Ayn Rand and Objectivism...huh??

Spot In The Sky

Hey Team- I never post in this forum but I finally found a reason to!
I started reading Objectivisim: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. Only about 50 pages in to it but I am so lost.
It starts with the axioms of the philosophy but I dont get how they apply to the real world yet.
Does anyone have an easy, general breakdown of the idea behind Objectivism to help me grasp the general concepts as I go through it so try and keep my mind focused on an end goal?

Thanks people.

Commy

might want to keep in mind Rand was kind of an arrogant intellectual.


She was also sexist, (in a Cosmopolitan interview)

"She said that the natural psychological reaction of (right-thinking) women is to worship men, and that the psychological burden of having to command and direct men would therefore be crushing for a woman president."


Her ideas are just that, not absolute by any means, or even accurate in some cases.\

dasvidana

Ayn Rand is a tough read.

Objectivism is the belief that there is a "truth" that transcends time, history, culture, context, etc. The goal of man is to discover what that truth is through objective inquiry (e.g. empirical science). Objectivism is the opposite of subjectivism which suggests that there isn't a single "truth" but instead many truths, dependent on history, context, culture, etc. Subjectivism seeks to understand how man defines his "truth" and how he interprets subjective and objective data to support his version of what is true (e.g. Plato's allegory of the cave).

That is my take on things. I'm a die-hard subjectivist myself.