Randian Hero - Philosophical Foundation

Philosophical Foundation

As a conception of the ideal man, the Randian hero has much in common with Aristotle's conception of agathos, in that both are morally heroic and heroically rational. The philosophers share a similar naturalist/objectivist meta-ethical perspective emphasizing character as the primary determinant of moral worth, and possess a fundamentally heroic attitude towards life. The Randian hero exemplifies ethical egoism, the normative ethical position that the self-interest of the individual ought to be the basis for moral action. The specific virtues of the Randian hero, like the Aristotelian ideal, are created from rationality, the primary virtue; rationality is the hero's basic tool of survival, to be exercised at all times. The primary value, the "highest moral purpose", is happiness (cf. eudaimonia). Rand frequently declared her motive and purpose in writing to be "the projection of an ideal man"; all of her protagonists are heroes.