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Introductory Semester Schedule

Selfishness

Suggested campus talks

Andrew Bernstein: "Rational Egoism in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead"
Peter Schwartz: "The Virtue of Selfishness: Ayn Rand's Radical Code of Morality"
Tara Smith: “Passing Judgment: Ayn Rand’s View of Justice”
Tara Smith: “The Virtuous Egoist” 

Video Recordings

Andrew Bernstein: "Rational Egoism in Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead"
Harry Binswanger: Debate: "Selfishness: Moral Offense or Moral Ideal?"
Peter Schwartz: "The Virtue of Selfishness: Ayn Rand's Radical Code of Morality"

Audio Recordings

Andrew Bernstein: "Rational Egoism in The Fountainhead" (2 lectures) (Available in Lending Library)
Peter Schwartz: "The Objectivist Virtue of Selfishness"
Tara Smith: "Self-Interest" (6 lectures)

Suggested reading list

Ayn Rand: "Introduction" The Virtue of Selfishness
Ayn Rand: "The Objectivist Ethics" The Virtue of Selfishness
Ayn Rand: "Who Is the Final Authority in Ethics?" The Voice of Reason
Ayn Rand: "The Ethics of Emergencies" The Virtue of Selfishness
Ayn Rand: "Causality Versus Duty" Philosophy: Who Needs It
Ayn Rand: "The 'Conflicts' of Men's Interests" The Virtue of Selfishness
Ayn Rand: "Altruism as Appeasement" The Voice of Reason
Ayn Rand: "Selfishness Without a Self" Philosophy: Who Needs It
Leonard Peikoff: Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, chapter 7

Discussion Questions

1. How does Ayn Rand’s definition of selfishness differ from the conventional definition?

2. According to Ayn Rand, selfishness is both moral and practical. What does she mean by this?

3. What does it mean to be moral? Why is it important to define one’s moral code?

4. Differentiate independence from the moral code of the second-hander.

5. What is the Objectivist view of charity?

6. Psychological egoism argues that all men are ultimately selfish. Is this view consistent with the Objectivist view of selfishness? Explain.

Note: If you decide to work through chapter 7 of Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, a good approach is to read the section as homework before each meeting.