Name: The Virtue of Selfishness
ISBN: 9780451129314

Nathaniel Branden

Ayn Rand

A New Concept of Egoism

The Virtue of Selfishness

The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone

. Men who reject the responsibility of thought and reason can only exist as parasites on the thinking of others. In a free society, one does not have to deal with those who are irrational.

A white, heterosexual, cisgender male has no right to say anything on this subject, but this is something I’ve felt for a while, that often in the name of racial/sexual/etc minority discourse, people don’t realize that 

of any minority or majority can be abused, and when it comes to white/hetero/cis it’s often done in a way which is hidden and unrecognized, and thus sometimes more harsh on the victim in his loneliness. A white male has as much of a possibility of being gravely mistreated as anyone else. So Rand puts into words what I hadn’t previously put into words but is for me refreshingly true. However, I’m not advocating for delegitimizing current minority discourse. But I’m drawing attention to utilitarian ethics abandoning individuals of all identities.

Zeke Taylor

…the smallest minority on earth is the individual.

A collection of essays that sets forth the moral principles of Objectivism, Ayn Rand's controversial, groundbreaking philosophy. Since their initial publication, Rand's fictional works—Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged—have had a major impact on the intellectual scene. The underlying theme of her famous novels is her philosophy, a new morality—the ethics of rational self-interest—that offers a robust challenge to altruist-collectivist thought. Known as Objectivism, her divisive philosophy holds human life—the life proper to a rational being—as the standard of moral values and regards altruism as incompatible with man's nature. In this series of essays, Rand asks why man needs morality in the first place, and arrives at an answer that redefines a new code of ethics based on the virtue of selfishness. More Than 1 Million Copies Sold!

Interesting and thought provoking ideas. Loved the bluntness of it all but also was a bit taken aback with that.

llikaditoo 

a new concept of Egoism

Virtue of selfishness

Scordatura

I am reading this for my studies, that's the only reason. My blood started boiling in the first paragraph... this isn't going to be fun.

Finished it finally: I was expecting it to make me angry and in some ways it did. What I didn't expect was to see such poor reasoning, such poor internal consistency, so many random "choices" (decisions to place certain things centrally in her ethics), so many black/white views on matters... that I cannot fathom that intelligent people take it seriously. In one way, this is a silly book, easily dismissed but at the same time it has very dark connotations. It allows people to dismiss matters like white privilege and how random life can be, giving them an excuse to say that hard work fixes everything, and that everyone should focus purely on their own success and pleasure. 

In the end, whenever my blood started boiling while reading it, I donated money to charities Rand would have found objectionable. This helped me actually finish the book without my brain liquefying. 

Edit: typos.

Magdalene Lim

If you're a feeler, as opposed to a thinker who reasons, Rand has no place for you in her book. Logic and reason are what she stands by. Philosophers philosophise but what gives them the authority to be the authorities on whatever subject matters they talk about? What she proposes is just a way of thinking. It's not THE way to live by or a bible, if you will.

I agree with certain things but other portions are just iffy to me. Also, this felt like a theory book version of Atlas Shrugged. May read that some time.

The Virtue of Selfishness A New Concept of Egoism

Reviews

Highlights