65 A Review of The Virtue Of Selfishness By Ayn Rand

This episode is a review of "The Virtue of Selfishness" by Ayn Rand. It is a group discussion and the guests include Stephanie Murphy from Porc Therapy and other friends. Here are some of the things we cover in the discussion:

• The book's gutsy title and the controversy surrounding it.
• The pros and cons of Ayn Rand's morality and her own moralising.
• Aspects of the book we found unconvincing, such as her dismissal of voluntaryism and her idea that no conflict of interest is possible between rational people.
• Rand's convincing takedown of ethical lifeboat scenarios.
• The fact that Ayn Rand is ignored in universities.
• The impact that some of Ayn Rand's contradictions (on intellectual property and on non-aggression) have had on the objectivist movement's development, especially it's pro-war stance on foreign policy.
• Her deconstruction of other moral theories that were around during her time.
• Plus, we have a lot of fun talking about her strange views on tapdancing and morality!