Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist (Hardcover)

by Tara Smith (Author) "Much recent discussion in ethics has danced around the edges of egoism, as renewed attention to virtue ethics, eudaimonia, and perfectionism naturally raise questions about..." (more)
Key Phrases: life qua man, philosophically objective value, creating material values, Atlas Shrugged, New York, The Ethics of Emergencies (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
'The first detailed and scholarly study of Rand's conception of virtue, Tara Smith's Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist is an important and timely book.' Robert Mayhew, Philosophical Books

'The issues raised by this book are manifold and provocative.' Helen Cullyer, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Product Description
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.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521860504
• ISBN-13: 978-0521860505
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,212,587 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 73 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)

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.

11 of 11 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!

33 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Price of Virtue, May 23, 2006

By	Steve Jackson "stevejackson100atyahoocom" (New England) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Prof. Tara Smith follows up her defense of Ayn Rand's metaethics (VIABLE VALUES) with this work devoted to the normative ethics of Objectivism.

Smith starts with an excellent point. There have been versions of egoism throughout history. However, there have been few which are non-predatory and rights-respecting. The most prominent and influential version that kind of egoism is Ayn Rand's. Why not discuss the most consistent version of ethical egoism?

As an exposition of Rand's ethics, this book generally succeeds. Smith references Rand's letters and journals (which have in part been published) as well as her essays and novels. This is a large amount of material to integrate and Smith does it successfully. Her work is certainly of a much higher level than typical Objectivist writings. To give one example, unlike, say, Leonard Peikoff, Smith actually tries to understand what people mean by humility and then critiques the concept intelligently. Another example is honesty. Smith is aware of the standard arguments against Objectivism's instrumentalist opposition to dishonesty. I don't think she successfully answers them, but she doesn't duck problems. I was, however, a bit disappointed with Smith's discussion of charity, since she skirts around certain questions related to helping strangers. Smith doesn't give a clear answer to the question of whether it is morally appropriate to give to people who are victims of natural disasters. She states that optimally it would be best to know if those in need were moral. But if a tsunami struck an area where the victims were predominantly religious, would it be immoral to offer help? Smith's answer is presumably yes, but she doesn't say.

My major complaint with this book is Smith's use of sources. If Smith is of the opinion that Rand's journals and letters are relevant for understanding Rand's ethics, then what about Nathaniel Branden's essays? When Rand broke with Branden in 1968 she stated that Branden's pre-split writings were consistent with Objectivism. She obviously had a high opinion of them since she included several in her work THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS. Certainly these essays, written during the time of Rand's mature philosophy, are of much value in understanding Rand's ethics. Smith's discussion of certain psychological issues related to ethics (such as self esteem) would have been much improved if she had interacted Branden's articles including "The Psychology of Pleasure." Yet Smith doesn't even mention Branden, much less give a reason why she ignores him. Given that Rand did not excise Branden's essays from her books, why does Smith consign them to the Orwellian Memory Hole?

It's particularly disappointing that Smith decided to limit the secondary sources concerning Objectivism almost entirely to authors associated with Leonard Peikoff's Ayn Rand Institute (such as Peikoff, Harry Binswanger and even popularizer Craig Biddle). There are many scholars that Smith overlooks. For example, she doesn't mention Objectivist philosopher David Kelley, even though his book UNRUGGED INDIVIDUALISM is quite relevant to her discussion of benevolence. Likewise there is no mention of Chris Sciabarra, Roderick Long, and Eric Mack, all of whom have written valuable material concerning Rand's ethics. Since Smith considered it appropriate to discuss non-Objectivists such as Philippa Foot and Rosalind Hursthouse, her unwillingness to engage in non-ARI Objectivists and writers influenced by Rand is most curious. I suspect that Smith's decision with respect to sources was influenced by her association with the ARI. (If you do a search of the book you will find that "Peikoff" appears on 143 pages.) Since Kelley and Branden are no longer within the line of apostolic succession, any mention of them is ultra vires.

When Smith departs from her area of expertise, she makes a few mistakes. She asserts that Jesus opposed judging, citing the well-known injunction in Matt. 7:1 ("Judge not that ye be not judged."). She even argues that Catholics who looked the other way regarding pedophile priests were following Jesus' teaching. However, Jesus was likely only opposing self-righteous judgment. Later in Matt., Jesus discusses church discipline and advocates expelling members when appropriate. (Matt. 18:15-17.) The New Testament contains many example of judging, including the exclusion of sexually immoral people from the church. Smith later argues that Jesus urged his followers to sell everything and give to the poor. Jesus told one specific person to sell everything and there is no suggestion that it was a universal commandment.

AYN RAND'S NORMATIVE ETHICS is the most important work to date on Rand's ethics and certainly one of the best works by an Objectivist philosopher. Given its price, I'm disappointed by Smith's decision to exclude authors based not on the quality or relevance of their work, but on their standing with the ARI.