of Moral Rights and Political Freedom, Viable Values: A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality, Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics—The Virtuous Egoist, and Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System.
Smith applied the "Page 99 Test" to her new book, Egoism without Permission: The Moral Psychology of Ayn Rand's Ethics, and reported the following:
Opening Egoism Without Permission to page 99 lands you in a discussion of self-esteem. Self-esteem is one of the central levers of the deep-set egoism that I explore in the book, yet that chapter alone – and certainly that single page – would provide a very partial view of what the book as a whole offers. So let me fill you in on the larger context of our sample page.Learn more about Egoism without Permission at the University of Pittsburgh Press website.
Egoism Without Permission embraces Ayn Rand’s ethics of rational egoism, the moral code that I consider necessary for individual human beings to truly flourish. Specifically, the book examines psychological dimensions of Rand’s theory that have received little previous attention but that are vital to successfully implementing her moral counsel. The book argues that even if a person essentially subscribes to rational egoism, his most fundamental motivation for being an egoist is critical. And it is sometimes obscure to the person himself.
This, then, is at the heart of the book: the claim that a person’s embrace of his happiness as an end in itself and, correspondingly, of rational egoism must be unconditional, motivated by his love of his life without apology and without seeking permission from some higher authority. To lead one’s life by that motivation, however, requires at least three additional factors: a proper understanding of the place of desires in one’s pursuits, a healthy quotient of independence, and well-earned self-esteem. I focus separate chapters on each of these three.
Page 99 falls within the explanation of self-esteem – what it is and is not, how it is attained, and exactly why it is crucial. There, I am particularly arguing that self-esteem is incompatible with altruism, the moral doctrine that virtually all of us are raised to accept as simply synonymous with moral goodness. Do for others. Serve.
That is not a recipe for human welfare, Rand argues, and it is not compatible with self-esteem, I argue. To see why not – and to do justice to one’s own happiness – one really should start reading on page 1.
--Marshal Zeringue
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