atlas Shrugged is described as "the state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values" (928). Rand also says that a morality that declares happiness to be the willing rejection of happiness, or in other words, a morality that says to find joy in sacrificing happiness for the sake of others is evil (928).

Happiness in War and Peace comes from loving others and achieving one's goals. One of the characters is described as finding happiness in sacrificing her own, but upon sacrificing the one thing she thought she would never need to sacrifice she becomes miserable. (Tolstoy). This seems to agree with the definition of happiness seen in Atlas Shrugged.

In Atlas Shrugged Rand has an extremely negative view of religion. She says that if those who believe in God declare good to be a god who is beyond man's comprehension, then they invalidate man's rationality and consciousness (940). She calls original sin a "monstrous atrocity" because if mankind has free will then original sin is like playing with a loaded die (940). She also considers sacrifice to be "the surrender of right to wrong, of good to evil" (Atlas Shrugged 942) and calls those who believe that "the highest virtue a man can practice is to hold his own life as of no value" "hatred-eaten mystics" (Atlas Shrugged 928). This contradicts John 15:13 which say "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

In War and Peace Tolstoy shows religion positively. He shows how religion isn't just a system of beliefs used to explain the world but that instead it should be a way of life and demonstrated through actions and words. He also shows how it is possible to become overly focused on rituals and knowledge when he describes the free masons.

Atlas Shrugged emphasizes free will a great deal. It emphasizes the ability of those who were being oppressed by the government to stop the oppression by simply withdrawing from society and refusing to willing obey. Rand's entire philosophy is based on humankind's free will and the ability to choose to be a rational person (Atlas Shrugged).

In War and Peace Tolstoy emphasizes the lack of control we have over the people around us. He says that large events cannot be caused by one man's will (1222) and says that we have free will in respect to our own actions (raising your hand) but when other people are included nothing is guaranteed. He says that there is an unknown boundary where our control and freedom ends and where other people's actions overrule ours. Tolstoy also says that great men's actions aren't really the result of any special genius or ability but are really caused by series of coincidences that just happen to benefit them. Another point he makes is that collectively humans seem to be influenced by an unseen divine force and also seem to follow certain historical laws.

In conclusion, Atlas Shrugged and War and Peace have very different philosophies. While Rand emphasizes the rationality of humans, Tolstoy emphasizes the irrationality. While Tolstoy stresses the existence of an unseen force unable to be explained through reason, Rand declares reality to be only determinable by reason. When Tolstoy says the purpose of life is to love humankind, Rand says a selfish and rational ambition for happiness is the reason for our existence. Tolstoy and Rand seem to agree on a definition for happiness but Tolstoy includes loving others and being loved in his definition, something Rand excludes from hers. Rand shows a passionate dislike of religion due to its disagreement with her philosophy, while Tolstoy shows a positive attitude about religion due to its agreement with his. While Rand shows her belief in the free will of humankind, Tolstoy shares his belief that individually we have free will while collectively we are bound by an unseen force and historical laws.

Johnson, Don B. " Nabokov, Ayn Rand, and Russian-American Literature or, the Odd Couple." Cycnos. Web 25 May 2009.
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. New York: Penguin Group, 1996.
Rand, Ayn. "Introducing Objectivism." Ayn Rand Institute. Web. 07 May 2009.
"SparkNotes: War and Peace: Themes, Motifs, and Symbols." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 07 May 2009.
Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. New York: Random House, 2007.