Books About Selfishness

Craig Biddle: Loving Life; The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support it. Loving Life demonstrates that morality is a matter not of divine revelation or social convention or personal opinion—but, rather, of the factual requirements of human life and happiness. Biddle shows how a true morality is derived logically from observable facts, what in essence such a morality demands, and why it is a matter of pure self-interest. “…challenging, informative, thoughtful…. Loving Life is a fresh voice of reason…. Very highly recommended reading….’ —The Midwest Book Review. “…clear, simple, and…succinct…. The author performs effectively the difficult task of taking abstract moral principles and concretizing them for intelligent individuals who have little or no prior knowledge of philosophy.” —The Intellectual Activist. “From start to finish, Loving Life engages the reader with its lively conversational style.” —The Ayn Rand Bookstore

Nathaniel Branden:  Honoring The Self; Self-Esteem and Personal Transformation. Self-concept is destiny. What is the most important judgment you will ever make? The judgment you pass on your self. Self-esteem is the key to success or failure. “Tell me how a person judges his or her self-esteem,” says pioneering psychologist Nathaniel Branden, “and I will tell you how that person operates at work, in love, in sex, in parenting, in every important aspect of existence—and how high he or she is likely to rise. The reputation you have with yourself— your self-esteem—is the single most important factor for a fulfilling life.” How to grow in self-confidence and self-respect. How to nurture self-esteem in children. How to break free of guilt and fear of others’ disapproval. How to honor the self— the ethics of rational self-interest.

Michael J. Hurd: Grow Up America. Do you want somebody to fawn over you, and feel your pain? Then put this book back on the shelf, and pick most any therapist out of the phone book. But if you’re ready to live the happy, responsible life—this book is for you! Forget the tired cliches about “self-esteem.” Forget the excuses you hear on daytime talk shows. Ignore the cries for endless government programs headed by corrupt politicians. Grow Up America! tackles everyday life from a provocative—and ruthlessly honest—point of view. Find out why love is (and should be) selfish…Why public schools are beyond reform…Why competence, not compassion, creates self-esteem…Why Attention Deficit Disorder is a myth…Why it’s evil to preach volunteerism to kids…and much more! 

Ayn Rand: The Virtue of Selfishness. AYN RAND here sets forth the moral principles of Objectivism, the philosophy that holds man’s life—the life proper to a rational being— as the standard of moral values and regards altruism as incompatible with man’s nature, with the creative requirements of his survival, and with a free society. AYN RAND wrote Atlas Shrugged, philosophically the most challenging bestseller of its time. Her first novel, We the Living, was published in 1936. With the publication of The Fountainhead in 1943, she achieved a spectacular and enduring success. Miss Rand’s unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience.

David Seabury: The Art of Selfishness. A modern classic that will help you get the most out of life and the world off your back. A practical book, with an arresting and powerful theme, that has proved its worth by helping hundreds of thousands. “The Art of Selfishness kicks the martyr’s crown into a crocked hat....Self-sacrifice is neither noble nor necessary, and the sooner the human race destroys the fetish of abnegation the better off its members will be.” – New York Herald Tribune. "A refreshing and stimulating book....There are some statements which at first are startling, but the truth becomes evident as the author develops them." – Hartford Times

Tara Smith: Viable Values. Viable Values examines the most basic foundations of value and morality, demonstrating the shortcomings of major traditional views and proposing that morality is grounded in the objective requirements of human life. Smith argues that human beings need to be moral in order to live; she explains how life is the standard of morality, how flourishing is the proper end and reward of living morally, and how an intelligent egoism is the path to flourishing. Tara Smith is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Texas. “To my mind, this is one of the most interesting works in ethics to have appeared in a long while. Tara Smith’s book ought to win many new adherents to the proposition that morality should be in the service of life, and not the reverse.” —Lester H. Hunt, University of Wisconsin-Madison