By Ayn Rand
Essays on Objectivist ethics and rational self-interest.
Subject
Themes
The conventional understanding of selfishness equates it with evil, conjuring images of ruthless brutes who trample others for momentary gratification. This moral package-deal has arrested human ethical development by conflating two distinct questions: what constitutes value, and who should benefit from values. Altruism substitutes the second question for the first, declaring that any action benefiting others is good whilst any action benefiting oneself is evil, regardless of the nature of those actions. This leaves individuals without genuine moral guidance, able only to sacrifice themselves reluctantly or hope others sacrifice themselves in return.
The conventional understanding of selfishness equates it with evil, conjuring images of ruthless brutes who trample others for momentary gratification. This moral package-deal has arrested human ethical development by conflating two distinct questions: what constitutes value, and who should benefit…
Published in 1964 during the height of Cold War tensions and Great Society liberalism, this collection articulates a philosophical position that stands in radical opposition to the dominant moral and political currents of its time. Objectivism challenges both the religious conservatism and the…
Ethics requires a foundation in metaphysical reality rather than arbitrary convention or mystical decree. The concept of value presupposes an entity capable of acting to achieve goals in the face of alternatives. Where no alternative exists, no values are possible. Only living organisms face the…
The conventional morality of altruism rests on the premise that happiness for one person necessitates injury to another, that human relationships are inherently predatory. Most people unconsciously accept this assumption, believing that pursuing self-interest means sacrificing others. This reveals…
Mental health, like physical health, is measured by the standard of survival and well-being. A healthy mind functions in ways that provide control over reality, supporting and furthering life. The hallmark of this control is self-esteem, the consequence, expression and reward of a mind fully…
A sacrifice means the surrender of a higher value in favour of a lower value or a non-value. If one gives up what one does not value to obtain what one does value, or gives up a lesser value for a greater one, this is not sacrifice but gain. All human values exist in a hierarchy; one values some…
Every political system is based on and derived from ethical theory. Objectivist ethics provides the moral foundation needed by the politico-economic system being destroyed worldwide precisely for lack of moral philosophical defence and validation: the original American system, capitalism. If it…
The title "selfishness" deliberately provokes because it challenges a devastating intellectual package-deal. Popular usage equates selfishness with evil, conjuring images of murderous brutes trampling corpses to gratify momentary whims. Yet the dictionary definition is simply concern with one's own…
The standard of mental health is identical to that of physical health: survival and well-being. A healthy mind functions in ways that provide control over reality, supporting and furthering life. Self-esteem is the hallmark of this control, being the consequence, expression and reward of a mind…
The conflicts of interests amongst people stem not from the fact that they pursue self-interest, but from what they consider to be their self-interest. Those who accept the altruist morality, even whilst evading its consistent practice, experience life as chronic conflict between duty and desire,…
The psychology of pleasure requires understanding that man's emotional mechanism is not born programmed. Since humans have no automatic knowledge, they can have no automatic values. The emotional mechanism is like a computer which the mind must program, and the programming consists of the values the…
Collectivized ethics operates by treating the collective as a living entity with its own interests, distinct from and superior to the interests of individuals. This is a metaphysical fraud. A collective is only a number of individuals. It has no existence apart from individuals. If the collective…
The nature of government must be understood in the context of individual rights. Government is the institution that holds the monopoly on the legal use of physical force in a given geographic area. This monopoly is necessary because the alternative is gang warfare, with every individual or group…
Individual rights are the link between ethics and politics, between moral principles and social organization. Rights are moral principles defining and sanctioning freedom of action in a social context. The source of rights is human nature, specifically the requirements of human survival. Since…
The nature of government is defined by its unique characteristic: it holds a monopoly on the legal use of physical force. This monopoly is both necessary and dangerous. It is necessary because the alternative is gang warfare, with every individual or group asserting the right to use force according…
The divine right of stagnation represents a fundamental evasion of the requirements of human survival. It is the claim that people have the right to remain at whatever level they have achieved without exerting further effort to adapt, improve or progress. This alleged right is a demand that reality…
Counterfeit individualism represents a fundamental philosophical evasion. It is the attempt to advocate individual rights, freedom and capitalism whilst rejecting or evading the philosophical premises that make these possible. This evasion takes several forms, each representing a specific…
By Ayn Rand
Subject
Themes
The conventional understanding of selfishness equates it with evil, conjuring images of ruthless brutes who trample others for momentary gratification. This moral package-deal has arrested human ethical development by conflating two distinct questions: what constitutes value, and who should benefit from values. Altruism substitutes the second question for the first, declaring that any action benefiting others is good whilst any action benefiting oneself is evil, regardless of the nature of those actions. This leaves individuals without genuine moral guidance, able only to sacrifice themselves reluctantly or hope others sacrifice themselves in return.