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Ayn Rand's Idea Of Selfishness

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A Hymn to Man’s Ego Be selfish. Most humans cringe at this advice, why would anyone encourage selfishness? Ayn Rand’s philosophy declares in order to achieve our greatest potential, we, as humans, must be selfish. Differentiating from the world’s perception of selfishness, Rand says that the true dictionary definition is simply “concern for oneself” and is an essential to life. Rand expresses her philosophy through the creation of her ideal character, Equality 7-2521, with her same moral values who struggles finding himself as an individual in a collectivist society within the science fiction novel Anthem. He rebels society’s rules in order to achieve his greatest desire: knowledge. Although his choices go against all morals he has been …show more content…

Ayn Rand’s website introduces objectivism as a new philosophy for life; it explains the four components and how they work together: “In Rand’s philosophy, reality is not to be rewritten or escaped, but, solemnly and proudly, faced.” All choices must follow nature’s laws, because they are unchanged and unable to be controlled. Reason should also be used when making decisions, because “To choose to follow reason, Rand argues, is to reject emotions, faith or any form of authoritarianism as guides in life.” People need to prioritize facts over desires or emotions. “The purpose of morality,”“is to teach us what is in our self-interest, what produces happiness.” The purpose of life is to make decisions that are self-beneficial and that provide us with happiness. A capitalistic society will “protect the rights of each individual,” so they can “demand the freedom to think and speak, to earn property and associate and trade, and to pursue his own happiness.” Men should have the right to create their dreams and pursue them. Lastly, Rand states: “An individual who eagerly faces reality, who embraces his own rational mind as an absolute, and who makes his own life his highest moral purpose will demand his freedom… and pursue his own happiness.” It is necessary to use these tools to be the right kind of selfish and live the most fulfilling

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Ayn Rand’s Anthem starts by Equality 7-2521 saying “It is a sin to write this.” Throughout the story, Equality’s views and mindset changes, he realizes that he is different from his brothers and its ok to be different. He discovers that if something is legal it is not certainly right. His eager for knowledge taught him the word “I” abandoning the word “We”.

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Could you imagine living in a world where you were not your own individual? In the book Anthem, by Ayn Rand, everyone is the same and no one can be “better” or more intelligent than each other. In this book, the characters can not even speak the word “I” without getting executed. Think about having rules that restrict individuals from having their own thoughts, ideas, and opinions. In the book Anthem, the readers will discover that these rules and restrictions become a reality.

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Individuality allows every person to be themselves and be different from each other. However, In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Rand describes a society where the people were not allowed to openly be themselves, or else they would be punished for being different. The main character, Equality, notices he is different slowly throughout the novella, but kept continuing to be like everyone else for awhile. These rules exist in this society to strip human individuality in order to achieve total equality.

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In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. The brotherhood nobly works together to achieve a common goal. In doing so, each man is asked to disregard his own personal means and goals. For every decision must be a collective thought and every advancement, a joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions.

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In order to counteract this sociological phenomenon, the late Ayn Rand’s Anthem should be required reading for all high school students. Although I have several intellectual qualms with the book’s author, its core message is incredibly powerful: even in the midst of oppressive powers, individualism is the most important aspect of the self. The main character discovers in his brief adventure that his ultimate purpose in life can only be created by himself, not by anyone else. He learns that it is more important to be a freethinking individual with a unique personality than to become one of the many impressionable robots of which his society is

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How could losing individuality affect a society? The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is about a guy named Equality 7-2521 who is trying to find himself in a society where everything is controlled and different. Later, he finds himself even though he will have to go through many obstacles to get there. The process behind losing individuality in an Anthem’s society are in forcing strict laws, brain washing of their citizens, and removing of family. The Anthem society in forcing of strict laws made it easy for everyone to lose their individuality.

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594 Words | 3 Pages

Collectivism and Selfishness in Anthem Imagine living in a world where everybody's lives are completely mapped out by the government. Where every decision is made without the input of the citizens it affects. In the novella Anthem, Ayn Rand depicts a completely collectivist society, where every idea, action, and invention is purely for the benefit of society as a whole. Everything is done with the entire population in mind, and individuality is extremely frowned upon.

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802 Words | 4 Pages

People have three stages in their journey to individuality, and that is discovery, realization, and purpose. Ayn Rand’s goal is to warn readers about sacrificing oneself to others, and she yearns for others to go on a journey of self-discovery. Anthem is a message that warns others never

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“We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, one, indivisible and forever. ”(19) The leaders of the society in Anthem enforce the idea of all men being one, true equality where all work for the good of their fellow men. In this society no one is capable of being hurt by another's pride or abilities.

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Ego, a word that has been despised for centuries. It denotes self-absorption, narcissism, and being “stuck up”. It is assumed that people with an ego are very antagonistic and always looking to put others down. While ego may have a negative connotation, it is actually an intrinsic characteristic that allows no two human beings to be completely alike. Ego was motivation for the protagonist of Ayn Rand’s Anthem.

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Moral Assessment of Anthem In Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, Equality lives in a communist society that believes everyone must work for and be exactly like one another. For much of the novel, he believes what the Council of Vocations tells him, despite his intelligence and independence. By the end of the book, he realizes that the idea that everyone is the same and must work for each other is flawed. He deserves to live his own life and enjoy himself.

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Objectivism in Ayn Rand’s Anthem Ayn Rand established her philosophy of objectivism in order to eliminate the traditions she experienced while she was growing up under collective governments, and to emphasize the importance of the individual over the collective group. It can be defined as a philosophy for living stating that man himself is the greatest power, and man must decide what is best for himself based on reason. The four basic tenets of objectivism are reality exists as an objective absolute, reason is man’s only method of interpreting his surroundings, man must exist as an individual in order to pursue his own interests, with the ultimate goal being happiness, and the economy of an objectivist society should be laissez-faire capitalism,

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Naomi In today’s generation, we have learned about collectivism in history classes. In the Holocaust the majority of the people didn’t have a say about anything. In today's generation, we have individualism in our society today. Everyone has the right to make their own choices, such as, if one wants an education or not.

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Cheerleading is considered an average American activity practiced in almost every community, representing team spirit on and off the field. The populous activity originally started in the 19th century as an all-male activity. Nevertheless, it wasn’t until the men left to fight in World War II that females stepped into the vacant spots. As Alexa Ferrara mentions, “For most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it was assumed that cheerleading was the most appropriate way for girls to contribute to sports.” As a result, today cheerleading has expanded greatly around the country.

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The philosopher Ayn Rand believed that an individual’s life is of the utmost importance, as is her well-being. She knew that altruistic ethics require individuals to sacrifice their own wellbeing and lives for the sake of others. With ethical egoism, and will value their own wellbeing above all others. So, she was for ethical egoism. Ayn Rand also had an argument against ethical egoism believing it is a mistake to treat the interest of some individuals as being less important than the interest of others.

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