Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
  1. Home
  2. Books
  3. Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics
  • Cited by 40
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Online publication date:
June 2012
Print publication year:
2006
Online ISBN:
9781139167352
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139167352
Subjects:
Ethics, Philosophy
Information

Book description

Ayn Rand is well known for advocating egoism, but the substance of that instruction is rarely understood. Far from representing the rejection of morality, selfishness, in Rand's view, actually demands the practice of a systematic code of ethics. This book explains the fundamental virtues that Rand considers vital for a person to achieve his objective well-being: rationality, honesty, independence, justice, integrity, productiveness, and pride. Tracing Rand's account of the harmony of human beings' rational interests, Smith examines what each of these virtues consists of, why it is a virtue, and what it demands of a person in practice. Along the way she addresses the status of several conventional virtues within Rand's theory, considering traits such as kindness, charity, generosity, temperance, courage, forgiveness, and humility. Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics thus offers an in-depth exploration of several specific virtues and an illuminating integration of these with the broader theory of egoism.

Reviews

'The first detailed and scholarly study of Rand’s conception of virtue, Tara Smith’s Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist is an important and timely book.'

Robert Mayhew Source: Philosophical Books

'The issues raised by this book are manifold and provocative.'

Helen Cullyer Source: Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

Refine List

Actions for selected content:

Select all | Deselect all
  • View selected items
  • Export citations
  • Download PDF (zip)
  • Save to Kindle
  • Save to Dropbox
  • Save to Google Drive

Save Search

You can save your searches here and later view and run them again in "My saved searches".

Please provide a title, maximum of 40 characters.
Cancel
×

Contents

Contents
References
Select List of Works Consulted
Anagostopoulos, Georgios. “Ancient Perfectionism and its Modern Critics.” Social Philosophy and Policy 16, no. 1 (Winter 1999): 197–232.
Annas, Julia. The Morality of Happiness. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
Annas, Julia. “Wickedness as Psychological Breakdown.” The Southern Journal of Philosophy. Spindel supplement XⅬIII (2005): 1–19.
Aquinas, Thomas. Basic Writings of St. Thomas Aquinas. Edited by Pegis, Anton C.. New York: Random House, 1945.
Aquinas, Thomas. Summa Theologica. London: Burn, Oates and Washbourne, 1932.
Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics.
Armstrong, Karen. A History of God. New York: Ballantine, 1993.
Badhwar, Neera K. “Self-Interest and Virtue.” Social Philosophy and Policy 14, no. 1 (Winter 1997): 226–263.
Badhwar, Neera Kapur. “Altruism versus Self-Interest: Sometimes a False Dichotomy.” Social Philosophy and Policy 10, no. 1 (Winter 1993): 90–117.
Baron, Marcia. “On de-Kantianizing the Perfectly Moral Person.” Journal of Value Inquiry 17 (1983): 281–294.
Berliner, Michael S., ed. Letters of Ayn Rand. New York: Penguin, 1995.
Biddle, Craig. Loving Life. Richmond, VA: Glen Allen Press, 2002.
Binswanger, Harry, ed. The Ayn Rand Lexicon. New York: New American Library, 1986.
Binswanger, Harry. The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts. Marina del Rey, CA: Ayn Rand Institute Press, 1990.
Binswanger, Harry. “The Possible Dream,” Part 1. The Objectivist Forum 2, no. 1 (Feb. 1981): 1–5.
Blum, Lawrence. “Altruism.” Encyclopedia of Ethics. Edited by Becker, Lawrence C.. New York: Garland, 1992. Vol. 1. 50–54.
Blum, Lawrence. “Friendship as a Moral Phenomenon.” Friendship: A Philosophical Reader. Edited by Badhwar, Neera. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1993. 192–210.
Bok, Sissela. Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life. New York: Random House. 3rd edition, 1999.
Bond, E. J. “Theories of the Good.” Encyclopedia of Ethics. Edited by Becker, Lawrence C.. New York: Garland, 1992. Vol. 1. 620–624.
Brink, David. “Self-Love and Altruism.” Social Philosophy and Policy 14, no. 1 (1997): 122–157.
Butler, Joseph. Fifteen Sermons Preached at the Rolls Chapel. In The British Moralists – 1650–1800, Vol. I. Edited by Raphael, D. D.. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.
Cabot, Richard C.Honesty. New York: MacMillan, 1938.
Calhoun, Cheshire. “Standing for Something.” The Journal of Philosophy XⅭII, no. 5 (May 1995): 256–260.
Chazan, Pauline. “Self-Esteem, Self-Respect, and Love of Self: Ways of Valuing the Self.” Philosophia 26 (1998): 41–63.
Comte-Sponville, Andre. A Small Treatise on the Great Virtues. Translated by Catherine Temerson. New York: Henry Holt, 2001.
Cooper, John. Reason and Human Good in Aristotle. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1986.
Cox, Damian, Lacaze, Marguerite, and Levine, Michael P.. “Should We Strive for Integrity?” Journal of Value Inquiry 33 (1999): 519–530.
Dalai Lama. “On Pride, Courage, and Self.” Virtuous Persons, Vicious Deeds. Edited by Hooke, Alexander E.. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1999. 423–437.
Darwall, Stephen L.Impartial Reason. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1983.
Dent, N. J. H.The Moral Psychology of the Virtues. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984.
Uyl, Douglas. “The Right to Welfare and the Virtue of Charity.” Social Philosophy and Policy 10 (Winter 1993): 192–224.
Douglass, Frederick. “Self-Made Men.” The Frederick Douglass Papers, Series One, vol. 5. Edited by Blassingame, John W. and McKivigan, John R.. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1992. 545–575.
Driver, Julia. Uneasy Virtue. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Foot, Philippa. Natural Goodness. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2001.
French, Peter A.The Virtues of Vengeance. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2001.
Fried, Charles. “The Evil of Lying.” Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life. Edited by Sommers, Christina and Sommers, Fred. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2nd edition, 1989. 346–356.
Garnett, A. Campbell. “Charity and Natural Law.” Ethics 66, no. 2 (Jan. 1956): 117–122.
Gaut, Berys. “The Structure of Practical Reason.” Ethics and Practical Reason. Edited by Cullity, Garrett and Gaut, Berys. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997. 161–188.
Gewirth, Alan. Self-Fulfillment. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998.
Gotthelf, Allan. On Ayn Rand. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2000.
Graham, Jody. “Does Integrity Require Moral Goodness?” Ratio XIV, no. 3 (Sept 2001): 234–251.
Greenspan, Patricia. Emotions and Reasons. New York: Routledge, 1988.
Griffiths, Paul E.What Emotions Really Are. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1997.
Haber, Joram Graf. Forgiveness. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1991.
Hampton, Jean. “Selflessness and the Loss of Self.” Social Philosophy and Policy 10, no. 1 (Winter 1993): 135–165.
Hampton, Jean. “The Wisdom of the Egoist: The Moral and Political Implications of Valuing the Self.” Social Philosophy and Policy 14, no. 1 (Winter 1997): 21–51.
Harman, Gilbert. “Moral Psychology Meets Social Psychology.” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society 93 (1999): 315–331.
Harriman, David, ed. Journals of Ayn Rand. New York: Penguin, 1997.
Hart, H. L. A. “Are There Any Natural Rights?” Rights. Edited by Lyons, David. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1979. 14–25.
Hull, Gary, and Peikoff, Leonard, eds. The Ayn Rand Reader. New York: Penguin, 1999.
Hunt, Lester H.Character and Culture. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1997.
Hursthouse, Rosalind. On Virtue Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Irwin, Terence. Plato's Ethics. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Khawaja, Irfan. “Tara Smith's Viable Values: A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality.” Reason Papers 26 (Summer 2003): 63–88.
Korsgaard, Christine. The Sources of Normativity. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
Kraut, Richard. Aristotle on the Human Good. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989.
Kristjansn, Kristjan. “Pridefulness.” The Journal of Value Inquiry 35 (2001): 165–178.
Kupfer, Joseph. “Generosity of Spirit.” The Journal of Value Inquiry 32 (1998): 357–368.
Lennox, James G. “Health as an Objective Value.” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 20 (1995): 499–511.
Lewis, C. S.Mere Christianity. New York: MacMillan, 1952.
Lomasky, Loren. “Justice to Charity.” Social Philosophy and Policy 12, no 2 (Summer 1995): 32–53.
Machan, Tibor. Generosity – Virtue in Civil Society. Washington, DC: Cato Institute, 1998.
MacIntyre, Alasdair. “The Nature of the Virtues.” Virtue Ethics. Edited by Crisp, Roger and Slote, Michael. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. 118–140.
Mayhew, Robert, ed. Ayn Rand Answers. New York: Penguin, 2005.
McFall, Lynne. “Integrity.” Ethics 98 (October 1987): 5–20.
Murphy, Jeffrie G. and Hampton, Jean. Forgiveness and Mercy. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Murphy, Jeffrie G.Getting Even – Forgiveness and its Limits. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
Nagel, Thomas. The Possibility of Altruism. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1970.
Nagel, Thomas. The View from Nowhere. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Newberry, Paul. “Joseph Butler on Forgiveness: A Presupposed Theory of Emotion.” Journal of the History of Ideas 62 (April 2001): 233–244.
Nozick, Robert. The Examined Life. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
Osterberg, Jan. Self and Others – A Study of Ethical Egoism. Boston: Kluwer, 1988.
Passmore, John. The Perfectibility of Man. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1970.
Peikoff, Leonard. Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. New York: Penguin, 1991.
Peikoff, Leonard. The Ominous Parallels. New York: Stein & Day, 1982.
Pope, Stephen. “Aquinas on Almsgiving, Justice and Charity: An Interpretation and Reassessment.” The Heythrop Journal 32, no. 2 (April 1991): 167–191.
Railton, Peter. “Facts and Values.” Philosophical Topics 14 (Fall 1986): 5–31.
Rand, Ayn. Atlas Shrugged. 1957. New York: Dutton, 1992 edition.
Rand, Ayn. Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. New York: Signet, 1967.
Rand, Ayn. For the New Intellectual. New York: Random House, 1961.
Rand, Ayn. The Fountainhead. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1943.
Rand, Ayn. Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. Edited by Peikoff, Leonard and Binswanger, Harry. New York: Penguin, 2nd edition, 1990.
Rand, Ayn. “The Money-Making Personality.” Why Businessmen Need Philosophy. Edited by Ralston, Richard E.. Marina Del Rey, CA: Ayn Rand Institute Press, 1999.
Rand, Ayn. Philosophy: Who Needs It. New York: Bobbs-Merrill, 1982.
Rand, Ayn. “Playboy's Interview with Ayn Rand.” (March 1964). Reprint pamphlet published by The Intellectual Activist.
Rand, Ayn. Return of the Primitive – The Anti-Industrial Revolution. Edited by Schwartz, Peter. New York: Meridian, 1999.
Rand, Ayn. The Romantic Manifesto. New York: Penguin, 1975.
Rand, Ayn. The Virtue of Selfishness. New York: Signet/Penguin, 1964.
Rand, Ayn. The Voice of Reason – Essays in Objectivist Thought. Edited by Peikoff, Leonard. New York: New American Library, 1988.
Rand, Ayn. Ayn Rand Papers. Ayn Rand Audio Collection. The Ayn Rand Program, Series #A3, WKCR, New York: NY, 1962; and Interviews by Barbara and Nathaniel Branden, tape recording, New York, New York, December 1960–May 1961, The Ayn Rand Archives, A Collection of the Ayn Rand Institute.
Richards, Norvin. Humility. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992.
Roberts, Robert C. “What is Wrong with Wicked Feelings?” American Philosophical Quarterly 28 (Jan. 1991): 13–24.
Roberts, Robert C. “Will Power and the Virtues.” Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life. Edited by Sommers, Christina and Sommers, Fred. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2nd edition, 1989. 232–253.
Rogers, Kelly. “Beyond Self and Other.” Social Philosophy and Policy 14, no. 1 (Winter 1997): 1–20.
Sachs, David. “How to Distinguish Self-Respect from Self-Esteem.” Philosophy and Public Affairs 10, no. 4 (1981): 346–360.
Salamon, Julie. Rambam's Ladder – A Meditation on Generosity and Why It Is Necessary to Give. New York: Workman Publishing, 2003.
Schmidtz, David. “Reasons for Altruism.” Social Philosophy and Policy 10, no. 1 (Winter 1993): 52–68.
Schmidtz, David. “Self-Interest: What's in It for Me?” Social Philosophy and Policy 14, no. 1 (Winter 1997): 107–121.
Shaver, Robert. Rational Egoism. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Sitwell, Edith. “Pride.” Virtuous Persons, Vicious Deeds. Edited by Hooke, Alexander E.. Mountain View, CA: Mayfield, 1999. 437–442.
Smith, Tara. “Egoistic Friendship.” American Philosophical Quarterly. Forthcoming.
Smith, Tara. “Intrinsic Value: Look-Say Ethics.” Journal of Value Inquiry 32 (December 1998): 539–553.
Smith, Tara. “Justice as a Personal Virtue.” Social Theory and Practice 25, no. 3 (Fall 1999): pp. 361–384.
Smith, Tara. “The Metaphysical Case for Honesty.” Journal of Value Inquiry 37 (2003): 517–531.
Smith, Tara. “Morality Without the Wink: A Defense of Moral Perfection.” Journal of Philosophical Research 29 (2004): 315–331.
Smith, Tara. Moral Rights and Political Freedom. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 1995.
Smith, Tara. “The Practice of Pride.” Virtue and Vice. Edited by Paul, Ellen Frankel, Miller, Fred D. Jr., and Paul, Jeffrey. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. 71–90.
Smith, Tara. “Rights, Friends and Egoism.” Journal of Philosophy XⅭ (March 1993): 144–148.
Smith, Tara. “Tolerance and Forgiveness: Virtues or Vices?” Journal of Applied Philosophy 14, no. 1 (1997): 31–41.
Smith, Tara. Viable Values: A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.
Smith, Tara. “Why do I Love Thee? A Response to Nozick's Account of Romantic Love.” Southwest Philosophy Review 7 (January 1991): 47–57.
Snow, Nancy. “Humility.” Journal of Value Inquiry 29 (1995): 203–216.
Solomon, Robert C., ed. Wicked Pleasures – Meditations on the Seven “Deadly” Sins. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 1999.
Sousa, Ronald. The Rationality of Emotion. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1987.
Spinoza, Baruch. The Ethics and Selected Letters. Edited by Feldman, Seymour. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1982.
Taylor, Gabriele. “Deadly Vices?” How Should One Live? Edited by Crisp, Roger. Oxford: Clarendon, 1996. 157–172.
Taylor, Gabriele. “Integrity.” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society supp. vol. (1981): 143–159.
Telfer, Elizabeth. “Friendship.” Other Selves – Philosophers on Friendship. Edited by Pakaluk, Michael. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1991. 248–267.
Thomas, Laurence. “Ethical Egoism and Psychological Dispositions.” American Philosophical Quarterly 17 (1980): 73–78.
Thomas, Laurence. Living Morally – A Psychology of Moral Character. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1989.
Twambley, P. “Mercy and Forgiveness.” Analysis 36, no. 2 (January 1976): 84–90.
Ingen, John. Why Be Moral? The Egoistic Challenge. New York: Peter Lang, 1994.
Vlastos, Gregory. “The Individual as an Object of Love in Plato.” Platonic Studies. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973. 3–34.
Wallace, James D.Virtues and Vices. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1978.
Wellman, Carl. A Theory of Rights. Totowa, NJ: Rowman & Allanheld, 1985.
Woodruff, Paul. Reverence – Renewing a Forgotten Virtue. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Zagzebski, Linda. Virtues of the Mind. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1996.

Metrics

Altmetric attention score

Full text views

Total number of HTML views: 0
Total number of PDF views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

Book summary page views

Total views: 0 *
Loading metrics...

* Views captured on Cambridge Core between #date#. This data will be updated every 24 hours.

Usage data cannot currently be displayed.