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Research Term: Modern Ethics
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The Ethics of Ayn Rand
In popular usage, the word "selfishness" is a synonym of evil; the image it conjures is of a murderous brute who tramples over piles of corpses to achieve his own ends, who care for no living being and pursues nothing but the gratification of the mindless whims of any immediate moment. Yet the exact meaning and dictionary definition of the word "selfishness" is: concern for one's own interests.[7]
One certainly can appreciate this clarification of "selfishness" as "concern for one's own interests."
Rand advocates rational self-interest, a particular brand of ethical egoism. But she rejects psychological egoism, the position that asserts that we always act in our own self-interest anyway, whether consciously or not.[8] The egoism Rand advocates is neither automatic nor instinctual; rather, it is rational and must be chosen.
Just as man cannot survive by any random means, but must discover and practice the principles which his survival requires, so man's self-interest cannot be determined by blind desires or random whims, but must be discovered and achieved by the guidance of rational principles. This is why the Objectivist ethics is a morality of rational self-interest — or of rational selfishness.[9]
Rand's ethics of rational self-interest is an ethics of choice, guided by reason, with human survival as its goal.
Standing diametrically opposed to her ethical system is what she refers to as "altruism." Altruism is an ethical system...
Truth & Consequences
The New Atheists
Perhaps it goes without saying that the "new atheists" have arrived. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens (among others) have recently published volumes capturing many intellects and imaginations. As international bestsellers, their publishing efforts are likely to produce challenges to our faith for years to come. These authors have superb rhetorical skills and deploy the English language to great effect. Dawkins and Hitchens have particular appeal with their posh British accents and witty idioms. It is not that their polemics are novel, however, nor their arguments especially successful. And they have not gone unanswered. Yet it appears they have not...
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