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Originally Posted by russotto
The story of hubris (pride rivalling that of the gods, not "grandiosity", though he gives both as the definition) being the worst sin goes back to the Greeks the word comes from; it's a standard feature of many Greek (and later) myths. If it took him several years to refine the "Story" to this, he obviously was a lousy researcher; a simple textbook could have given him as much. I'm not sure why he had to bring Atlas Shrugged into it other than to slam Ayn Rand, who is in any case dead.
The article is pretty much a rant; it wanders from point to point and doesn't come close to holding together. Tony's summary is quite accurate in portraying that.
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The article rambled and could have been more tightly written, but the truth it presents remains valid for all that. The author's thesis that a false sense of grandiosity or pride (which is cause by an underlying feeling of insecurity) leads to envy and a projection of negative feelings upon another person or group. We then blame this other for our flaws and treat them accordingly.
The writer would have been better off briefly discussing Carl Jung's concept of the "shadow" and how Jung's analogy can be used to explain the current attitudes of various nations and religous groups.
The writer has a point about Ayn Rand, but I'm not sure why he threw her into the essay either except for the fact that he obviously dislikes her. Perhaps the author was throwing HIS shadow on Ms. Rand.
At any rate, Ayn Rand, living or dead, is as fair game as anyone else. Her books, unfortunately, continue to influence thousands if not millions. I read her at 16 and thought I was a philosopher. I re-read her again at 22 and couldn't believe that I'd been so easily influenced by what was nothing other than a couple of trashy romance novels with pretentious wordings.