Home  Rand's Books  Other Books  Magazines  Texts  Biography  Forums  Websites  Critics  Miscellaneous  Search  Email Us
	You Are Here: Home > Books > Rand's Books > Virtue of Selfishness
	Stuck in another site's frames? Escape!

The Virtue of Selfishness

On this page: Description  Contents  Related Links  Reviews, Criticism and Analysis

Description

Full Title: The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism Author(s): Ayn Rand, with additional articles by Nathaniel Branden Year Published: 1964 Publisher: Publication Type: Commercial ISBN-10: ISBN-13: Description: This is a collection of essays. Most of the essays originally appeared in The Objectivist Newsletter, except for "The Objectivist Ethics," which was a paper Rand delivered at a symposium on "Ethics in Our Time." The introduction was modified in 1970 to reflect Rand's break with Branden. Cover Blurb: AYN RAND here sets forth the moral principles of Objectivism, the philosophy that holds that man's life -- the life proper to a rational being -- as the standard of moral values and regards altruism as incompatible with man's nature, with the creative requirements of his survival, and with a free society. (From a Signet paperback printing.)

Contents

Where an essay is by an author other than Rand, the author's name is noted in square brackets.

• Introduction
• The Objectivist Ethics
• Mental Health versus Mysticism and Self-Sacrifice [Nathaniel Branden]
• The Ethics of Emergencies
• The "Conflicts" of Men's Interests
• Isn't Everyone Selfish? [Nathaniel Branden]
• The Psychology of Pleasure [Nathaniel Branden]
• Doesn't Life Require Compromise?
• How Does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?
• The Cult of Moral Grayness
• Collectivized Ethics
• The Monument Builders
• Man's Rights
• Collectivized "Rights"
• The Nature of Government
• Government Financing in a Free Society
• The Divine Right of Stagnation
• Racism
• Counterfeit Individualism [Nathaniel Branden]
• The Argument from Intimidation
• Index

Related Links

• Complete essays and excerpts from this book:
  • "Man's Rights"
  • "The Nature of Government"
  • From the Introduction
  • On "black and white" morality -- from "The Cult of Moral Grayness"
  • Racism as a form of collectivism -- from "Racism"
• Homepage of Nathaniel Branden

Reviews, Criticism and Analysis

The following perspectives on this book are available online:

• Blog post by Tuvia Dulin critizing the book as "stating the obvious."
• Critique by Michael Huemer of "The Objectivist Ethics."
• Review by Orrin C. Judd at BrothersJudd.com.

Note: Essays that critique Rand's ethical theories in general are not included here, only essays that comment specifically on this book or one of its chapters.

Additional keywords: Ann Rand, Anne Rand, Ayn Rad, Ayn Ran, Any Rand, virtues of selfishness, cult of moral greyness

About the Objectivism Reference Center

The philosophy of Ayn Rand, a twentieth-century novelist and philosopher, is known as Objectivism. The Objectivism Reference Center provides resources about Rand, her ideas, her works, and places where those are discussed and debated. Visit the Site Information page for details on site policies. Suggestions for additional materials or additional links are welcomed.

If you have questions, comments or corrections related to this page, email the webmaster. If JavaScript is enabled for your browser, you can check to see when this page was last modified.

Copyright © 1999-2009 by Richard Lawrence. All rights reserved.