The Virtue of Selfishness Summary
Ayn Rand

The Virtue of Selfishness Summary

The Virtue of Selfishness is a collection of essays written by Ayn Rand and her associate, psychologist Nathaniel Branden. The essays were separately published between 1962 and 1964 in the monthly publication The Objectivist Newsletter, with the exception of the first chapter of the book, "The Objectivist Ethics", which was published in 1961. In this collection, Rand develops the ethical principles of her philosophy of Objectivism. Rand's complex philosophy embodies all aspects of intellectual life including politics, economics, epistemology, aesthetics, and ethics. Though she does address issues of politics, economics, epistemology, and aesthetics throughout the book, Rand focuses on how these issues apply to the ethical theory of Objectivism.

Rand begins her work with an overall summary of Objectivist ethics and then follows up this discussion with extensive applications of this theory within various issues that arise in society. In its most basic form, Rand's ethical theory is the development... View more of the The Virtue of Selfishness Summary