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Peikoff - Virtue - Pride As Moral Ambitiousness Flashcards

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1
Q

“Pride” is …

A

The commitment to achieve one’s own moral perfection.

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2
Q

“Man”, writes AR, …

A

Faces two corollary, interdependent fields of action in which a constant exercise of choice and a constant creative process are demanded of him:

  1. The world around him.
  2. His own soul.

==> Just as he has to produce the material values he needs to sustain his life, so he has to acquire the VALUES OF CHARACTER that enable him to sustain it and that make his life worth living.

==> He has to survive by shaping the world AND HIMSELF in the image of his values.

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3
Q

The virtue of productiveness is concerned with the former of these requirements — …

A

The virtue of PRIDE is concerned with the latter.

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4
Q

A producer must struggle to create the best material products possible to him.

Similarly, a …

A

PROUD man struggles to achieve WITHIN HIMSELF THE BEST POSSIBLE SPIRITUAL STATE.

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5
Q

This means a state of …

A

Full virtue, whatever the EFFORT AND DISCIPLINE IT INVOLVES.

==> In regard to morality, nothing less than perfection will do.

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6
Q

Since all the virtues are forms of rationality, the commitment to achieve moral perfection reduces ULTIMATELY to a single policy:

A

THE COMMITMENT TO FOLLOW REASON.

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7
Q

As the laws of logic make clear, there is no middle ground in this issue:

A

EITHER a man makes such a commitment — OR he does not.

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8
Q

In the Objectivist usage, “moral perfection” is a valid term, which is defined by reference to reality.

To quote AR:

A

“Moral perfection is an UNBREACHED RATIONALITY” — NOT the degree of your intelligence, but the FULL AND RELENTLESS USE OF YOUR MIND — NOT the extent of your knowledge, but the ACCEPTANCE OF REASON AS AN ABSOLUTE.

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9
Q

Perfection so conceived is not only possible, but also …

A

NECESSARY.

==> It is necessary to a person for the same reason that a code of morality is necessary.

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10
Q

If man’s life is the standard by reference to which virtue is defined, then vice is NOT a temptation or a tolerable option, but …

A

A MORTAL THREAT.

==> Moral imperfection, in any area, means movement toward destruction.

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11
Q

Moral concepts, including “right”, “good,” and “perfect,” are …

A

NORMS formulated to guide human choice.

==> Such concepts can refer only to that which is within the power of CHOICE.

==> THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR A MAN WHO RESIGNS HIMSELF TO FLAWS IN HIS CHARACTER.

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12
Q

“Flaws” does not mean errors of knowledge, which involve no evasion — it means …

A

Breaches of morality, which do involve evasion.

==> The moral man may lack a piece of knowledge or reach a mistaken conclusion.

==> But he does not tolerate willful evil, neither in his consciousness nor in his action, neither in the form of sins of commission nor of sins of omission.

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13
Q

He does not demand of himself the impossible, but …

A

But he DOES DEMAND EVERY OUNCE OF THE POSSIBLE.

==> He refuses to rest content with a defective soul, shrugging in self-deprecation “That’s me.”

==> He knows that that “me” was created, and is alterable, BY HIM.

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14
Q

The essence of pride is …

A

MORAL AMBITIOUSNESS.

==> If man is a being of self-made soul, then PRIDE IS THE PROCESS OF MAKING IT PROPERLY.

***Like all the virtues, the process includes both an intellectual and an existential component.

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15
Q

INTELLECTUALLY, pride requires that one work to …

A

Grasp the truth in moral issues rather than settle for unvalidated bromides or feelings.

==> THE PROUD MAN DEALS WITH MORAL ISSUES EXPLICITLY AND OBJECTIVELY, USING THE METHOD OF LOGIC.

==> Only a code of objective principles — a code based on the facts of nature and of human nature — can be adhered to consistently, WITHOUT OPPOSITION FROM REALITY.

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16
Q

If one starts ethics by rewriting reality, then …

A

MORAL PERFECTION IS OUT OF THE QUESTION.

==> If one demands that a virtuous act be devoid of personal motive (like the Kantians), or that man be emotionless (the Stoics), or that he be bodiless (Plotinus), then …

==> One will be led to condemn human beings for the fact of existing.

***Any variant of this primary-of-consciousness approach negates the purpose of ethics.

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17
Q

Once one knows the right moral principles, the next step is to …

A

BUILD THEM INTO ONE’S SOUL BY REPEATED RATIONAL ACTION.

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18
Q

One must make these principles “second nature” in the Aristotelian sense of the term, by …

A

PRACTICING THEM AS AN ABSOLUTE.

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19
Q

Since the moral is the volitional, moral absolutism …

A

DOES NOT REQUIRE omniscience or omnipotence.

==> THE MORAL MAN DOES NOT UNDERCUT HIS CHARACTER BY ACCEPTING UNEARNED GUILT.

==> He may NOT properly accept blame for a failure over which he had NO control — For a desire that is inherent in his being alive — or for his disobedience to a moral code that by its nature is IMPRACTICABLE.

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20
Q

If, however, in a moment of weakness he does earn some moral guilt, …

A

He acts DECISIVELY to clean the slate and restore his moral purity.

==> He condemns his improper behavior, analyzes its roots (identifying the underlying EVASIONS), makes reparation (where applicable), and works to reshape his mental policy.

==> HE THEREBY RETRAINS HIS CHARACTER FOR THE FUTURE.

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21
Q

The man of pride despises …

A

THE MORALLY “GRAY”.

==> He does not practice the virtues SELECTIVELY.

==> He observes every moral principle — ON PRINCIPLE.

==> This is why AR describes pride as “THE SUM OF ALL VIRTUES”.

***Aristotle similarly calls pride “THE CROWN OF THE VIRTUES” and notes that it presupposes all the others.

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22
Q

The rewards of the virtue of pride are all the values that a proper moral character makes possible.

In particular, pride leads a man to the 3rd of the “supreme values”:

A

SELF-ESTEEM.

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23
Q

Unbreached rationality produces …

A

SELF-CONFIDENCE IN A MAN.

==> Since his policy is to recognize reality, he has a sense of EFFICACY, a conviction of his power to deal with reality and achieve his goals.

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24
Q

In addition, the moral character he creates is …

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A

ADMIRABLE.

==> So the proud man has a sense of his own worth.

==> This sense includes the feeling that he has a right to be the BENEFICIARY OF HIS ACTIONS, that he is entitled to the attention which self-sustenance demands.

==> THAT HE HAS EARNED THE POSITION OF BEING HIS OWN HIGHEST VALUE.

25
“Self-esteem” is ...
A fundamental, positive moral appraisal of oneself — ==> of the PROCESS by which one lives and of the PERSON one thereby CREATES.
26
It is the union of 2 (INSEPARABLE) conclusions, neither of which is innate:
I AM RIGHT + I AM GOOD. I CAN ACHIEVE THE BEST + I DESERVE THE BEST I CAN ACHIEVE. I AM ABLE TO LIVE + I AM WORTHY OF LIVING.
27
An animal does NOT need self-appraisal. It is unconcerned with moral issues and cannot question its own action. But man, ...
Who survives by a volitional process, NEEDS A MORAL CODE — AND THE AWARENESS THAT HE IS CONFORMING TO IT. ==> He needs the knowledge of how to live, AND THE KNOWLEDGE THAT HE IS LIVING UP TO THIS KNOWLEDGE.
28
In AR’s formulation, man ...
Knows that he has to be RIGHT. ==> To be wrong in action means danger to his life. ==> To be wrong in person, to be EVIL, means to UNFIT FOR EXISTENCE. ***Self-esteem or its absence is an individual’s verdict in this fundamental issue.
29
A positive verdict is a ...
REWARD FOR HAVING LIVED PROPERLY. ==> It gives a man the strength required to persevere in his course. ==> It gives him the courage to be virtuous no matter what the obstacles in his path. ==> To rely on his judgement, to fight for his goals, to pursue his happiness.
30
A negative verdict — whether it takes the form of self-doubt or self-hatred — is a ...
PUNISHMENT for having lived one’s days OUT OF FOCUS. ==> It turns one into a spiritual cripple, who spends his time primarily NOT on pursuing goals, but on trying to cope with FEAR and GUILT.
31
Such a man feels fear, in AR’s words, ...
Because he has abandoned his weapon of survival. ==> And he feels guilt, “because he knows he has done it VOLITIONALLY.”
32
Most men seem to grasp THAT man needs self-esteem, but NOT WHY. Conventional moralities, such as altruism, ...
Are worse than useless in this regard. ==> They devote themselves to fighting the need.
33
Only the ethics of rational selfishness identifies the root of the need.
The ROOT IS BIOLOGICAL OR METAPHYSICAL. ==> A volitional being cannot accept self-preservation as his purpose UNLESS, taking a moral inventory, HE CONCLUDES THAT HE IS QUALIFIES FOR THE TASK. ==> QUALIFIED IN TERMS OF ABILITY AND VALUE.
34
“Esteem” is a type of evaluation, and evaluation presupposes a STANDARD of value. The state of a man’s self-esteem, therefore, depends not only on his moral practice, but also on his moral theory.
It depends on the STANDARD (usually only implicit) that he uses to gauge self-esteem.
35
HERE ARISES THE GREAT DIVIDE AMONG MEN:
Those who gauge self-esteem by the standard of RATIONALITY (of their commitment to full consciousness). AND THOSE WHO DO NOT SO GAUGE IT.
36
Since the SELF is the MIND, ...
Self-esteem is MIND-ESTEEM. ==> In AR’s definition ==> It is “reliance on one’s power to think.”
37
The commitment to consciousness is the directly volitional function of man. Such commitment, moreover, is ...
The SOURCE OF HUMAN EFFICACY AND PERSONAL WORTH. ==> The standard of rationality, therefore, is the ONLY one based on the facts of reality. ==> It is the ONLY standard of self-esteem based on the nature of man and derived from the code of VIRTUE REQUIRES BY MAN’S LIFE. ***NO OTHER CODE CAN BE RELEVANT TO SATISFYING A NEED OF MAN’S LIFE.
38
Judge yourself as good or evil, AR concludes, hold yourself in esteem or contempt, by reference to a single criterion:
Your VOLITIONAL USE OR MISUSE of your tool of survival.
39
Contrast this approach with the attempt, now epidemic, to gauge self-esteem by a standard other than rationality:
An example would be the second-hander who judges his worth by — the approval he receives. — by the obedience he offers to the authorities. — and/or by his willingness to sacrifice.
40
In order to gain a sense of self-value, or at least a pretense at one, such a person ...
Must RELEGATE TO A SECONDARY POSITION ANY THINKING HE DOES. ==> To feel good about himself, he must continually UNFOCUS and SUBVERT his mind — which action makes him feel OUT OF CONTROL, INEFFICACIOUS, NO GOOD.
41
Thus the intractable INFERIORITY COMPLEX of so many people today and their insolvable conflict:
Because they judge their soul by IMPROPER STANDARDS, they pit the requirements of their self-esteem AGAINST the requirements of life. ==> The ultimate result is to make both these values IMPOSSIBLE TO THEMSELVES.
42
AR describes such a practice as setting one’s ...
SELF-ESTEEM AGAINST REALITY. ==> The practice on its current scale is a consequence of mankind’s leading ethical theories. ==> It represents the utter perversion of a biological need. ==> It is the surest method there is of turning oneself into an ANXIETY-RIDDEN EVADER.
43
There are other, less devastating errors one can make in gauging self-esteem:
A man committed to reason may, for example, undercut himself by demanding of himself the IMPOSSIBLE. ==> He may (implicitly) expect to be omniscient or omnipotent in some area, and therefore carry the burden of a CHRONIC UNEARNED GUILT. ==> As long as he continues to act morally, such a man does not lose his BASIC SELF-RESPECT, but he does suffer some form of breach in self-esteem. ==> The EXTENT OF THE BREACH, along with the degree of danger it poses to his life and happiness, depends on the exact nature of his IMPROPER SELF-EXPECTATIONS.
44
A man suffering from INVALID standards of self-esteem, whether irrational or honest but mistaken, ...
NEEDS TO CHANGES HIS MORAL IDEAS. ==> He must learn to judge himself NOT by his relation to others, nor by his knowledge or existential success, BUT ... ==> By his maintenance of a CERTAIN MENTAL STATE, one that depends on NOTHING BUT HIS OWN WILL: THE STATE OF BEING IN FULL FOCUS. ***He must learn to gauge his self-esteem by the standard of moral perfection as conceived by the Objectivist ethics.
45
Then he must ...
Live up to this standard by practicing the VIRTUE OF PRIDE. ==> The only means there is to self-esteem and the ONLY cure for a breach in it.
46
Like any moral attribute, pride and self-esteem are open to everyone:
The heroes of AR’s novels possess a superlative intelligence — but they are still normal men, human beings and not another species — with “human” meaning “rational.”
47
Unfortunately, owning to false philosophy, to be human in this sense is so rare an attainment, that most people regard as IMPOSSIBLE:
The native endowment it requires, however, is commonplace: A FUNCTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON ANY SCALE. ==> What such an intelligence then needs in order to function is LIBERATION — by the proper moral code.
48
In our culture, every moral requirement of intelligence is relentlessly attacked.
Rationality is castigated as heartless. Intellectuality as arid. Egoism as exploitative. Independence as antisocial. Integrity as rigid. Honesty as impractical. Justice as cruel. Productiveness as materialistic. ==> The sum of this approach — the crown of the creed of death worship — is the tenet that PRIDE IS EVIL.
49
If people believe that they should not aspire to be perfect — that self-esteem is a delusion and virtue consists in recognizing how vicious they are, then ...
TRUE VIRTUE IS IMPOSSIBLE TO THEM — and the trap is closed on the human race. ==> The better men give up the exacting ambition to be good, and the rest give up any hope of reform. ==> The result is the MASS MANUFACTURE OF DESPAIR. ==> The despair takes the form of species-wide self-abasement and a centuries-long rule of immorality. ==> Only a corrupt theory of morality can produce such rule.
50
On a historical scale, the doctrine of Original Sin ...
Is the CAUSE OF SIN. ==> Any ideology that preaches this doctrine in any variant is thereby removed from the status of reputable. ==> Any ideology that damns man is damned itself. ***Nor is it redeemed when its exponents offer their broken victims solace and love.
51
If a man is UNWORTHY, his obligation is not to mope around castigating himself, but ...
TO CORRECT HIS EVIL.
52
If he is NOT UNWORTHY, ...
It is a MONSTROUS INJUSTICE to try to convince him otherwise.
53
EITHER WAY, ...
THERE IS NOT PLACE IN ETHICS FOR THE IDEA OF HUMILITY AS A VIRTUE.
54
Just as pride is the dedication to morality, so humility is ...
THE OBLITERATION OF MORALITY — Not only in practice, but also in theory.
55
Many years ago, a devout Catholic, a distant relative of hers, told AR that he was cheating on his wife.
She asked him how he could justify his behavior. He replied: “If I lived up to every tenet of my religion, I would be guilty of a worse sin, the SIN OF PRIDE.”
56
An ethics that extols humility is ...
A SELF-CONTRADICTION. ==> It is the advocacy of a code of behavior, along with the demand NOT TO PRACTICE IT FULLY. ==> Such an approach throws out moral principles and condemns any man who respects them. ==> But is offers the perfect LOOPHOLE for any would-be sinner, the ESCAPE clause for any shyster, the license to any whim-worshiper. The license is: “If you try to be too good, that makes you bad.”
57
Religions present their humility creeds as stern codes of moral purity. This is a fraud.
A stern code is one that demands to be practiced. ==> It expects its adherents to earn the self-congratulation of being able to say: “I take right and wrong seriously, I live by what I preach, I am GOOD.” ==> By its nature, an absolutist approach demands pride and self-esteem.
58
If an ethics urges intrinsicist dogmas, then men DO NEED to find a loophole or breathing space.
They need to smuggle into their days some self-preserving behavior.
59
If one upholds an ethics of life, he does not need to smuggle in any speck of its opposite.
One does not need a breathing space — from breathing.

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