Ayn Rand, Aristotle, and Selfishness :: essays research papers

Ayn Rand, Aristotle, and SelfishnessSelfishness is an act that mankind innately have implanted within them. Ayn Rand being a rational egoist had some moral beliefs, one being especially about selfishness. She believed that Self-interest, properly understood, is the standard of morality and selflessness is the deepest immorality.( Ayn Rand 279) This basically emphasizes that you should see oneself, as an end to oneself. A persons possess life and happiness are their highest values, and that they jadet exist as servants or slaves to the interests of others. In the same way, others as well dont exist as servants or slaves to a persons own interests. Each persons own life and happiness is his/her crucial end. Ayn Rand, Aristotle, and Frederick Nietzsche all had theories asshole this, which was that Humans are innately selfish. Threw out society today all humans are selfish and it is proven by these philosophers that it is naturally developed and thither is no cure to prevent it.Ayn Rand, a great Russian philosopher, once questioned why shouldnt one be selfish. Ayn Rand responded to that question with her theory which she called objectivist ethics. This theory states that humans are innately selfish. Everyone does what they really want to do otherwise, they wouldnt do it.(Ayn rand 66) Rand believed that humans are rational beings and maintained the idea that rational throng get out help others if they get something in return. This idea is a voluntary co-operation, which applies to dealings with trade and justice. It also applies to human relationships. In developing her theory she criticized the ethics of altruism, which says that people should act out of selfish concern for others. Ayn Rand says in her book called The Virtue of Selfishness that the proper method of judging when one should help another person is by reference to ones own rational self-interest and ones own hierarchy of values. Ayn Rand followed Aristotles point of view. However unlike Aristot le she think on an individual other than a community. There is no such thing as society only individual men (Ayn Rand 279) Ayn Rand followed her great admit teacher Aristotle. She changed her view slightly different from Aristotle which was to focus on an individual rather than focusing on a whole community. Aristotle believed that ones own life is the only life one has to live for. Aristotle also stated that the good is what is objectively good for a particular man.