Life, Happiness, Flourishing. On the Concept of Human Being’s Ultimate Goal in Ayn Rand’s Objectivist Philosophy Cover Image

Życie, szczęście, rozkwitanie. Wokół pojęcia ostatecznego celu człowieka w filozofii obiektywistycznej Ayn Rand
Life, Happiness, Flourishing. On the Concept of Human Being’s Ultimate Goal in Ayn Rand’s Objectivist Philosophy

Author(s): Ziemowit Gowin
Subject(s): Philosophy, Philosophical Traditions, Existentialism, Analytic Philosophy
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: Ayn Rand; human being’s ultimate goal; life; happiness

Summary/Abstract: The aim of this paper is to present and analyze different formulations of human beings ultimate goal in Ayn Rand’s philosophy. I offer an analysis of Rand’s own formulations, namely that the ultimate goal is (i) one’s own life, (ii) one’s survival qua man, and (iii) one’s own happiness. The remainder of the paper is focused on two other possible formulations of the ultimate goal from an objectivist perspective: (iv) one’s own flourishing and (v) happy life. My thesis is that all these formulations – both Rand’s and the two others – are not only compatible with each other but also complementary.

  • Issue Year: 2020
  • Issue No: 52
  • Page Range: 75-92
  • Page Count: 18
  • Language: Polish