Defining the Terms

When we speak words we have a preconceived idea of what those terms mean when we use them, for example: love, hate, good, evil, God, and truth. Although there are general definitions for the terms I have listed above, each person may have a different definition colored by their particular worldview or experiences.  Love for some may be defined by sexual passion or emotional ecstasy; god may be defined as personal or non personal.

Ayn Rand was a philosophical novelist and ethical egoist who believed altruism was a misguided and self destructive behavior that demeaned an individual.  Ayn Rand believed that self-sacrifice was immoral because an individual who sacrifices her/his comfort or life for another is saying that the other person's comfort or life is more valuable than their own.  Logically her point is not contradictory, however, it is not necessarily true. A mother may lay down her life for her children out of love for them not because she does not value her life but because she loves her children.  Ayn Rand may not agree with the mother’s definition of love because it is not an ethical egoist worldview. For Ayn loving somebody is intrinsically tied to your own personal benefit, but for the mother, it is tied to the well being of the one who is loved; one love is towards the self and the other is focused on the value of the one loved.

Why would Ayn Rand be so hostile towards self-sacrifice and altruism? Ayn was a young girl when Hitler was over Germany and Stalin ruled Russia. Hitler and Stalin used the terms self-sacrifice and altruism to define how they wanted the German and Russian citizens to live for their nations and ultimately for them.  Their brands of national socialism advocated and elevated the needs of the state over the needs of the individual.  The National Socialist Party had little concern for the individual German citizen and Stalin's Russia treated his people as a means to an end, regardless of who they were, their only value as an individual is how they benefited the state.  The idea of altruism and sacrifice were used to manipulate the German and Russian citizens into doing Hitlers and Stalin's will.  The dogma of these socialist parties under these tyrants made killing any individual perceived as a threat to the state a mandated act of loyalty, or if you will, an ethical mandate of the state.  It was this type of definition twisting that assisted in the killing of millions of Germans, Russians, Jews, the disabled, and those who were not of a particular race or political affiliation.

Looking back we can see why Ayn Rand was so opposed to altruism and self-sacrifice.  Rand’s experience of altruism and self-sacrifice was the death of millions of innocent people, including family, and the destruction of the country she loved.  We see this with the terms father and mother.  Those who had an abusive mother or father do not find comfort or love in those terms but only pain and loss.  I want you to be aware of your own world view and experiences as you consider your positions on ethical systems.  Question your motives for your points of view, your fears, your prejudices, and hopes.  It is important to ask: Why do I think the way I think, and have I thought through my ethical positions?