Objectivism 101

By Francois Tremblay

Lesson 4: Rational Ethics

We will now discuss the branch of ethics, that is, the study of how to act. Objectivism holds that man's rational faculty must guide his actions, not faith or epistemic skepticism.

Introduction

Now that we have reviewed the notion of reason in detail, we can proceed to the other two branches of Objectivism which are the subject of this course - ethics and politics. Both these branches concern knowledge - of behaviour and society - and therefore are subject to reason.

We will first examine what is the basis for Objectivist ethics, and the concepts which it introduces. In this lesson, as well as the next, I will again refer to Objectivism : The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.

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Lessons

Introduction
Lesson 1: What is Objectivism, Reason Defined
Lesson 2: Reason Applied to Astrology
Lesson 3: Reason Applied to the God-Concept
Lesson 4: Rational Ethics
• Introduction
• Reason applied to action
• Value-based ethics
• Egoism as the rejection of sacrifice
• Religious absolutism and nihilist destruction
• Value-based judgments
• Bibliography and sites to visit
Lesson 5: Living in Society
Lesson 6: Individual Rights and the State
Lesson 7: Three political examples
Lesson 8: Consequences of Objectivism