Objectivism Essays

Considered to be Ayn Rand’s “philosophical and artistic capstone,” Atlas Shrugged proves to be her most fictionally expressive piece on her philosophy known as objectivism. In his piece, Edward Younkins, aiming for a broader audience, delves into several levels of Rand’s “Bible of Objectivism” and its present importance. Being published around the same time as Atlas Shrugged’s semi-centennial anniversary, the recent restoration of appeal in the novel and flood of copies sold throughout the current

Objectivism, an idea where one uses self reason to grow selfly and has the main moral goal of individual happiness. In Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism there are four main pillars: metaphysics, epistemology, ethics, and laissez-faire Capitalism. In the novel Anthem Rand uses character, plot and setting to develop a climatic story guideline following the pillars of Objectivism. Primarily, the main character Equality is quite disparate from the other men in his society. He is far more intelligent

Atlas Shrugged is a book written by Ayn Rand, published in 1957. The book was written during the post World War II and Cold War era, in which the trends of modern intellectual culture played a major role in Rand’s writing. The overlying theme woven through the book is that without the independent mind, our society would collapse into a chaotic society. In sum, Atlas Shrugged is a defense on the freedom of a mind’s mind. Rand uses key character’s in Atlas Shrugged such as John Galt, Hank Rearden,

Objectivism and Atlas Shrugged: We Could Learn a Thing or Two Imploding Argentinian copper mines owned by your father and his father before him; torching oil wells that took decades to bore into the countryside; eradicating your entire life’s work to keep it from those who would purloin it for their own nefarious purposes. This is the price to enter the promised land in Ayn Rand’s magnum opus, Atlas Shrugged, wherein the government’s strict regulations and the inexplicable disappearance of all preeminent

The Fountainhead: The Primacy of the Individual in the Modern Jungle Ayn Rand’s magnum opus The Fountainhead centers around the narrative of Howard Roark, an aspiring architect who defines success on his own terms. Rand captures the common struggle of trying to find one’s place in society where everything is already manufactured to endorse conformity. The Fountainhead explores concepts of morality and reason through complex character arcs that challenge what it means to be an individual. Rand establishes

Ayn Rand in her novel, The Fountainhead, evokes innovative thoughts within the readers who dare to question the ideas of selfishness and altruism that often lie outside of the popular views of morality. These ideas remain to be contradictory to many of her readers. Roark is the embodiment of multiple ideas and values that are collectively known to be immoral, yet his poised and determined nature makes his readers rethink their beliefs. For example, in chapter 18 the reader must decide whether or

“Ayn Rand rejects altruism, and her philosophy of Objectivism supports rational egoism.” (Suganya and Shanthi 4). In the short nonfiction story “Prometheus” by Evslin, Prometheus could be seen as kind and caring in one’s eyes. However, did he know what his actions would lead to? In the short informational text “Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged” by Suganya and Shanthi, Suganya and Shanthi analyze Ayn Rand’s definition of objectivism and altruism. The character of Prometheus in Evslin’s “Prometheus” and the

In the Novel “The Grapes of Wrath”, written by John Steinbeck in 1939 near the end of the great depression, the injustices of poverty and homelessness presented against Tom Joad and his family, force Tom to keep his dignity and self-respect. While continuing to fight for his family in the overcrowded California Hoovervilles, and looking for jobs to survive the unfortunate circumstances laid out for Tom because of the dust bowl and the great depression, his decorum never slumps. This gloomy life forecast

In Hannah Arendt’s book, The Human Condition, she discusses what it means for man to be truly free. She coins the term “vita activa” to mean the active life of man. She divides the “vita activa” into three foundational human activities: labor, work, and action (7). In this essay, I will be focusing specifically on Arendt’s idea of action and freedom and how it relates to Isaiah Berlin’s Two Concepts of Freedom. Arendt’s account of freedom as action does not really correspond with Berlin’s idea

The Paragon of Freedom Equality is something strived for by society, to liberate ourselves of oppression and be ourselves unconditionally. But, equality cannot be achieved by the oppression of others, it will only cause others to retaliate or resist. This can be seen in Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, where she depicts this exactly, the protagonist, Equality, is a young man who has been assigned the job of a street sweeper by his society. Equality has grown up being wrongly taught that the individual

In the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Roark is a character that goes unchanged unlike others throughout the book. He focuses on himself and his work with no account for others or their opinions. He is hardly influenced by anyone; he thinks for himself and doesn’t let others dominate his life regardless of what they think of him and his work. Dominique on the other hand is quite the opposite, all she did was let others dominate her life. Her only independcy was not letting anyone change her mind or call

The concept of compromise has always been a fundamental idea of human Society. To achieve mutual goals, to end conflict, to pursue peace, compromise has been utilized to agree on terms that equally benefit both parties. Ayn Rand, creator of Objectivism and author of the philosophical novel The Fountainhead, views compromise differently than its face value definition. Society says that compromise is generally a settlement of a dispute by both sides making concessions; Rand reaffirms this ideal, though

In The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand individualism, collectivism and objectivism dramatizes the struggles of the characters and reinforces the immediate benefit being self-reliant in a collectivism society. The tragic hero Peter Keating lacks creatively, Keating accepts the help of others. His absence of his own vison is visible in his struggle in executing decisions, as he displays when he cannot establish at the start of the novel whether to peruse his studies or to join Francon’s firm. Roark does not

When Bryman describe ontology view, he introduces the objectivism and constructivism as two antithetical dimensions. (p22) However, Saunders 2009 p.119 advocates that positivism can be understood through both ontology and epistemology views. It raises the confusion whether positivism should belong to ontology view and be connected to objectivism like what Bryman said or positivism should not be tied to objectivism and can also be comprehended through epistemology view like what Saunders proposed

As stated by Ralph Waldo Emerson, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment”. In the novella, Anthem by Ayn Rand, the setting takes place in a futuristic, dystopian society that has abandoned the use of modern technology and has set rules and regulations in order to keep one practice, Collectivism, or a practice where people do not think or make decisions for themselves. No men are permitted to think of others as closer to them

With all of the crazy events that has occurred for the past three years, Atticus has suggested that I record everything that has happened in a memory box. I like the idea, and I immediately rush to my bedroom. In my bedroom, I write down a lengthy list of important items to place in my box of memories. As I am about to finish my list of items to place in my box, Atticus enters my room and advises me to limit the amount of items of my memories to a minimal number. I agree and choose the four most

The contrast between Howard Roark´s and Peter Keating´s core beliefs emphasizes The Fountainhead´s message about Individualism, or the belief that focusing solely on one's happiness can lead that person to their most fulfilling life, and how often by pursuing individualistic liberation people often come face to face with judgment, ridicule, and oppression by society, as a result. Howards and Peters differanting choices, often to the same problem, strengthens the belief that living a life not your

Introduction: The journeys in the long eighteenth century have a number of narratives fictional and nonfictional. One can cite the early novel by Aphra Behn's, The Royal Slave and Candide form the French writer Voltaire. In this text, I will consider optimism and pessimism in the Voltaire's novel, Candide or optimism (1959). There are two main different characters and each of them represents a different school of thought. They are Pangloss and Martin. The essay will examine the ways Candide reacts

Kurt Vonnegut’s Sirens of Titan explores a plethora of insightful topics: Society, the universe, human existence, free will, morality, and ultimately, the existential conflicts that emerge when these aspects come into dissonance. In light of this, humanity tends to critically downplay its role in shaping society, inadvertently coming into conflict with the very structures it created in the name of government and order. Vonnegut's vivid descriptions of Malachi Constant’s interactions with his futuristic

"I Became His Wife": Translating Jane Eyre in the Soviet Era In the midst of the Stalinist era, the most enduring Russian translation of Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre was published. In 1950, poet Vera Stanevich translated the novel, which brought greater interest in Charlotte Brontë's work. (Yamalova 40). A 1988 edition of Stanevich's translation shows how the predominant communist ideologies of the Soviet government influenced literary publishing–particularly with a foreign work. The introduction