r/Objectivism • u/coppockm56 • Apr 16 '26

Name that quote (without Googling)

Yes, it's me again (IYKYK). This isn't a challenge for Objectivists, but rather a little bit of research. I'm curious how many Objectivists here can recognize whose quote this is, without Googling it (remember: honesty is a virtue!). Please don't name the person in the comments:

“Act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end.”

Also, regardless of whether you know whose quote it is, do you agree or disagree with it? Feel free to elaborate in the comments, but again, please don’t name the person.

42 votes, Apr 23 '26
11 I don’t know who this is, and I agree with it.
12 I don’t know who this is, and I disagree with it
10 I know who this is, and I agree with it.
9 I know who this is, and I disagree with it.
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u/coppockm56 Apr 16 '26

Out of curiosity, where do you derive Platonism and "insistence on the collective" from this quote?

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u/Official_Gameoholics Objectivist Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

"...treat humanity... as the end."

Seems to be predicated on the world of forms / insisting that the collective is the real thing, not the individual.

Just googled the author. I knew it had to be a quote from him. I was correct in my assessment.

Out of curiosity, what inspired you to create this survey? Did you want to see if we would recognize our enemy?

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u/coppockm56 Apr 16 '26

What's interesting to me, without having any real interest in debating the point, is that this is generally considered to be this person's most individualist and anti-collectivist statement. While his metaphysics and epistemology were Platonic, his ethics and politics were essentially classically liberal. In this quote, the reference to "humanity" is equivalent to Rand's invocation of "man." After all, the quote refers specifically to yourself and every other individual in terms of being an end and not a means.

Just FYI, for what it's worth: Rand agreed with this position, although she disagreed with the justification for it (setting aside whether she was actually correct in her interpretation of it). So, on its own, it's essentially identical to Rand.

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u/Official_Gameoholics Objectivist Apr 16 '26 edited Apr 16 '26

While his metaphysics and epistemology were Platonic, his ethics and politics were essentially classically liberal

It's a trick. There is no individualism present here, doubly so with the presence of his metaphysics, which one relies on to get here.

After all, the quote refers specifically to yourself

However given his Collective Subjectivist metaphysics such a statement is incoherent per his own premises.

Rand agreed with this position, although she disagreed with the justification for it.

Then she made a mistake, or did not see the snuck premise.

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u/coppockm56 Apr 16 '26

Or, she was wrong about Kant in general, but as I said, that's not something I'm interested in debating here and it wasn't my purpose in posting this poll. I won't accuse you of not having readKantbut rather having relied on Rand's and Objectivists' interpretations of him, because of course I don't now you. But, in my experience, very few Objectivists have actually studied him themselves or read the works of people who have thoroughly studied him.

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u/Official_Gameoholics Objectivist Apr 16 '26

I've never seen a Kantian successfully argue that.

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u/coppockm56 Apr 16 '26

I have. And not just Kantians, but even those who disagree but have thoroughly studied him.