Two Works Are On the Way

The research and training division of TOC has been hard at work on two new books, which are now nearing completion. The first is the next volume in the Objectivist Studies Monograph Series. It highlights an essay by University of Oklahoma philosophy professor Neera Badhwar, entitled "Is Virtue Only a Means to Happiness?" In it, Badhwar challenges Rand's view of the relation between emotions and knowledge, and between virtues and the ultimate end in ethics. The volume will contain commentaries by University of Wisconsin philosophy professor Lester Hunt, David Kelley, and Manhattan College psychology professor Jay Friedenberg, and will conclude with a reply to the comments by Badhwar. William Thomas edits the series.

On a less academic note, Thomas and Kelley have been editing a volume of essays on Ayn Rand as a literary artist. The new volume will collect some new works and some classics that deserve greater attention. The contributors include Mimi Reisel Gladstein (author of "Atlas Shrugged": Manifesto of the Mind), writing on the history of critical works on Rand; and Nathaniel Branden, who offers his essay "The Literary Method of Ayn Rand," originally published in Who Is Ayn Rand? David Kelley and Stephen Cox contribute essays on the meaning of The Fountainhead, and Kirsti Minsaas and Susan McCloskey and provide essays based on their summer seminar talks. These cover such issues as Rand's use of symbolism and visual imagery, her complex narrative structures, and her use and revision of heroic motifs. These are insightful and accessible essays that should engage any serious reader interested in better appreciating Rand's artistry. The volume is now in its final editing stages, and the editors hope to place it with a commercial publisher for wide distribution.

[Webmaster Update: Professor Neera Badhwar's "Is Virtue Only a Means to Happiness?" is now available. ]