Ethics of Emergencies

In Ethics of Emergencies, Ayn Rand promotes and defends the concept of self-interest - Objectivism. "She claims that people have a right" (Rosenstand 195) and a moral responsibility to make themselves happy. People should do whatever they please, and if they find it pleasing to be selfless, then so be it. In her view, altruism is harmful to the world because people are obligated to help "moochers and leeches" (Rosenstand 195). Critics state that Rand's Objectivism suggests false dichotomy, in that there is no middle ground between altruism and objectivism. Furthermore, Ayn Rand claims that altruism has a false dichotomy as well, which is "between selflessness and inhumanity" (218). Due to its outrageousness, Rand's point-of-view is much more compelling than the former.

It can be generally assumed that altruism is an act selflessness and nothing less. Diverting from this assumption, Rand claims that altruism equates to a "lack of self esteem" (Rosenstand 215), a "lack of respect for others" (Rosenstand 215), "a nightmare view of existence" (Rosenstand 215), and a "lethargic indifference to ethics" (Rosenstand 215). She supports her belief through the use of the strawman fallacy, meaning that she "misrepresented [the altruists'] argument to make it easier to attack" (Richardson). There are also other fallacies such as ad hominem which in latin means to the man. An example of this would be Mitt Romney saying we should not vote for Obama be cause his hair is thin. It has nothing to do with Obama as a person.

Works Cited

Richardson, Jesse, Andy Smith, and Som Meaden. "Strawman." Thou Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies. N.p., 2012. Web. 01 Oct. 2013.

Rosenstand, Nina. The Moral of the Story: An Introduction to Questions of Ethics