Everything about Nathaniel Branden totally explained
Nathaniel Branden, né
Nathan Blumenthal (born
9 April 1930 in
Brampton,
Ontario,
Canada) is a
psychotherapist and writer best known today for his work in the psychology of
self-esteem. A one-time associate of novelist
Ayn Rand, Branden had a prominent role in promoting Rand's
philosophy,
Objectivism.
Biography
Branden received a BA in psychology from the
University of California Los Angeles, an MA from
New York University, and in 1973, a
Ph.D. in psychology from the
California Graduate Institute, an unaccredited, state-approved school whose graduates may be licensed by the State to practice psychology.
In 1950, after having become a fan of her novels and exchanged letters and phone calls, the 19-year-old Branden met Rand. The pair went on to develop an eighteen-year personal and professional relationship. Eventually, Rand and the much younger Branden had a romantic affair. While both were married to other people at the time, they persuaded their spouses to accept it. According to
Barbara Branden, "the affair was agonizingly painful", both to her and Rand's husband.
For many years Branden was considered to be the leading figure in the Objectivist movement, second only to Rand herself. He was the leader of a group of Rand's closest associates known as
The Collective, which also included his wife Barbara Branden and
Alan Greenspan. Rand considered him to be her
soul mate and designated him her "intellectual heir". In 1958 Branden founded the
Nathaniel Branden Institute to promote Objectivism through guest lectures and educational seminars around the United States. The NBI became enormously successful, and soon had representatives all over the US and around the world.
In "
Atlas Shrugged", which Rand wrote at the time and considered as her magnum opus, "Nathaniel" was the name of heroic 19th Century railroad builder, the ancestor which the book's main protagonist seeks to emulate and whose picture she keeps on her wall throughout the book.
In 1968, the close relationship between Rand and Branden came to an abrupt end. Rand discovered that Branden, after having separated from his wife in 1965 and terminated his affair with Rand due to the age difference, was having a sexual relationship with a third woman, actress
Patrecia Scott, against Rand's wishes and without her knowledge. Rand then expelled Branden from the Objectivist movement. She published a letter in
The Objectivist repudiating Branden for various general reasons, including dishonesty, but didn't mention their affair. The two never reconciled, and Branden remained
persona non grata to the mainline Objectivist movement, particularly the group that would go on to form the
Ayn Rand Institute.
Shortly thereafter, Branden moved to
California and married Scott (a divorce with Barbara having occurred before his break with Ayn). In 1977, Scott unexpectedly died at home due to what was thought to be an
epileptic seizure triggered by sunlight off the water in the pool while feeding their dog.
Branden married a third time in 1978, wedding businesswoman Devers Israel, from whom he's also divorced.
Branden retained a friendly relationship with first wife Barbara, who wrote a successful book entitled
The Passion of Ayn Rand which detailed Branden's relationship with Rand and the bitter breakup. The book was made into a motion picture in 1999 starring
Helen Mirren as Rand and
Eric Stoltz as Branden.
Post-Objectivist career
In 1989 Branden published his account of this time in his life. The memoir was entitled
Judgment Day. Then in 1999, Branden re-published a revised edition, entitled
My Years with Ayn Rand. Branden's account provides an inside view of Ayn Rand as a person, the development of Objectivism, its inner circle, and the tumultuous relationships between Ayn Rand and her associates.
Branden supported
David Kelley's notion of Objectivism as an "open system" in a 1999 article he wrote, "Who Owns Objectivism?".
Branden has since rejected certain elements of the Objectivist philosophy, particularly its
cognitivist view of psychology, and his memoirs chronicle many of what he charges to be emotionally repressive elements of Rand, some of which he argues show up in her fiction. He likewise argued that followers' obsession with Rand herself led to an unhealthy
cult of personality within the movement, damaging the common-sense of both Rand and other Objectivists. Branden has also been known to talk freely of his interest matters that Rand would have considered "mystic," and has had a publicized relationship with
Ken Wilbur. However, while Branden has claimed that Wilbur is " one of the most brilliant minds I've ever encountered," he also states that "[i]f you're familiar with Ken's ideas, you know that he and I've our disagreements, much as I admire his work. Ken is a
mystic. I'm not."
Branden has retained most of his
laissez-faire capitalist views, though some of these have changed since the split with Rand: for example, he says he "will leave the door open for emergency situations that I just can’t imagine being resolved in a
free market context [likenatural disasters and epidemics]. If they could be, then they should be. But the fact of emergencies shouldn't be made as justification for violating individual rights, so as you can see, it’s a very tiny difference." In addition to changing his views on Objectivism, he now views
Objectivists differently: "Philosophical principles are no substitute for thinking, yet many Objectivists act as if they were."
In addition, Branden has retained his support for Objectivist Meta-Ethics. In his book "Honoring the Self" (Branden, 1983), he devotes Chapter 12 to a defense of Ayn Rand's Meta-Ethical theory. To quote Branden on the subject, "I think the foundation of her ethics is an unassailable contribution" (Branden 1983, p205).
As a psychologist Branden has elucidated the crucial role of
self-esteem in psychological health, and has outlined the
volitional practices he's observed to be essential to achieving and maintaining self-esteem. As a therapist, he developed the sentence completion method, a psychotherapeutic tool proposed as useful for making unconscious thoughts and feelings conscious, and to transform limiting beliefs and attitudes. Currently, he tends to use a blend of sentence completion exercises, exercises derived from energy therapy, humor, and "just plain talking" in his therapy practice.
Nathaniel Branden continues to write and practice psychotherapy in
Los Angeles, California, as well as present seminars and workshops on self-esteem. He is affiliated with the
United States Libertarian Party, though he was unenthusiastic about it in the
2004 election.
Books
Nathaniel Branden's 20 books have been translated into 18 languages, with more than 4 million copies in print.
Notes and references
Valliant, James S. (2005) The Passion of Ayn Rand's Critics, Dallas: Durban House. ISBN 1-930754-67-1. This book alleges errors in his biographical work on Ayn Rand.Further Information
Get more info on 'Nathaniel Branden'.
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