professional Philosophy
The Rand Institute in Irvine, Ca, has come up with an interesting way to sell her. They have set up a Nationwide Jr High and High School essay contest though English Teachers and it has been highly successful. The essay for the 9th graders is on "Anthem," and for the HS it is on "The Fountainhead." They just started one for College on "Atlas Shrugged." They are awarding over $25,000. The High School program has been going to 17 years.
They are also getting people to set up Philosophy Chairs at various Universities and this has worked real well. I have followed this closely and they still get enormous resistance in Academia. They are at aynrand.org. Here is the winning High School essay for last year. Makes me envious. $10,000 for Alexander Haig, Dobson High School, Mesa, AZ
Roark tells the board of the Manhattan Bank Building that his refusal to compromise his design is "the most selfish thing you've ever seen a man do." In what sense is this "selfish"? Why does Ayn Rand consider Roark selfish and Keating selfless?
At the end of Part One of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead, Howard Roark is asked to compromise on his design for the Manhattan Bank Building to make it more socially acceptable. Though desperately needing the commission, Roark refuses to compromise. The board of directors asks him why he should be so selfless, sacrificing his livelihood for ideals. Roark rebuts, "That was the most selfish thing you've ever seen a man do." With this statement, Rand summarizes her view of the true meaning of selfishness. According to Rand, for a man to be selfish, he must first have a self. To have a self, he must think with his own mind, develop his own values, and remain true to those values. If a man has no integrity, he will discard his values when they become inconvenient, leaving his self with no basis. He sacrifices his self, leaving a gaping hole in the person. If Roark were to agree to the compromise, he would lose his integrity and thus be selfless. He would be selling his self for money and fame, giving up something of more importance for something of less. He would as soon give away his arm. Roark knows that he is on the losing end of such a deal and leaves without a commission.
The Manhattan Bank Building shows the pattern of Roark's life. Many like his designs but wish to alter his work. They want to destroy the essence of what makes his designs so great. Although he needs to work, Roark must wait for the individualists who understand why his work is great. Roark is not only great because of his skill as an architect, but because he is original. He is not a second-hander like most people. He does not need others to give him rules of design. He makes his own. He is not bound by old principles that do not apply to new materials. His thinking is entirely his own. Because he does not allow others' opinions to affect his thinking, his values remain purely his. His integrity lets him put those values into action.
Unlike most people, Roark does not worry about what others think of him, not even his friends. It does not occur to him to think of others' opinions. Roark does not need people beyond the work they provide. This is not to say that Roark does not like people. He enjoys people but does not need them for fulfillment. He receives gratification through his thinking and the work of his hands. He does not require support from others. He needs only his self. Because of this strength of mind, his friends find themselves supported by him when he is on trial. Roark is immortal. He gains experience, goes through trials, learns new things, but his essence is always the same. Roark is the same man at the beginning of the book as at the end.
In contrast to Roark, Rand presents Peter Keating, a man who most people would consider selfish. He is a rabid social climber who will do anything for prestige. Keating is actually an utterly selfless man for this very reason. His primary motivation is the approval of others. In his quest for public approval, Keating drops any beliefs of his own and instinctively agrees with the person next to him. He puts no thought into his beliefs, but picks them up second-hand. His entire life follows this pattern of selling his self and taking up the thoughts of others.
Growing up, Keating wanted to be an artist. His mother, however, did not think this a suitable career for her son and pushed him into the more reputable field of architecture. Though he has no love for it, Keating obeys complacently to make his mother happy. He pushes any thought of his old ambition to the back of his mind. Graduating top of his class from the prestigious Stanton Institute of Technology, he joins the famous firm of Francon & Heyer. Keating quickly climbs the corporate ladder, not through merit, but by sycophancy and systematically removing all those that stand in his way to partnership. When he is given his first house to design, he finds that he cannot do it. There is only a deep, dry well. Keating put no thought of his own into becoming an architect and now has no thought to fuel the fire of creativity required to design a building. Guy Francon and others who chose of themselves to be architects, though they only know how to copy the masters of the past, have enough of a spark of creativity to design a house. Keating, lacking even a spark, goes to Roark, as he did in college, to leech off Roark's thoughts and use them as his fuel.
Keating's chief instrument for advancement is flattery. When he hands Francon the corrupted copy of Roark's design for his house, Keating tells him that he looked at Francon's work and picked up on his ideas. Francon knows that this is not true but takes the flattery because it gratifies him. Keating also feigns interest in Lucius Heyer, Francon's elderly partner, talking to him about Heyer's collection of fine porcelain. This results in Keating's name being mentioned often to Francon, the real power in the firm. Keating soon becomes Francon's prized pupil, quickly learning to charm clients to land commissions. Although his work is no better than any other architect's and much more expensive, Keating's suave talk brings in many clients. His obsequious behavior extends beyond work. At a party exhibiting a new capitol building by Ralston Holcombe, one of the country's most famous architects, Keating gives all praise to the displayed building despite knowing it is one of the worst buildings he has ever seen. Wherever he is, Keating is always exactly what people want him to be. He never has any thought of his own because someone might disapprove of his view.
Keating also looks to others for his views on love. He is in love with Catherine Halsey. Both his mother and his boss, however, want him to marry Dominique Francon. Catherine is a dull-looking girl that no one will look twice at if they look at all; she lacks any sense of charm or grace. Dominique, however, is beautiful, elegant, and sparks envy in the hearts of others. Keating loves Catherine. He does not even like Dominique. Catherine impresses no one, while Dominique dazzles everyone. After weighing the two, Keating decides to marry Dominique. What other people will think when they look at his wife is the main factor in Keating's decision. He gives up what he wants for prestige and social approval.
When Keating leaves Catherine, he sacrifices his last chance at happiness. He had already given up what he wanted to do with his life to please his mother and win society's approval. When he finds he cannot do what people expect, he borrows the designs of Roark and the Roarks of the past. He is dependent on others for a feeling of his worth, a slave to their thinking. He becomes a parasite, claiming others' work as his own so that still others will think he is great. He replaces his personal values with those of others so that they will like him and approve of him. By adopting other people's values in place of his own, he abdicates his judgment and loses the very capacity to think. Because he cannot think for himself, he must turn to others such as Ellsworth Toohey to think for him. He can only obey as any other slave. Even when he fully realizes the depth of Toohey's depravity, Keating can do nothing but obey. By the Cortlandt trial, Keating truly has no self. When he leaves the stand, it is "as if no person had walked out." Because of his selflessness, Keating is unable to feel happy. He has nothing to feel happy with.
Roark and Keating are opposites. Roark thinks for himself, truly the only way a man can think. Keating lets others decide for him. Keating, never having pursued any of his dreams, becomes a miserable wretch. He is dependent on others' opinions and ends a selfless husk of a man. Roark, on the other hand, is a great success in the end. He is a selfish man, never compromising or sacrificing his values, remaining forever true to his self. He regrets nothing and can feel happiness with his whole being. He is not like so many others, second-handers made up of friends' opinions and thoughts, but a thinker, a creator, a fountainhead of progress.
aynrand.org |
