Why not use the actual quote?

Posted by rpcman on September 29, 1998 at 13:10:26:

In Reply to: Ayn Rand debunked by M.Scott Peck, M.D. posted by Joe Tormos on September 29, 1998 at 12:06:44:

: (Rand's readers will remember Dagny's persistent assertion as a child: "CHILDHOOD IS NOTHING BUT A COMPLETE AND TOTALLY STUPID WASTE OF MY TIME, AND NOTHING IN MY LIFE WILL MATTER IN THE SLIGHTEST UNTIL I GET TO THE ADULT WORLD." (My paraphrase.)

I don't remember this 'persistent assertion'. It has been a couple of years since I read it though. Perhaps you can provide the actual quote in context so that we can see if Rand did indeed believe this (or at least have one of her fictional characters believe this).

Remember the words of the wise Michael Shermer, "Criticism of the founder or followers of a philosophy does not, by itself, constitute a negation of any part of the philosophy... Criticism of part of a philosophy does not gainsay the whole."

Also, he lists the five most common errors in poor critiques:

1. They concentrate on their opponents' weak points, while rarely saying anything definitive about their own position.
2. They exploit errors made by scholars who are making opposing arguments, implying that because a few of their opponents' conclusions were wrong, all of their opponents' conclusions must be wrong.
3. They use quotations, usually taken out of context to buttress their own position.
4. They mistake genuine, honest debates between scholars about certain points within a field for a dispute about the existence of the entire field.
5. They focus on what is not known and ignore what is known, emphasize data that fit and discount data that do not fit.

I think your post captures elements of 1., 2., & 3. fairly well with perhaps a dash of 5. thrown in for good measure.

• http://www.california.com/~rpcman/02_2_she.htm