Ayn Rand’s philosophy “Objectivism” and her idea of “the ideal man” in comparison to modern approaches Diplomarbeit Zur Erlangung des Magistergrades An der Kultur- und Gesellschaftswissenschaftlichen Fakultät Der Universität Salzburg Fachbereich: Anglistik und Amerikanistik Gutachter: Dr. Ralph Poole Eingereicht von: Simone Koch Salzburg: 2018 1 Inhalt Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 4 1. Objectivism ........................................................................................................................... 6 1.1. Ayn Rand’s novels ........................................................................................................ 7 1.1.1 The Fountainhead (1943) ............................................................................................. 7 1.1.2. Atlas Shrugged (1957) .............................................................................................. 10 1.2. Reality ......................................................................................................................... 12 1.2.1. Reason ....................................................................................................................... 13 1.3. Capitalism – the economic system .............................................................................. 15 1.4. Happiness .................................................................................................................... 16 1.5. The (moral) evil of Altruism ....................................................................................... 18 2. The Theory of Virtues ......................................................................................................... 20 2.1. The Virtue of Selfishness ............................................................................................ 20 2.2. The Virtue of Productiveness ...................................................................................... 20 2.3. The Virtue of Pride ...................................................................................................... 22 2.4. The Virtue of Love ...................................................................................................... 22 2.5. The Virtue of Justice ................................................................................................... 23 2.6. The Virtue of Honesty ................................................................................................. 25 2.7. The Virtue of Independence ........................................................................................ 26 2.8. The Virtue of Integrity ................................................................................................ 26 3. The ideal man ...................................................................................................................... 28 3.1. Ayn Rand and Stoicism ............................................................................................... 29 3.2. Ayn Rand and Essentialism ........................................................................................ 32 3.2.1. Protecting the asset .................................................................................................... 33 3.2.2. The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing .......................................... 35 3.2.3 The importance of integrity ........................................................................................ 36 3.2.4. Essentially awkward .................................................................................................. 37 3.2.5. The necessity of playing ............................................................................................ 40 3.2.6. Is exploration necessary? .......................................................................................... 43 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 45 3.3. Ayn Rand and “The 50th law” ................................................................................... 47 3.3.1. Fear ............................................................................................................................ 48 3.3.2. Intense Realism ......................................................................................................... 49 3.3.3. Are we alone? ............................................................................................................ 53 3.3.4. A bad person.............................................................................................................. 57 3.3.5. Power: The trait of a first-hander or of a second-hander? ......................................... 61 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 63 2 3.4. Ayn Rand and “The Obstacle is the Way” ................................................................. 65 3.4.1. How to deal with pain ............................................................................................... 66 3.4.2. Encountering death .................................................................................................... 68 3.4.3. Emotions and perception ........................................................................................... 70 3.4.4. Finding the opportunities .......................................................................................... 71 3.4.5. Do your job................................................................................................................ 72 3.4.6. Helping others ........................................................................................................... 75 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 78 3.5. Ayn Rand and The Education of Millionaires ............................................................ 79 3.5.1. The educational system ............................................................................................. 80 3.5.2. Personal branding ...................................................................................................... 83 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 85 Final Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 86 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................ 89 Acknowledgment ........................................................................................................................ 92 Statutory Declaration ................................................................................................................. 93 3 Abstract This paper centers on the philosophy “Objectivism” by Ayn Rand and focuses primarily on the notion of her ideal man. The point of this paper is to compare Ayn Rand’s argumentation – with regard to the qualities and virtues man has to possess to live an ideal life – with the approach authors of the 21st century take towards this topic. To achieve a clear overview of both, the notions of the 1940s onwards and the current views on this subject, three works of Ayn Rand were examined closely and compared to four works of different modern-day writers. Theoretical information is provided on the philosophy of objectivism in general, Rand’s novels “The Fountainhead” (1943) and “Atlas Shrugged” (1957), as well as her collection of essays “The Virtue of Selfishness” (1964). 21st century authors and works included in this paper are Greg McKeown’s “Essentialism” (2014), Robert Greene’s collaboration with the rapper 50 Cent “The 50th law” (2009), Ryan Holiday and “The Obstacle is the Way” (2014) and finally Michael Ellsberg who published “The Education of Millionaires” (2011). While this thesis provides an introduction to the most important novels of Ayn Rand and her theoretical work, its main focus lies on the comparison of Rand’s ideal man, for example in the areas of work, relationships, education and self-improvement, to its modern equivalent. To illuminate whether Rand’s philosophy can still be regarded as essential today each of the following chapters in the third part of the thesis contains a comparison between her and one other author. The reader will be able to determine the importance of Rand’s works as a basis for improving one’s life and will understand whether or not “Objectivism” can be considered a contemporary philosophy. 4 Introduction Ayn Rand’s “Objectivism” is a widely discussed philosophy but known rather to specialists or lovers of her work than the broad mass. Her views are straightforward. Neither in her essays nor her novels does she leave a lot of space for discussion. This is, however, one of the main points that make her philosophy so attractive, as she is one of few who does not content herself with blurry definitions and a lack of real world examples, but rather strives to depict her ideas as clearly and with as little room for interpretation as possible. One