Dr. Touchstone’s book out this year 2006 is four hundred thirty-two pages. Each is a pleasure of sustained informing thought, and each is a pleasure of easy eloquent reading. Then Athena Said is a joy of intelligence and wisdom. It is, to the present, the most important and most innovative critical book addressing Ayn Rand’s moral philosophy.
For the elements of Objectivist ethics the author concludes true, and for the elements she concludes false, we are given arguments and evidence from psychology, economics, and game theory. The erroneous elements in Rand’s moral philosophy are corrected. The result is the Transformation of Objectivist Ethics announced in the book's subtitle.
I hope to review this tome in some detail in future posts to this thread. In the present post, I want to lay out the subheadings of some of the chapters of Then Athena Said to give RoR readers a better initial glimpse of the terrain.
I encourage anyone with a lively interest in Rand’s moral philosophy to get hold of this book and dig in. You can get a discount of 15% if you order the book directly from the website of University Press of America. You are in for fresh thinking on Rand’s ethics, thinking informed, diligent, and deep.
Then Athena Said
Chapter One: The Basis for Objectivist Ethics
The General Species Interpretation
Principles and Probability
Chapter Two: Reproductivity
Desert Island Ethics
Reproduction
A Unilateral Transfer
The Productivity of Parenthood—An Economic Perspective
Extinction—A Possibility
Man Alone—Again
Spillover Effects
Reproduction—A Separate Category
Reproduction—A Cardinal Value?
Virtues of Reproduction?
Chapter Three: Forced Unilateral Transfers and Retaliation in a State of Nature
. . . .
Chapter Four: Decision-Making on a Desert Island
Assumption of Scarcity
Time Preference
Net Productivity—The Rate of Return
Standard Income Defined
Fisher’s Two Other Cases
A Return to Hardtack?
Hardtack and the Fundamental Alternative
The Hardtack Decision
Chapter Five: Decision-Making with Two Players
. . . .
Chapter Six: The Primary Social Unit
Society
Specialization and the Division of Labor
Group versus Group
Sacrifice
Property
Implications for Decision-Making
Chapter Seven: Rights: Positive and Negative
. . . .
Chapter Eight: Ownership
What is the Source of Property Rights?
How is (Original) Property Acquired?
Other Views on Land Ownership
The Propertyless
Reality—Revised
The Problem of Equal Distribution
Rothbard—Acquiring Property
Rand—What’s the Use
Transformation and Wealth
Common Property
First Use and Resources that Move
Assigning Rights to Fish
Rand—On Distribution
Chapter Nine: Intellectual Property: Unilateral Transfers
. . . .
Chapter Ten: The Social Contract
. . . .
Chapter Eleven: Value
Utility Theory and Objectivism
Values Must Be Discovered
Economic Theory of Value and Rand
The Consumer in Value Theory
Purchase and Affirmation
Philosophical versus Market Value
Chapter Twelve: Productivity and Destiny
. . . .
Chapter Thirteen: Replacement Capital
Unilateral Transfers and Sacrifice
Justification for Receiving Inheritance
Human Capital Replacement
Chapter Fourteen: The Consumption-Savings Decision
. . . .
Chapter Fifteen: Ethical Decision-Making
Alternatives, Options, and Outcome
Either-Or
“Choice—Two Mutually Exclusive Alternatives”
Mutually Exclusive Alternatives
Zero-Sum Games
Decision-Making—Probabilities Unknown
Including Prior Probabilities
To Ignore Is Not to Evade
Choosing among Ethical Alternatives
Bayes Theorem
The Fundamental Choice
Alternative versus Outcome
Risking Death
Duty
No Calculation Required
Chapter Sixteen: Charity
. . . .
Chapter Seventeen: Favors, Forgiveness, and Emotions
. . . .
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