Nathaniel Branden

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Nathaniel Branden, né Nathan Blumenthal (born 1930) 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

Born in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, Branden received a BA in psychology from the University of California Los Angeles, an MA from New York University,^[1] and in 1973, a Ph.D. in psychology^[2][3] from the California Graduate Institute, an unaccredited, state-approved school whose graduates may be licensed by the State to practice psychology.^[4]

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.^[5]

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 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.^[6] Rand then expelled Branden from the Objectivist movement. She published a letter in The Objectivist repudiating Branden for various general reasons, including dishonesty, but did not 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 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.^[7]

Branden married a third time in 1978, wedding businesswoman Devers Israel, from whom he is also divorced.^[8]

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?".^[9]

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 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 [like natural disasters and epidemics]. If they could be, then they should be. But the fact of emergencies should not 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."^[10]

As a psychologist Branden has elucidated the crucial role of self-esteem in psychological health, and has outlined the volitional practices he has 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.^[10]

Books

• Who Is Ayn Rand? (with Barbara Branden) (1962)
• The Virtue of Selfishness (with Ayn Rand) (1964)
• Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (with Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan, and Robert Hessen) (1966)
• The Psychology of Self-Esteem (1969)
• Breaking Free (1970)
• The Disowned Self (1971)
• The Psychology of Romantic Love (1980)
• The Romantic Love Question & Answer Book (1982)
• Honoring the Self (1983)
• How To Raise Your Self Esteem (1987)
• Judgement Day (1989)
• The Power of Self-Esteem (1992)
• The Art of Self Discovery (1993)
• The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem (1994)
• Taking Responsibility (1996)
• The Art of Living Consciously (1997)
• A Woman's Self-Esteem (1998)
• Self-Esteem at Work (1998)
• My Years with Ayn Rand (1999) (revised edition of Judgement Day)
• 32nd Anniversary Edition of Psychology of Self-Esteem (2001)

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.

External links

• NathanielBranden.com
• Notes from Branden's books and tapes
• 1989 interview with Nathaniel Branden by Don Swaim at Wired for Books
• The Libertarian Alternative - Ayn Rand and Objectivism (Interview with Nathaniel Branden on Google video, 2006)de:Nathaniel Brandensv:Nathaniel Branden