Ethical egoism, also known as objectivism, is a philosophical concept developed by Ayn Rand (1943). She differs with Psychological egoism which claims that all actions are a result of self-interest, altruism and rational egoism; she argues that man should not sacrifice oneself or any other person for a course. The sole purpose of human life is to protect itself and pursue what they are interested in.
The core principal of objectivism is the power of free will. Every individual can choose what they will prefer to do, the decision they make is, but a means to ensure they survive in their environment. Application of reason in the decision-making process enables the individual to achieve happiness and purpose which is contrary to altruism which campaigns for putting one’s feelings at stake for the sake of others (Batson, 2016).
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Self-interest is the pursuit of what matters to you by selfishly centering oneself. For happiness to be achieved man should be centered in what they believe in and not be drawn to the sympathy of others with their comfort at stake (Batson, 2016). Other people’s opinions and views should not be put first before yours. She goes further to explain that this should not be misunderstood for exploiting others for self-gain.
Rand emphasized that; reason should guide every single decision one makes. What is believed to be accurate using thinking of self-convincing and not mere faith or subjection to a system? The basis of reason is on epistemology which is the theory of separating belief from opinion and validation of ideas. It not right, she says, for anyone to submit to the commands of a group of people with no proof of what they rather than a belief in a singularity or a law that exploits and forces others to bend to their dictates.
Relation with one another should not be an exploitive existence. There is no master over another or slave under any; everyman is an independent entity that pursues their objectives and interests. The relation between humans should not be between ranks; rather it should be one of the equal partners such as in trade (Lee, 2016). No man may use force to cause someone does what they have not voluntarily consented to do, and no force is used to gain individual self-satisfaction. Each person, therefore, can retract whenever they feel they have been dealt unfairly.
In her novel The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand displays a character, Howard Roark, as a symbol and hero for the question of separation from influence in the society. Roark can convince society at the end of the novel because of his stand against exploitation. The struggle for independence of thought is not confined to Roark; instead, the whole society is silently being irritated by the idea of dependency on other peoples’ opinions and dictation.
In conclusion, I do not concur with Ayn and her theory of objectivism. Although it is true that one should not be subjected to being tortured and abused by law or believe that views human beings as an animal for sacrifice, I don’t agree with the fact that we should always put ourselves before everyone else. Helping another human being at the cost of your happiness is still a noble thing to do. Therefore, it is worth noting that the existence of humanity is anchored in the ability to support each other and be there for one another.
References
Lee, H. (2016). The joy of working together. Nature Nanotechnology, 11(6), 574.
Batson, C. D., Ahmad, N., Lishner, D. A., & Tsang, J. (2016). Empathy and altruism. Oxford handbook of hypo-egoic phenomena: Theory and research on the quiet ego, 161-174.
