Ayn Rand’s Philosophy of Objectivism in Atlas Shrugged: A Psycho-Analytic Study of Character Relationships

Abstract

In terms of ethics, Ayn Rand’s Philosophy of Objectivism has as its center piece Ethical Egoism as the code of virtue regulating human course as well as their relationships, ensuring harmony and mutual respects within society. The following essay studies Rand’s philosophy with focus on Ethical Egoism both from the philosophical and the psychological facade. Rand’s latest novel Atlas Shrugged is to be used as a model for illustrating the concrete implications of the Objectivist Theory in contrast with opposing doctrines as ideologies embraced by the novel’s characters. Moreover a psycho-analysis of the novels character would be presented as a link between Ethical Egoism as a philosophical dogma and the self-based psychological theories.