To the hedonist, Rand already refuted hedonism for its circularity. But she also pointed out another problem for hedonists, their failure to distinguish between the standard of ethics and its purpose. Happiness, pleasure, whatnot, are properly the purpose [motive] for human action. But such psychological experience cannot act as the standard [criterion] thereof. A criterion is necessarily prior to action. A psychological response [happiness] to an action is posterior thereto. Aristotle saw this much 2,300 years ago. How can someone read Rand, or Aristotle, for that matter, and not see what's on the very page before them is beyond me.
