A Critical Examination of the Ethical Philosophy of Ayn Rand

The central purpose of this paper is to critically examine and to render consistent three major areas of Ayn Rand's ethical philosophy "Objectivism." The three areas under consideration will be the intrinsic good and the basic extrinsic goods of Objectivism, the Objectivist theory of obligation, and the Objectivist position concerning happiness.

The task of analyzing these three areas of Objectivism will involve, first, a description of the position under consideration, second, an analysis of the meaning of the position, and third, an analysis of the internal consistency and/or truth of the position under consideration. This analysis shall be used in each of the areas listed above.