Reconsidering Ayn Rand Book

	Acknowledgments	15
Chapter 1.	Introduction	17
Part 1	The Fiction and the Practice
Chapter 2.	Establishing the Foundations: A Synopsis of Rand's Two Major Novels	29
	The Fountainhead	30
	Atlas Shrugged	36
Chapter 3.	Self-Esteem, Confidence, and Human Worth	45
	Altruism and Christianity: The Missing Link	48
	The History of Altruism	50
	The Psychology of Altruism	55
	An Unconventional Christian	57
	A Crack in the Edifice	58
	A Mistaken Interpretation	62
	The Source of Human Value: A Contrast in Views	66
	A Remaining Question	75
Chapter 4.	The Code of Competence	77
	Productive Work as Central Purpose	80
	The Spiritual versus the Material	85
Chapter 5.	Romantic Love: Objectivism and Christianity	93
	The Drama of Love	95
	The Psychology of Romantic Love	99
	A Turning	101
	Hostility toward Physical Existence and Life	102
	Christianity and Sexual Love	102
	What Did Paul Say?	105
	Woman: Domesticated Animal or Fellow Heir of Life?	109
	Full Integration and the Unity of Love	112
Chapter 6.	In Pursuit of Objectivist Love	115
	The Romantic Life of Dagny Taggart	117
	Sobering Thoughts	119
	The Pursuit of the Highest Type	121
	Objectivists in Pursuit of Objectivist Love	126
	Personal Cost	129
	Further Consequences	130
	Redeeming Love	133
Part 2	The Philosophy
Chapter 7.	A Survey of Objectivism	139
	Metaphysics	142
	Epistemology	142
	Ethics	144
	Politics	145
Chapter 8.	Reason and Reality	149
	Axioms: A Preliminary Consideration	152
	Preliminary Questions about Existence and Consciousness	155
	Objectivist Epistemology	158
	The Validity of the Senses	160
	The Stages of Consciousness	163
	Concept Formation	165
	Truth, Contextual Absolutes, and Open-Ended Concepts	170
	The Problem of Individuation	175
	Hume	177
	Metaphysics	182
	Materialist Implications for Volitional Consciousness	187
	Materialist Implications for Truth	191
	Reconsidering Axioms	193
	A Christian Construction	194
Chapter 9.	Morality and Government	203
	Moral Absolutes	204
	Failure of Materialism to Arrive at Truth	205
	Failure of Empirical Ethics	205
	The Objectivist Ethics: The Basic Choice	207
	Life and Death: The Alternative	208
	Life as Ultimate Value	212
	Deriving the Ought from the Is	213
	What Is Man?	215
	Longevity or Quality of Life	217
	The Predator and the Prey	219
	Planning for a Lifetime	225
	Sensations and Emotions: Pleasure and Happiness	227
	Purpose and Standards	235
	Summary	238
	Politics	240
	Individual Rights: Source and Definition	242
	Rights: Inalienable or Conditioned?	244
	Inalienable Rights: Implications	246
	Inalienable Rights: The Derivation of Government	247
	Inalienable Rights: How They Are Lost	252
	Recapitulation	257
	A Christian Construction	258
Chapter 10.	Science and Christianity	269
	Preliminary Problems	270
	The Problem of Measurement and the Philosophy of Science	276
	The Success of Science versus the Truth of Science	287
	Christianity and the Rise of Modern Science	289
	Galileo versus Aristotle	297
	Resolution of Conflict	299
	The Laws of Thermodynamics	299
	Creation and Evolution	302
	The Creation Event	303
	The Six Days of Creation	307
	Evolution	310
	Natural Selection	315
	Prebiotic Soup and Probabilities	317
	Human Ancestors	320
	Conclusion	325
Chapter 11.	Bridging the Chasm	327
	Antitheism: The Universal Negative	330
	The Ontological Argument	335
	The Cosmological Argument	336
	The Contingency Argument	339
	The Design or Teleological Argument	341
	Prophecy as Design	346
Chapter 12.	Epilogue: In the Name of the Best within Us	359
	Bibliography	367
	Index	375