“The essence of heroism is an unbreached and unbreachable allegiance to the good in the face of any possible form of opposition”–Dr Andrew Bernstein
Prodos for Capitalism Magazine: What do these people have in common? Galileo, Thomas Jefferson, Cyrano de Bergerac, Margaret Thatcher, Michael Jordan, Batman, Howard Roark, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Ayn Rand?
Well, they’re all extraordinary individuals. They’re inspirational. They’ve overcome incredible odds. They’re all, in a sense, undefeatable. Ladies and gentlemen, they’re heroes! My special guest, on line from New York City, is the author of – well, so much – but here are couple of his essays which I’ve read or re-read only recently: Villainy — An Analysis of the Nature of Evil. The Soul of a Champion — An Open Letter To Michael Jordan.
Andrew Bernstein is one of the world’s leading Objectivist thinkers, writers and teachers — and a man who I’ve been told is himself an inspiration to many, welcome Dr Andrew Bernstein!
Andrew Bernstein: Thank you, I’m very happy to be here.
CM: You’re the man who wrote this opening line in your ‘Open Letter to Michael Jordan’: “Dear Mr Jordan . . . thank you for winning six NBA titles and earning hundreds of millions of dollars”.
You’re obviously a man who believes in the idea of heroes and heroism. You obviously treat it as a very serious subject. It seems to me you’re possibly even making it into a Science.
Andrew Bernstein: Yes, I’ve been a hero worshipper since I was a very young child. Unfortunately in the Twentieth Century hero-worship is sneered at by most intellectuals and yet I think it’s a necessity for an individual’s moral and psychological health and development – to be a very active hero-worshipper.
CM: I want to put this idea to you Andrew. I believe that once the first man ran ‘the four minute mile’ a whole lot of others soon followed suit. That first man changed our expectations. That in turn changed our performance. Is that the sort of thing a hero does for us?
Andrew Bernstein: A hero benefits us in many different ways. The obvious way is the practical gain that we get. For instance, you mentioned Thomas Edison. When he put in years of effort to develop a lighting system, the benefits to the rest of us is obvious. We have the electric lights that we didn’t have previously.
But at the deeper level, aside from the practical benefit that we get from a hero’s achievement, I think even more important is the inspiration that we can derive from the hero when we see somebody like Thomas Edison struggle for years to develop the electric light.
We see somebody like Louis Pasteur, the great French Scientist develop a theory of what causes disease and he’s rejected — not just by the common man but by the Scientific and Medical establishment — and he has to fight for years to get his ideas accepted. We see the kind of struggle that these individuals go through and eventually they triumph and the positive impact it has on human life.
We can ask ourselves the question: If Pasteur can go through all of that struggle to reach his achievements, what can I do in my own life with a similar dedication and a similar commitment — granted that I’m not a genius and I can’t do the kinds of things they did — I won’t change the world — but can I change my life? That’s the kind of inspiration we can draw from a great hero.
CM: So you’re suggesting in a way that it’s not automatically obvious to us what our potential can achieve for us. And that a hero is, in a sense, useful in helping us look at what we ourselves could possibly do. Even though we didn’t know we could do it, the hero inspires us, the hero tells us something about ourselves that we didn’t know.
Andrew Bernstein: Absolutely. The hero shows us what the human potential is.
CM: Ah yes!
Andrew Bernstein: I’ve always loved the motto of the modern Olympics ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’ = ‘Swifter, Higher, Stronger’. I think that’s very beautiful. And that was part of my letter to Michael Jordan – that he is obviously a superbly talented athlete. I don’t have that kind of ability. There are a lot of people with a lot of talent who don’t work to develop it. But Michael Jordan, what separates him, is he’s the one who’s combined tremendous talent with this indefatigable work ethic – that he’s so dedicated to developing his skills. That’s what made him the best ever in his field. Well, I may not have his kind of talent but what can I do in my own life if I incorporate his kind of work ethic? If I push the envelope on my development and actualize my potential and go as far as I’M able to go; given my ability what might I accomplish in my life? This is something open to every one of us.
CM: You’ve used the word ‘actualize’. I first encountered that word years ago when reading the literature of the 60’s and 70’s, like Carl Rogers and all those sort of ‘let it all hang out’ type of advocates. But you’re suggesting a completely different approach. You’re saying that actualization is not about just simply ‘letting yourself go’, it’s not about waiting for things to happen to you. You’re saying that actualization is something that you can go out and get, go out and grab, go out and achieve yourself.
Andrew Bernstein: Right. The term comes originally from Aristotle, the philosopher. It’s all about, as a human being, having a rational faculty, having a mind. If you work hard to develop it — really push yourself to get an education, seek a career in some productive field and also – in the bodily realm — exercise regularly to stay fit and robust – that you can have a life of all round, healthy self-fulfillment. And as you push yourself to succeed in your career and in striving for your own development and your own fulfillment, you have the knowledge that as a very benevolent consequence — as a secondary side issue — that your development as a rational human being will benefit other people as well.
CM: Yes. That’s remarkable. It’s also remarkable that we have not realized that fully enough until now.
Andrew Bernstein: Well, you and I and millions and millions of others have enormously benefited from the achievements of, say, the Wright brothers who invented the airplane. Now we’re able to travel from New York to Melbourne in how long? Twenty something hours now?
CM: Right.
Andrew Bernstein: Which seems like a long period of time. But if we remember that it took Magellan’s crew three years to circumnavigate the globe in a boat, the twenty four hours or whatever it takes to get from New York to Melbourne doesn’t seem so long anymore. So the point is that by actualizing my own potential, primarily I make myself happy and I live the life proper to a man, to a rational being. But as a secondary consequence I also benefit others enormously. And that’s a very happy fact.
CM:So when you thank Michael Jordan for winning six NBA titles and for earning hundreds of millions of dollars that’s not just an attention grabbing opening statement or gimmick; you actually mean it.
Andrew Bernstein: Oh, absolutely! He’s provided me with this inspiration! It’s been not only a joy watching him – as someone who appreciates a great athlete – and watching his athletic artistry which is an esthetic experience – it’s almost like art work – but more than that, it’s the inspiration I’ve gotten from him. I’ve seen him one year in the NBA finals. He was sick and he had a high fever and he could barely stand but he still pushed himself out there and dominated the game and won the NBA title!
That kind of achievement in the face of great adversity fills me with an emotional fuel. It’s a spiritual energy that then says to me “I can do things in my life too. I don’t have his talent but I can have his drive and perseverance and I can go as far as I can.” And that really helps me in writing books and giving talks and teaching classes as a philosopher, attempting to save money – philosophers don’t make a lot of money – but the feeling is: If Michael Jordan can win the NBA championship when he’s as sick as a dog, why can’t I be able to make money and live on a budget and save and reach financial independence one day!
