Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist

Do you ever get uneasy when trying to connect abstract ideas to practical reality? If so, this is the book for you. Tara Smith is an excellent transmitter of Ayn Rand's ideas. Her presentation is clear, rational, and engaging. In Normative Ethics, she discusses each of the seven primary virtues from Rand's Atlas Shrugged. She traces their roots and demonstrates their applicability in various examples with different contexts. Each virtue is tied to reality and viewed from the context of how it affects your life.She also discusses other traits that are commonly referred to virtues and offers her analysis on their merits.Overall, the supreme value in this book is showing you the reader why philosophy is important. Why the ideas behind ethics can shape man's mind to act in a way that leads to success and happiness in action.If only other philosophies presented their ethics in such a clear manner. Highly recommend!

I thought this was an excellent distillation and presentation of Ayn Rand's ethical philosophy. Smith puts it all together in one place and presents it in a very logical and well thought out manner. She correctly points out that much of what is assumed an ethical theory is just that – assumed but not supported or justified. I thought this was a great book and highly recommend it.

Ayn Rand was an able genius who created "A Philosophy for Living on Earth" and my life has been measurably improved by a richer understanding of how Aristotle suggested we achieve happiness! Well worth the cost and I'll read it again!

Professor Smith's book is a wonderful summary of the principles behind and the practice of Objectivist Ethics. It was mostly review for me since I have read all of Ayn Rand's fiction and non-fiction works. It has been a while however, so it was a good refresher. It also brought the concepts that are scattered throughout Rand's and other objectivists' works into one book. The book is well written and logically structured. I especially liked her emphasis on Objectivism being action oriented. Her examples added to the understanding and overall the book is a good addition to the canon.My only critique is that she constantly drops Ayn Rand's name. The books title “Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics…” already had me squirming when I bought the book. Professor Smith kept me squirming by constantly writing things like “in Rand's view…” and “Rand holds…” even when she was not directly quoting. Yes, Ayn Rand was the founder and remains by far the most important thinker of the philosophical system, but Rand herself hated the cult of personality that surrounded her. I am an Objectivist, not a “Randist.” It is obvious, from the fervor with which she writes between the name dropping, that Professor Smith is also an Objectivist. If she weren't and was trying to provide and objective, external view of the subject matter, my discomfort would disappear. In the end, however, the book is a defense of objectivist ethics and not just cold, distanced scholarly work. There is nothing wrong with that.Why couldn't she just write a book on Objectivist Ethics? As another reviewer noted, she failed to use much “non-Rand” (or Peikoff) source material. Perhaps she herself believes in the cult of personality. Another speculation might be that she was trying to avoid the stigma that follows objectivists (Oh the names I've been called) by hiding behind the “it was her idea” evasion. Perhaps she is trying to distance herself from the US Christian right and what Rand called the “hippies of the right.” They have been trying to make “Randism” their own since long before Rand died. Regardless, I found it rather inconsistent with the Objectivist Ethics which she describes.Despite this annoyance, I would recommend the book to anyone interested in understanding Objectivist Ethics better.

Outstanding treatment of then virtues and as good as Peikoff in some areas. Look forward to next book by Dr Smith.