Ayn Rand's Second Objection To Happiness

Rand’s second point under being selfless is that in order to help someone, the most selfless act, one must evaluate the situation and determine what and how many resources they would be willing to utilize. She uses time, effort, and money as examples of what a person would need to consider while determining whether it would be in the lovers best interest to help. Her fear is that if these factors are not taken into consideration, people with Agapic love would be treated like a doormat. That is the major flaw with this objection, helping others without expectations of benefiting one’s own self is not being a doormat, it is being a right, honest, and acceptable human. Although I don’t think a person must give up everything they have for another

This objection is right in the sense that true happiness comes from self-happiness, but for morally ideal love this self-happiness needs to be based off of selfless and inclusive acts. In her example Rand speaks of a husband who is faced with the decision to either save his wife or ten other women. Rand believes that the husband should save his wife over ten other women, because the wife should have more value to the husband (Rand). Rand’s view is flawed in two ways, the first being when speaking of Agapic love, there would be no true dilemma because everyone is treated equally and saving ten lives over one life is the morally correct option. Understanding the mindset of Rand when she says “your highest moral purpose is the achievement of your own happiness” (Rand) goes against doing the right, honest, and acceptable, thing. Allowing ten women to die is wrong, and though this scenario makes it extremely hard to consider, putting a loved one above ten innocent lives is not

These expectations are constantly being advertised through, music, movies, and novels. They leave individuals who do not meet these ideals, feeling dissatisfied with their lives. Agape love might not be passionate or as deeply connected as Eros and Philic love would be, but it would be the best option to follow if our society wanted to live in a morally ideal world. When acting in the most moral of ways, one is inclusive to all individuals, allowing for a more intersectional community. As well as more selfless lifestyle, which allows one to put others before one’s own self. This form of love would be ideal for society. Agapic love shows that acting in a moral way and attempting to treat everyone as equals can create an ideal society that generates happiness for others without the expectation of any reciprocation. In return, this would create a community of individuals that care for each other just because they are people. Although Agapic may not be as focused on benefiting the self, making it less appealing to most individuals, it is still the most morally ideal form of