Objectivist Philosophers in The Text the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand - Essay Example

Objectivist Philosophies in the text The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand In her text The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand tries to bring across the idea of who an ideal man is. To achieve this, she writes this novel based on the idea of objectivism, which she describes as ‘a philosophy for living on earth’. Thus, this brings us to the idea of individualism and collectivism in men’s souls, in other words egoism and altruism respectively. This is the situation in the real society where some people engage in some actions only for the benefit of themselves but in other cases, people consider the feelings and wellbeing of other people in the actions that they undertake. In this text, Howard Roark discusses the motives, methods and functioning of both the altruist and the egoist. This paper will be a discussion of how the lives of Peter Keating, Ellsworth Toohey and Catherine Halsey illustrate altruism and whether the life of Howard Roark illustrates his thesis about egoism. In the book, Ellsworth Toohey is a collectivist in the political sense; he preaches socialism to the masses with the belief that an individual has no value in himself but exists solely to serve his brothers. This is a high degree of altruism. It shows that Ellsworth has the needs of the society at heart other than simply concentrate on matters that would benefit him. Considering Peter Keating, he is one character that showcases a high degree of altruism. Keating graduates at the head of his class and is offered a job in Guy Francon’s firm. While working in this firm, he enacts a number of little schemes to ensure that he advances in his career. For example, he works to have the draftsman fired so that he can take over his position. In addition, he tries to make the chief designer resign so that he can occupy his position as well. To further showcase his egoism, he wants to establish a romantic relationship with Francon’s daughter so that he will be in a position to get favors from the boss, so that he can progress and be respected in the society. Moreover, his altruistic nature is heightened when he blackmails Francon’s Partner into retirement, a factor that causes the poor man to die of stroke. In all these instances, he acts so that he can enhance his image in the community. He does not consider his own happiness. According to Roark, Keating “…places relations first. He declares that man exists in order to serve others.” (Rand 510). On his own account, Howard Roark presents his inescapable ego in various instances, for example, when Ellsworth Toohey asks him what criticism he has about his architecture, Howard says that he has none, responding to the question by saying, “But I do not think of you!” in the novel, this is the point at which the reader is introduced to Roark’s ego. Denying Toohey an answer but telling him that he does not think of him shows that Howard Roark is a very individualistic person. Peter Keating was respected in the community. Even though he was Howard Roark’s competitor, Roark respected him too. However, Roark always wondered as to what was Peters aim in life. He realized that all that Peter wanted was fame, admiration and envy, which came from other people, thus the aspect of others was his primary concern. Roark remarks that, “He didn’t want to be great, but to be thought great.” (Rand 398). Peter Keating sacrificed his wellbeing and personal beliefs so that he could satisfy the wants and needs of others, something that Roark disagrees with completely. He felt that this was the highest degree of selfishness since being altruistic meant that one always expected something. He further says that, “It’s what I couldn’t understand about people for a long time. They have no self. They live within others. They live second-hand. Look at Peter Keating” (Rand 235). Catherine Halsey had a different kind of character, she was sincere and good natured at the beginning of the novel but this was changed with the influence of her uncle Ellsworth Toohey. Catherine genuinely loved Keating but Toohey talks her out of it for his own interests. Therefore, faced with the despair of losing the person that she loved, Catherine changes and instead of supporting the poor people that she ministers to as a social worker, she seeks spiritual power over them. She feels that this is something that would elevate her status in the eyes of the society. During her stay in New York, Catherine has no personal values that guide her life, instead she uses her time controlling what other people would do, this is the same thing that she does to Keating when they meet, and she tries to control everything that he does including what he will eat. Catherine’s lack of independence and self initiated decisions cost her happiness in life, she is not able to be with the person she loved, Keating, simply because she decided to follow what her uncle thought was right rather than follow what her heart truly desired. Toohey Ellsworth showcases a high degree of collectivism when he uses both Keating and Catherine Halsey to accomplish his ambition. He does this by ensuring that the two do not date despite the fact that he knows that they love each other. Thus he convinces Keating to pursue Dominique other than Catherine to ensure that he remains dejected, since he knows that this is the only valuable thing that Keating treasures in his heart. In all his actions he is a portrayal of the exact opposite that Howards Roark advocates for a good and complete personality. This is a trait that Toohey has had ever since he was young and he maximizes on this practice when he gets into the co-operate world. He is always using selflessness to coax other people to submit to his needs. All the while he despises other peoples success and can do anything within his means to ensure t hat other people do not achieve the happiness that they desire. Even though both Toohey and Keating believe in the principle of collectivism, they portray it in different ways. While Toohey is selfish and would use anyone he could to ruin other people, this is not the case with Keating. Despite the fact that he does not act based on his own personal values, he is really bent on what other people would think of him and this is what makes him try to make certain situations work to his advantage. This is the reason why he convinced the old worker to retire so that he could take his position in the work place. He is not driven by any selfish desires such as Toohey. For him, it is the need for success in the society that makes him act the way that he does. Keating and Toohey as the antagonist of the novel do not illustrate The Fountainheads central theme that “Man as he should and can be.” Instead they portray an equally important theme of the novel, the depiction of “second hander’s”, those people who shift the center of their lives from their own egos, that is what truly drives them, to the opinion of other people.” (Rand 90). Thus they betray their own personal egos in favor of the actions and concerns of others. Keating betrayed anyone that he could to ensure that he excels in his career. He may be using the same principle as Wynand in the book who believes that he can rectify all the damage he has created when he achieves all the power that he desires. He says, “I’ve sold my life, but I got a good price. Power…Now I can use it for what I want. For what I believe.” (Rand 604). The idea of using others is the same principle that Catherine is using, however, she does not realize her true needs in time and with her not using her mind and making her own individual decisions affects her in the end. She is not able to capture her true love hence a happy life. In conclusion, in the end, it is quite clear that Ayn Rand understood that not everyone is a Howard Roark in that not all human beings are perfect, thus, it is important for every individual to search their inner self so as to ascertain whether the way they lead their lives is proper or not, and make amendments where necessary. Objectivism champions the mind that is not satisfied with one understanding of life and continually seeks further knowledge. In Keating, Toohey and Catherine, it becomes clear that those who can discover their mistakes and rectify them thrive in life, while those who do not realize this may end up regretting in future when it is too late. Works Cited Rand, Ayn. The Fountainhead. New York: Signet, 1971. Rand, Ayn. The Journals of Ayn Rand. Ed. David Harriman. New York: Plume, 1999. Read More