| | I wasn't sure if this should've went in the Q&A section or not, because it's not really a question on the Objectivist philosophy per se...
I talked to my brother, in rehab, on the phone for about 40 minutes today, and I'm somewhat saddened from what he had to report. Before he got in a bunch of trouble, he told me that he was agnostic. Naturally I corrected him and told him that he was in fact, an implicit atheist :), and then argued with him over God being a "possibility". It apparently wasn't a subject he'd spent a great deal of thought on. So, I told him he should read the book I was currently reading, "Atheism: The Case Against God", by George H. Smith. He wasn't too keen on that, he seemed content with remaining in his vulnerable, ephemeral state.
Well, when I talked with him today, he told me that he's been doing a lot of praying. He told me about prayers that he'd memorized. He said he goes to the chapel sometimes. He said the first step in breaking his addiction was recognizing that there's a higher power. He told me that it was their overconfidence in their selves, i.e. their perceptions of themselves as too high of a power, that landed them in there. He told me about how the psychologist there had him fill out a survey, and he found that his personality was one "prone to unmanagable addiction". He told me that all of this was helping him overcome his addictions.
When I first talked to him, when he first got there, I told him not to feed into all of their bullshit. But sadly, I didn't instruct him to go further and analyze what they say objectively. I didn't tell him that they'll take advantage of his vulnerable state to pound in their own ideals, because, firstly, I didn't think they would do such an immoral thing; secondly, I didn't think my beloved brother was such an impressionable lad.
Anyways, I tried telling him this time, that a "higher power" wasn't going to stop his self from harming his self. It ultimately must be him. I told him he must be strong enough to overcome his addictions, and admitting a "higher power" would not accomplish this. But he retorted with things like, "You're an atheist, aren't you... fuck you then..." and "But it really is helping me".
After a while, I told him that he should read some Ayn Rand. And he seemed willing, and told me to "send them". This made me chuckle, since I don't actually own any of her books, aside from "Philosophy: Who Needs It". (Having a university library within walking distance is really handy). I told him that he should peruse the selection at his local library, but I sadly, couldn't recommend him anything in particular that would suit his condition.
Herein lies my question: What would be a good text on helping him overcoming his addictions? I was thinking perhaps Anthem, since it's a short read, but it, like Rand's other fiction, involves a heroic individual overcoming society, rather than internal demons. Do you know of any good stories of introspection? Or perhaps you could direct me to an article on the matter?
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