Loving Life

[GoodOrigamiMan]

Craig Biddle’s book, Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It is a calm introduction to Objectivist morality. On principle I don’t give books to my friends that I haven’t read; so last night I sat down and three hours later was finished – short and sweet.

Of all the good things I have to say about this book by highest complement would be towards its style. Reading it felt very much like I was having a conversation - with a smart, straightforward and very polite person. As the title suggests the author make a great effort and succeeds, in tying lots of concrete examples to the principles being presented. Judging by the way the virtue of “honesty” was presented I’d bet my Christmas presents that Craig Biddle has a copy of Leonard Peikoff’s course Understanding Objectivism. But it was because of the style that yet another presentation of Objectivist morality didn’t seem repetitious or boring but rather fun and most importantly positive. As such this book is perfect for people with little understanding of philosophy – if someone is having trouble grasping the principles being presented in The Objectivist Ethics by Miss Rand, this book is for them.

On another good note, the book serves a good wake up call for people who still think self-interest carries with it a moral negative. With the title, “Loving Life” and a gentle purple and green cover, no one would dare say that this book is evil. I will also reemphasize how polite the entire presentation is… the faults in subjectivism are outlined in a reflective manner hard to question and hard to take offence to. For people harboring any form of subjectivist morality Craig Biddle has found a way to say, “you are wrong” without triggering backlash.

All in all Craig Biddle tells us the why, the what, and the how for self-interested morality. Furthermore he always goes back to the source and puts quotes from Ayn Rand right where they belong – in a book about loving life. I recommend this book as a fun read for an Objectivist or an invaluable introduction to Objectivist ethics for those not keen on objectivity. Anyways, I will now wrap up my two copies for Christmas.

I first heard of the book from a TIA review, I bought two copies with the intent of giving them away – but naturally still had to read it for myself first. If anyone has questions or wants to discuss parts of the book then by all means.