A companion to Ayn Rand /

After an informative introduction and a brief biography of the Russian émigrée who went on to celebrate and defend her vision of the American way of life, each chapter of this Companion focuses on a different aspect of the philosophy she developed, or on a selection of her writings. Several chapters tackle her views on ethics and the metaphysical and epistemological foundations of her philosophy. Others examine Rand's thoughts on political theory, her approach to literature (as both theorist and author), and her acute analysis of contemporary events. Taken together, the chapters provide insight into Rand's distinctive worldview, offering a holistic approach to her body of work in relation to the fields she influenced. This publication provides a thorough, scholarly grounding in Rand's varied and highly original work, offering the most wide-ranging and up-to-date survey available. -- from back cover.Includes bibliographical references (pages 463-469) and index.Part I: Context -- An introduction to the study of Ayn Rand / Gregory Salmieri -- The life of Ayn Rand: Writing, reading, and related life events / Shoshana Milgram -- Part II: Ethics and human nature -- The act of valuing (and the objectivity of values) / Gregory Salmieri -- The morality of life / Allan Gotthelf (completed by Gregory Salmieri) -- A being of self-made soul / Onkar Ghate -- Egoism and altruism: Selfishness and sacrifice / Gregory Salmieri -- Part III: Society -- "A human society": Rand's social philosophy / Darryl Wright -- Political theory: A radical for capitalism / Fred D. Miller, Jr. and Adam Mossoff -- Objective law / Tara Smith -- "A free mind and a free market are corollaries": Rand's philosophical perspective on capitalism / Onkar Ghate -- Part IV: The foundations of objectivism -- Objectivist metaphysics: The primacy of existence / Jason G. Rheins -- The objectivist epistemology / Gregory Salmieri -- Part V: Philosophers and their effects -- "Who sets the tone for a culture?": Ayn Rand's approach to the history of philosophy / James G. Lennox -- Ayn Rand's evolving view of Friedrich Nietzsche / Lester H. Hunt -- A philosopher on her times: Ayn Rand's political and cultural commentary / John David Lewis and Gregory Salmieri -- Part VI: Art -- The objectivist esthetics: Art and the needs of a conceptual consciousness / Harry Binswanger -- Rand's literary romanticism / Tore Boeckmann -- Coda -- Hallmarks of objectivism: The benevolent universe premise and the heroic view of man / Allan Gotthelf and Gregory Salmieri.After an informative introduction and a brief biography of the Russian émigrée who went on to celebrate and defend her vision of the American way of life, each chapter of this Companion focuses on a different aspect of the philosophy she developed, or on a selection of her writings. Several chapters tackle her views on ethics and the metaphysical and epistemological foundations of her philosophy. Others examine Rand's thoughts on political theory, her approach to literature (as both theorist and author), and her acute analysis of contemporary events. Taken together, the chapters provide insight into Rand's distinctive worldview, offering a holistic approach to her body of work in relation to the fields she influenced. This publication provides a thorough, scholarly grounding in Rand's varied and highly original work, offering the most wide-ranging and up-to-date survey available. -- from back cover