Summary. Ayn Rand. According to Dawkins, intelligent life becomes “intelligent” when it starts to ask why it exists. A collection of essays that sets forth the moral principles of Objectivism, Ayn Rand's controversial, groundbreaking philosophy. The Virtue of Selfishness Quotes Showing 1-30 of 131. 1126 likes. LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Selfish Gene, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. . Its excesses are wastefulness and ungenerosity. Summary. “The man who does not value himself, cannot value anything or anyone.”. Dawkins says any attempt to explain what life means or why people exist was useless prior to 1859—the year Charles Darwin published his work on evolution. I read this book many years ago, in addition to The Romantic Manifesto, Atlas Shrugged, and Anthem.. Selfishness originates in blind instinct; individualism proceeds from erroneous judgment more than from depraved feelings; it originates as much in deficiencies of mind as in perversity of heart. The Political Life vs. the Contemplative Life. In the introduction to her collection of essays on ethical philosophy, The Virtue of Selfishness (VOS), Rand writes that the "exact meaning" of selfishness is "concern with one's own interests" (VOS, p. vii).In that work, Rand argues that a virtue is an action by which one secures and protects one's rational values—ultimately, one's life and happiness. Analysis of The Virtue of Selfishness Selfishness — a virtue? (2) Who should be the beneficiary of values? 27 Reviews. Altruism substitutes the second for the first; it evades the task of defining a code of moral values, thus leaving man, in fact, without moral guidance. The Selfish Gene: Chapter 1. Ayn Rand. Analysis. Book 4, Chapter 1. . Ayn Rand – THE VIRTUE OF SELFISHNESS 6 There are two moral questions which altruism lumps together into one “package-deal”: (1) What are values? Aristotle explains that the virtue of generosity has to do with the giving and taking of wealth. The provocative title of Ayn Rand’s The Virtue of Selfishness matches an equally provocative thesis about ethics. Dawkins names the theme of his book as the examination of "the biology of selfishness and altruism." The generous person gives correctly, in the right amounts, and to the right people. Penguin, Nov 1, 1964 - Philosophy - 176 pages. The Selfish Gene: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis. Word Count: 98. The ideas are generally the same, but in The Virtue of Selfishness, they are much more clearly defended. Last Updated on May 5, 2015, by eNotes Editorial. tags: self-esteem. The reason that The Virtue of Selfishness is so similar to Atlas Shrugged, in my opinion, is that it’s a summary and defense of the philosophical ideas found in Atlas Shrugged. ― Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism. Ayn Rand chose this book’s provocative title because she was on a mission to overcome centuries of demonization. 50 years ago Ayn Rand, a novelist and philosopher, wrote a book entitled The Virtue of Selfishness. The Virtue of Selfishness. “In popular usage,” Rand writes, “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 . I actually enjoyed some aspects of her writing, especially when it … Starts to ask why it exists value anything or anyone. ” aristotle explains the. The right people 50 years ago Ayn Rand, the Virtue of Selfishness matches an equally provocative thesis about.... 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