Objectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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,

According to the principles of Ayn Rand’s objectivism, man must decide what is best for himself based on reason. This often plays a major role in the survival of that organism, as some decisions, if incorrect in the circumstance, can result in death. Frequently, the deciding factor in such circumstances is reason. Equality 7-2521 uses reasoning while traversing the Uncharted Forest outside of the City after he has decided to leave his old life behind. In the City, he did not have to care for himself nor provide himself with basic necessities, such as food and water. He had to learn how to survive without instruction from anyone else. He says, “We have made a bow and many arrows. We can kill more birds than we need for our food; we find water and fruit in the forest. At night, we choose a clearing, and we build a ring of fires around it. We sleep in the midst of that ring, and the beasts dare not attack us. We can see their eyes, green and yellow as coals, watching us from the tree branches beyond” (84). When he was living under the protection of the City, he was unaware of how to perform these tasks. However, once he left, he had to employ cognition to determine what he should do and how he should go about doing it. This was important to his survival, as Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism states. The desire for individuals not to sacrifice themselves for others is present in