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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What word does Rand use in "The Cult of Moral Grayness" to describe the common trend for people to believe there are not "blacks" and "whites," only grays?
(a) Conformative.
(b) Fashionable.
(c) Disgusting.
(d) Trendy.

2. According to Rand, what does an act of good will require in the eyes of the objectivist?
(a) Self-interest.
(b) Self-manipulation.
(c) Selfishness.
(d) Self-sacrifice.

3. What must one have before being able to find meaningful relationships with others?
(a) Self interest.
(b) Morality.
(c) Self worth.
(d) Happiness.

4. Ayn Rand defines value as something that a person believes is necessary to do what?
(a) Obtain and keep.
(b) Keep and follow.
(c) Obtain and obey.
(d) Learn and keep.

5. In which year was "Doesn't Life Require Compromise?" written?
(a) 1961.
(b) 1964.
(c) 1963.
(d) 1962.

Short Answer Questions

1. Complete the quote: "_____ is a desire experienced by a person who does not know and does not care to discover its cause."

2. What must the goals one chooses to pursue be in order to be a rational thinker?

3. What notion does Branden attempt to refute in his essay, "Isn't Everyone Selfish"?

4. Rand clarifies her point about compromise when she asks the question about the compromise ______ and _______ along with the question of reason versus irrationality.

5. Finish this argument as Rand presents it: X is ___________; therefore, his argument is false.

Short Essay Questions

1. What are Branden's thoughts on anxiety and guilt as stated in his essay regarding Mental Health and Mysticism?

2. What commonly upheld principle does Rand deem evil in Western Society as stated in her essay on living a rational life?

3. How might one find pleasure in doing productive work?

4. What does Rand mean when she states that one must not achieve her own interests by her own efforts only and not at the expense of others?

5. What is the answer to the question, "How does One Lead a Rational Life in an Irrational Society?"

6. Explain Rand's idea of the four considerations of a rational man's thought and their function.

7. What does Rand say about an act of good will in the case of an emergency?

8. Why is Ayn Rand so against compromise?

9. According to Branden's essay, "The Psychology of Pleasure," how are a person's individual pleasures determined?

10. How does altruism fit into Branden's essay, "Isn't Everyone Selfish?"

(see the answer keys)

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