Czy obiektywne życie jest możliwe? Słów kilka na temat esejów Nathaniela Brandena

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present the theoretical standpoint of a Canadian-American psychotherapist, Nathaniel Branden. He wrote five essays which I would like to analyze. These essays can be found in the book The Virtue of Selfishness, written by a Russian-American philosopher, Ayn Rand, who was Branden’s associate. He postulated that individuals should live objective – act rationally and not succumb to whims. This way of behaviour is necessary to accomplish the existential aim of individual, which is a producing and sustaining of life. The objective life requires egoism, because the egoist is conscious of his own existence; he knows that he must live rationally, respect his own values and not sacrifice himself for other people. But it is still a question: Is the objective life really possible? The answer I try to find in this work.

Keywords

• Branden
• Rand
• egoism
• objective life
• capitalism
• selfishness