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Objectivism In Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

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“A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.” - Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand, a women who created her own philosophy, wrote many stories, and founded her own institution can be compared to no other modern writer with such intelligence and sagaciousness. Ayn Rand, born Alisa Rosenbaum, was a Russian-born American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. After she finished her degree, she studied screenwriting, and at this point Rand knew that her philosophy did not fit with the Communist agenda, and realized she needed to leave Russia. In January 1926, she got a passport to visit relatives for a short time in Chicago, but she never returned. DEMOCRACY She is known for developing a philosophical system …show more content…

In Atlas Shrugged, Rand characterizes Objectivism as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute." She also states in her writings that Objectivism is intended to be a practical philosophy grounded in man's ability to reason. One of the fundamental problems of learning about Objectivism is that almost no one has written about it who is not a proponent of it. Those who disagree with Objectivism tend to argue that Rand's philosophy is not important enough to write about (for instance, that it is a weak derivation from Aristotle with some other ideas thrown in), so there is minimal significant literature critiquing it. VIDEO Objectivism versus Collectivism is seen throughout The Fountainhead in the two characters: Howard Roark, and Ellsworth Toohey. Roark is the Objectivist who in the end wins the trial and is the hero, while Toohey promotes the philosophy of Collectivism only to gain control of his followers who he has convinced to give up their individualism to the welfare of others. NOVELS FOR STUDENTS Many critics think her philosophy is false because in her stories she “selectively recreated her vision of reality, structuring the characterizations in the novel to illustrate her unique concept of the self” NOVELS FOR STUDENTS WENDY

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