To the New Intellectuals: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand

Author: [US] Ayn Rand
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Ayn Rand (1905—1982) is one of the most renowned, best-selling novelists, philosophers, and public intellectuals of the 20th century. She was both a novelist and a philosopher. Her most challenging philosophical novel, Atlas Shrugged, is hailed as "the most influential book on contemporary Americans since the Bible." As a philosopher, her philosophy of "Objectivism" has had a widespread and profound influence worldwide. The Virtue of Selfishness is Ayn Rand's challenge to the prevailing philosophical dogmas and the resulting "atmosphere of guilt, suffering, despair, boredom, and pervasive escapism." As one of the most controversial figures in the intellectual world, Ayn Rand is a proponent of a rational egoism ethic, forming a sharp opposition to altruism and self-sacrifice ethics. The foundation of this moral view—a philosophy of life in the present—was proclaimed with a resounding voice in this book.