Rational Selfishness means to recognise one's own life as the standard of good.
Rational means subject to scrutiny and proof by any other person.
Ethics (principles, morals, beliefs) are a set of principles that define a moral code of values.
Beliefs are those things we accept at second hand – instructed by the word of others. They are not strictly ethics. Ethics are those things we can rationalise for ourselves.Values are those things we assess as good or evil.
Good is that which tends to support or improve our life.
Evil is that which detracts from or destroys our life.
Why do we need a code of ethics?
Man can lead his life driven by irrational whims or rational thoughts and actions. He has no other choice. There is no point writing about irrational whims. They are irrational. Rational thoughts are our means of survival.
A life guided by rational thought requires a rational code of ethics to guide it. That is the reason we need ethics.
Consciousness is the essence of Man. To be aware of self.
Reality is an accurate description and logical understanding of the world in which a man lives.
Perception is the means by which Man learns and understands and retains his observations.
His Brain is the tool he uses to process his perceptions into conceptions, plans and actions. It his prime tool of survival.
A conception is a group or set of perceptions retained by a brain and used to formulate a conception or plan which can be acted upon.
A rational Action is one performed in accordance with a plan formulated from a conception. Actions can be good or evil and a code of ethics sets out the limits to actions which may be undertaken. An action not in accordance with a code of ethics is irrational.
Knowledge is the accumulation of learned perceptions within the individual or the collective – usually in the form of books or written records.
Understanding is the recognition of reality by self.
Faith is the acceptance of someone else’s claim to understand reality.
Feelings are the mental manifestations of emotions. They should not be ignored but used to guide the rational understanding of wishes, desires, concepts and plans.
Trading is the means by which Men exchange knowledge or goods created by their knowledge.
Force is the only alternative to trading where a brute attempts to take what he wishes by robbery. Force is the key issue in the concept of freedom and is the means used to enslave others.
The initiation of force is always immoral. Force used solely in self defence is legitimate.
Freedom is essentially freedom from force. That is from the efforts of other men to enslave you.
Sacrifice is the irrational destruction of a value or a thing of value. If you choose a value in preference to another, that is not sacrifice. You actually cannot have your cake and eat it no matter what smoke and mirrors may be used to beguile you into thinking otherwise. You can choose your values but must suffer the consequences whatever they may be.
Goals are those things that Men chose to do as a result of their knowledge and experience and planning. Goals imply specific rational values to be obtained.
Success is achieving rational desires.
Pain is a warning that a man’s actions are unsuccessful in maintaining his life.
Pleasure is the reward a man gives himself for his successes.
Pride is the badge a man wears to express his success.
Self Esteem is the reward a man gives himself for his successful rationality.
Admiration is the recognition that the pride of another man is rational.
Love is the reward you share with another in recognition of virtue in the other person.
Productiveness is Man’s ability to create his own environment instead of having to fit into a random background as do most other life forms.
The Free Market determines the value to be placed on the endeavours of each man.
The Law of Identity says that a thing is what it is. It cannot be another thing at the same time. In physics there is a thing known as the Uncertainty Principle. This essentially says that we can never fully define both the position and velocity of an electron and can therefore never fully identify it. As everything is made of atoms, some people claim that we can therefore be certain of nothing. This is rubbish. The Uncertainly Principle is applicable only to electrons, not to our reality.Ethical means moral character or concern with good or right behaviour.
A Premise is an assertion or proposition or statement which you believe to be true and wish to prove so by argument.
A Contradiction is logically impossible. If you think you have identified one by argument then check your premises and arguments. One of them will be wrong.
Mysticism is an alternative set of ethics which depends upon obeying the word of another person and denying a Man’s own ability to think.
Socialism is a set of ethics which substitutes an indefinable "society" for the unknowable mystical creature inherent in mysticism.
Communism is a set of ethics that claims that an indefinable "society" should own the earth and licence it to men by undefined and arbitrary rules.
Fascism is a set of ethics that claims that an indefinable "society" should control the earth and licence it to men by undefined and arbitrary rules.
Subjectivism is a set of ethics which supports the hedonistic views of those who cannot or will not face the reality of their existence on earth and in this universe.
Hedonism is a code of ethics that considers one’s trivial comfort and pleasure to be the highest value in every matter. This concentrates on the senses to the detriment of the intellect and denies Man’s productive ability.
Objectivism explains why Man needs a moral code and defines a logical code of ethics that cannot be logically opposed. If the code is subject to logical debate and objection then it must be either right or wrong. No other code is willing to expose itself to such examination. Only logical argument can be allowed to determine what is right and what is wrong. Any other code subjects Man to slavery of some form.
Civilisation is the gathering together of Men for their mutual benefit and protection.
Politics is the means of converting a code of ethics into practical governance.
Government is the body we form to secure freedom from force. Its purpose is to protect all men equally from the whims of others.
Government is the means by which civilised men implement a code of ethics to ensure equal rights for all.
A Constitution is the body of knowledge, rules and laws that defines the responsibilities and possible actions of the government.
Constitution is the means by which we set limits to the form and power of the government.
Civil Law is the body of knowledge and precedents used to make objective decisions by courts to settle civil disputes.
Criminal Law is the body of knowledge, laws and precedents used to make objective decisions by courts to settle actions which contravene objective laws set by a legitimate government.
Equality is the base function of rational ethics. If all men are not equal there can be no rational set of ethics.
Rights are those things that belong equally to all men. Rights cannot be given to you as they are yours already but they can be denied by force. Rights are those things that belong equally to all men and cannot therefore belong to a group of any sort. Groups may negotiate privileges to themselves but not rights. Such negotiations are not necessarily valid in law.
Monopoly is a tool of government. No individual can possibly create or enforce a monopoly without resorting to criminal force. A monopoly can only be created by government and is a criminal abuse of the monopoly of force granted to it to control the criminal whims of members of that society.
Taxation can only be enforced by government and is an abuse of the monopoly of force granted to it to control the criminal whims of members of that society. There are other ways for a legitimate government to fund its legitimate activities.
Compromise means to reach an agreement not necessarily in accordance with your wishes. There can be no compromise between right and wrong or good and evil. The good is good and the right is right. Any backing down from those certainties destroys the concept and is bad and ultimately evil.
Murder means to kill another person and is the ultimate abuse of force to violate another human being. The very purpose of civilisation is to protect us from force and murder. To call other acts murder - such as killing animals - is to demean and undermine the principles of civilisation which protect us. Killing other animals is usually not a very nice thing to do but it can never be described as murder without destroying the basic principle of civilisation.
Colin Walker
8th October 2012
Altruism means a disinterested and selfless concern for others. It is usually exercised in relation to religious beliefs. It is a method of enslaving you by your own guilt into servitude to the ideals of others. There is nothing wrong with helping others, especially deserving friends and relatives. Being persuaded to sacrifice yourself for the benefit of another is pure evil.
Colin Walker
10th June 2019