Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist [Paperback]

Tara Smith (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521705460 | ISBN-13: 978-0521705462 | Publication Date: April 16, 2007 | Edition: 1

Ayn Rand is well known for advocating egoism, but the substance of that egoism�s instruction is rarely understood. Far from representing the rejection of morality, selfishness, in Rand�s view, actually demands the practice of a systematic code of ethics. This book explains the fundamental virtues that Rand considers vital for a person to achieve his objective well-being: rationality, honesty, independence, justice, integrity, productiveness, and pride. Tara Smith examines what each of these virtues consists in, why it is a virtue, and what it demands of a person in practice.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...a strongly written addition to the scholarly literature on Ayn Rand's philosophy...belongs in every college and university library, and on the shelves of philosophers interested in Rand's views and current trends in the ethics literature." --Stephen R.C. Hicks, Rockford College: Philosophy in Review

Book Description

This book explains the fundamental virtues that Rand considers vital for a person to achieve his objective well-being: rationality, honesty, independence, justice, integrity, productiveness, and pride. Tara Smith examines what each of these virtues consists in, why it is a virtue, and what it demands of a person in practice.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 330 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (April 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521705460
• ISBN-13: 978-0521705462
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #911,249 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars an important work, well worth every penny and minute, May 26, 2006

By 

Greg Perkins (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist (Hardcover)

Noting how recent scholarly work in ethics dances around the edges of seriously grappling with egoism, Dr. Smith offers the invitation: Why not judge ethical egoism by squarely confronting it in its most powerful and consistent form? Thus her comprehensive, systematic presentation of Ayn Rand's ethics. This book is particularly welcome because important elements of Rand's ethical thought are scattered among her novels and various essays, with further illumination sprinkled in her journals, her live Q&A, and reflected in works by her leading and longtime students (primarily Dr. Leonard Peikoff). Smith draws all of this together into a single, clear, carefully organized presentation, judiciously employing comparison and contrast with contemporary academic thought to clarify distinctions and to highlight the novel and powerful aspects of Rand's ideas.

Smith's presentation is masterful, executed with clarity, power, and finesse. Yet it is accessible, and she maintains a warm, reflective style throughout that is grounded in the realities of human life. While following along as Smith unwinds the major virtues Rand identified, what makes them virtues, and what they demand of us in action, you may find that you can't help but consider the implications regarding your own behavior -- the character you are shaping by your everyday choices and actions -- the course you are charting in your own life. This is a solid academic work, but it is also the deepest sort of practical self-help book, implicitly encouraging people to get real and seriously consider what it means to live as a human can and should.

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Regarding Steve Jackson's review: Smith was clear about her mission of presenting RAND'S ethical ideas, and doing so certainly doesn't entail a survey of all fully-, semi-, non-, and anti-Objectivist thought regarding Rand's ethics. That would be a different book, and Mr. Jackson denying Smith's achievement here by leading people to confuse her purpose with his own is unjust. Smith took on a worthy and substantive project, and she absolutely knocked the ball out of the park.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Definitive Work on Clarifying Rational Egoism, May 14, 2008

By 

Doug (Washington D.C. area) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist (Paperback)

This book should be next on your reading list if you want an in-depth and rigorous study of Ayn Rand's ethics of Rational Egoism beyond what you can glean from reading Ayn Rand's novels and non-fiction essays. First of all, although this book is philosophically rigorous, it is highly readable. Personally speaking, I thought reading this book was a pleasure.

This book offers a detailed understanding of the Objectivist principles of *how* one should be moral. The first chapter is a useful introduction to what virtues are and what one can expect to gain from reading this book. The second chapter is a brief overview of Ayn Rand's answer to *why* one should be moral and hence, is a summary of Tara Smith's book "Viable Values". The third chapter goes into great detail on rationality, which is the primary virtue according to Objectivist ethics. The next six chapters are each devoted to one of the six secondary virtues of Objectivist ethics, which are: Honesty, Independence, Integrity, Justice, Pride and Productivity.

The last chapter should also be of great value to those who enjoy reading beyond the lines. In this chapter, Dr. Smith evaluates four other qualities which are commonly held to be virtues: Charity, Generosity, Kindness and Temperance, according to Objectivist principles. Although Dr. Smith indicates that these qualities are not inherently bad according to Objectivist principles, she nevertheless correctly concludes that since Objectivism holds one's own life as the standard of value, these qualities cannot properly be considered virtues according to Objectivist principles.

Overall, this is an excellent book for anyone seeking a more thorough understanding of the philosophy of Ayn Rand!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Examines Ayn Rand's ethics with a microscope, June 7, 2011

By 

random "book reviewer" (mt) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist (Paperback)

I have only used this book as a reference but as such it has done an excellent job clearing up some confusions. For context, I have read most of Ayn Rand's work and have thought about them quite a bit. This book takes Ayn Rand's ideas and chews them, looking at all the different angles and playing devil's advocate.Tara Smith writes very clearly. I highly recommend it for someone who reads Ayn Rand's writings but has trouble seeing just how some ideas really look like.

Some of the ideas this book helped me with was life as the standard, what happiness really means to Objectivists, and how an egotist has true friendships. It also helped me get a better understanding of the primary virtues of Objectivism. Highly recommend it.