A Balancing Act: How Ayn Rand Pushes Her Philosophy Over Objectivism Over AltruismIn The Fountain by Ayn Rand, the author uses her protagonist, Howard Roark, to represent the ideal Man. Roark is characterized as static, passionate about architecture, and indifferent towards others. If he shows benevolence, it is because this benefits him and does not diminish his identity. Rand's philosophy describes selfishness as the way but, in promoting it, discredits altruism. However, both are important. A balance can be found by recognizing the place of altruism in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Selfishness is seen as immoral. Time dedicated to yourself can be used to help others. However, there are several forms of selfishness that Ayn Rand does not focus on. There is unilateral selfishness, neutral selfishness and bilateral selfishness. Acts such as robbery or murder can be considered one-sided selfishness. These are unfair because they are of no use to anyone while also harming others. The criminal gets what he wants, but the repercussions, such as prison or guilt, outweigh the positive ones. Neutral selfishness is something that has no negative effects. Spending more time in front of the mirror because you want to be attractive doesn't hurt anyone. Bilateral selfishness is when both parties benefit. Swapping lunch can suffice as an example. In The Fountainhead, Roark displays neutral selfishness when he says, “My work was done my way. A private, personal, selfish, selfish motivation. This is the only way I function. That's all I am” (Rand, 580). This is what Rand praises. Egoism is a part of objectivism. Each person should be treated as an individual, not as a whole, and reason prevails over religion. People need to think for themselves and put themselves before others. There is no “for the greater good” in objectivism. Roark demonstrates this through his career. He says, "I don't mean to build to have customers. I mean to have customers to build" (Rand, 26). He continually wastes opportunities because he lives by this belief system. Ultimately, it pays off, but only when modernism asserts itself and people learn to accept its work and the conditions that come with hiring it. In Roark's testimony, he shows that selfishness is what caused progress and that everyone else is just parasites, living off the backs of the creators and persecuting them at the same time. He says: "He had left them a gift they had not conceived and had opened the paths of the world... The great creators - the thinkers, the artists, the scientists, the inventors - stood alone against the men of their time. Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention was denounced. The first engine was considered foolish. The mechanical loom was considered sinful they fought, they suffered and they won” (Rand, 737). creation to selfishness because “only by living for himself was he able to achieve the things that are the glory of humanity. This is the nature of success.” Why is it wrong to be selfish? They have come to believe that the whole is greater than the individual without realizing that the whole is built by individuals and that they are theunique abilities of each person that allow society to function successfully. Objectivism may certainly be favorable, but as they say, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. The creators had amazing ideas, but they created for themselves. The “parasites” are what allowed society to advance because they shared the creators' ideas. Selfishness alone is not ideal. The antagonist of this story is Ellsworth Toohey. Toohey represents society: he works for the whole, not for the individual. His belief system is run by altruism, the practice of selflessness. Rand shows this as a negative idea through a conversation Toohey has with Peter Keating. He says: “Tell men that altruism is the ideal. None of them have ever achieved it and none of them ever will. His every living instinct screams against it” (Rand, 635). Toohey is explaining to Keating how he controls people. Being altruistic is not part of their nature, but man likes to believe he is invincible. To break the soul means to break the man, and the soul is broken by giving him something impossible to achieve. People are born selfish. It is “a law of survival”. Over time, however, altruism came to be praised as men “are taught that their first concern is to alleviate the suffering of others. […] To make this the highest test of virtue is to make suffering the most important part of life” (Rand, 680). Soldiers say no man was left behind. Religions preach that people give to the poor. Sport demonstrates cooperation and teamwork, but what does it mean if one thing is profane and another is right? Generally, I make money. Someone helps someone else because that person might return the favor in the future. People feel whole when they volunteer. They are helping others, but there is personal gain involved because mentally it suits them perfectly. Katie, for example, becomes a social worker because she enjoys helping others and believes it is right because of the ideology Toohey preaches. So can these acts really be considered altruistic? Being altruistic means caring more about the needs and desires of others than about your own. The best example of an altruistic person is a mother. Their job is to feed and care. There are many stories of mothers who sacrifice their lives for their children. Altruism is an idea of ​​charity. The main negative factor is that it is difficult to achieve, but society could definitely use more altruistic people. Katie wasn't playful because she was trying to be something she wasn't. She lost a part of herself in following her uncle. Becoming a social worker was not truly an altruistic act due to the reasoning behind her becoming one. Altruism is admirable because it helps others. Rand assumes that one would lose oneself if one put others first, but that is not always the case. The whole is equally important to the individual. Some might argue that it is one or the other. However, Rand fails because he tries too hard to make Roark the champion when the ideal person knows how to be an individual and conform when necessary. Selfishness is not the epochal, but neither is altruism. The world is a question of balance. He needs both. Not good, not bad. While it would be optimal to have no evil people, action is taken and flaws are only noticed after something has happened. Change is a reaction. Wrong actions are needed to serve as an example. They are necessary to define the dividing line between right and wrong because “we cannot know what will be right or wrong in an altruistic society, nor how we will feel, nor in what way. We must first destroy the ego. That's why the mind is like this.