Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness - Criticisms of Non-Rational Ethics - Sadler's Lectures

20/11/2025 15 min
Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness - Criticisms of Non-Rational Ethics - Sadler's Lectures

Listen "Ayn Rand, The Virtue of Selfishness - Criticisms of Non-Rational Ethics - Sadler's Lectures"

Episode Synopsis

This lecture discusses key ideas from the 20th century philosopher and novelist Ayn Rand's book The Virtue of Selfishness, in particular the chapter "The Objectivist Ethics"

This focuses specifically on her discussion of what she terms "non-rational" ethics, by way of contrast to her own rational egoist or "objectivist ethics". She examines what she calls the "mystic", "social", and "subjectivist" ethics, and criticizes what she views as the "false dichotomy of altruism".

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