May 2, 1964
Mr. H. Riga
167 Chaplin Cres.
Toronto 7, Canada
Dear Mr. Riga:
Thank you for your letter of April 23.
I appreciate your interest in my philosophy, and I feel a profound sympathy for all those who chose exile in preference to communist rule.
However, I do not approve of your plan to arrange a contest among students for “the best critical approach” to my philosophy—and, therefore, I cannot grant you permission to use excerpts from my work for this purpose.
My reasons are as follows: I never engage in debates about my philosophy; I do not approve of subjecting a philosophical system to the confusions, misrepresentations and distortions of immature and untrained mentalities; such an attempt can lead only to intellectual chaos—and I can neither sanction it nor have any part in it.
As to your question regarding my name, it is a contraction of the Finnish name “Aino.”
Sincerely,
Ayn Rand
AR:dk
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