Yatzhee Mentions Objectivism a Lot

[JMeganSnow]

I mean, apart from the Bioshock review, which was kind of a no-brainer. Has anyone else noticed this?

I suppose the free advertising is nice, but he, of course, skews the details.

 

[Lunther]

You might want to consider giving specific examples of said skewed details. Because frankly I for one am too lazy to look them up for you.

 

[Anarchemitis]

Not as much as he swears.

 

[varulfic]

He mentioned it in his Fallout 3 review. That's the only example I can come up with.

 

[Saskwach]

Some people get a bee in their bonnet about Objectivism; some people think Objectivism is comedy gold. Yahtzee is both of these.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I don't have hard figures, but if I had to guess I'd say Yahtzee mentions Branston Pickle a lot more than Objectivism.

-- Steve

 

[Alex_P]

The Internet in general mentions Objectivism a lot. Also anarchism and libertarianism. Much more so than you'd expect based on their meatspace popularity. (Socialism somehow still manages to get a lot of real-world airtime. Well, allegations thereof do, at least.)

-- Alex

 

[Milford Cubicle]

Can someone explain Objectivism to me please?

 

[SaintWaldo]

Can someone explain Objectivism to me please?

No. But many, many, many people will happily charge you for books purporting to do so.

 

[xitel]

Can someone explain Objectivism to me please?

Judging something without coloring it with your own opinions. The opposite of subjectivism. And I will say that a game review cannot be objective, because the reviewers opinions on what makes a game fun will always color the review.

 

[anti_strunt]

Can someone explain Objectivism to me please?

Judging something without coloring it with your own opinions. The opposite of subjectivism. And I will say that a game review cannot be objective, because the reviewers opinions on what makes a game fun will always color the review.

Actually, I think he's talking about those books Ayn Rand wrote...

Can someone explain Objectivism to me please?

Basically a variation on the old philosophical theme of "The best and most moral thing is for each person in society to act according to his own interests." Not exactly sure of what specifics sets it appart from, for instance, libertarianism, but I'm sure someone here can tell you.

 

[Milford Cubicle]

Judging something without coloring it with your own opinions. The opposite of subjectivism. And I will say that a game review cannot be objective, because the reviewers opinions on what makes a game fun will always color the review.

Hmm, I see. I was pretty sure that it was something like that but when I tried to wikipedia it, I was confronted with metaphysical whatnots and philosophy.

As good as Yahtzee's reviews are, I'd never thought about them in a philosophical way. Just as well.

Actually, I think he's talking about those books Ayn Rand wrote...

Basically a variation on the old philosophical theme of "The best and most moral thing is for each person in society to act according to his own interests." Not exactly sure of what specifics sets it appart from, for instance, libertarianism, but I'm sure someone here can tell you.

Philosophy makes my head hurt. It's just all a bit arsey.

 

[pigeon_of_doom]

Can someone explain Objectivism to me please?

Theres Ayn Rands Objectivism which is demonstrated in Atlas Shrugged and Bioshock amongst other works. Then theres objectivism as a metaphysical concept, as in something being objective rather than subjective.

anti_stunt described Rands one, xitel described the concept which predates Rand by far.

 

[anti_strunt]

As good as Yahtzee's reviews are, I'd never thought about them in a philosophical way. Just as well.

It should be pointed out that he hasn't necessarily showed any real understanding of Randian objectivism - the mention in Fallout 3 (that is, 50% of the times he mentioned it) is rather strange. I don't recall her ever approving of theft...

 

[Alex_P]

Can someone explain Objectivism to me please?

Everyone should pursue their own "rational self-interest".
Laissez-faire capitalism is the best economic system.
I'm sure there's some other bits but those two get talked about the most.

-- Alex

 

[Milford Cubicle]

I still don't understand the relevancy of said philosophical gobbledygook to Fallout 3. Maybe I'm just not a philosophical man?

 

[Burld]

Why can't game reviews be objective? Simply talk about what the game contains and what you have experienced in it, and there you have it. An objective review. Of course there's a slight problem if you are constrained by a word limit, since what the writer edits out is down to them.

 

[Tzfanya]

Burld - simply saying what a game is about and what happens in it is a report, not a review.

 

[Alex_P]

I still don't understand the relevancy of said philosophical gobbledygook to Fallout 3. Maybe I'm just not a philosophical man?

It's not particularly relevant.

More of a throw-away dig at a major element in Rand's Objectivist fiction (like Anthem, The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged). Her work is rather big on what I would call "philosopher kings" -- in reference to Dostoevsky rather than Plato. Rand's was self-professed individualist and definitely a fan of "great man" theories of history. She fancied that great men who drive history with their big ideas are more important than their often petty and small-minded societies -- "man's ego is the fountainhead of human progress". For example, in The Fountainhead, a brilliant architect blows up a project of his after it is perverted by small-minded "altruists"; in Atlas Shrugged, John Galt, probably her most famous character, leads a kind of strike by inventors and businessmen, who remove themselves from the world and start a hidden quasi-utopia based on "rational self-interest", and everybody else is left mewling for them to come back. Powerful people who don't act like Objectivists are depicted as manipulators and demagogues.

Talking about it in terms of stealing things is pretty weird because Rand was rather obsessed with property rights, though. An Objectivist would likely say that stealing everything in sight is an indication that the hero is not, in fact, acting out of "rational self-interest".

-- Alex

 

[cuddly_tomato]

Objective opinion = Contradiction in terms.

And a review is simply an opinion.