Freedom's Virtues—Integrity

At the end of the February 15 Daily Freedom, “Individualism Is A Principle, Not Politics,” I quoted Ayn Rand’s words from her journal entry entitled, “The Moral Basis Of Individualism:”

“Man’s virtues are the qualities required for the preservation of his independence. Without these virtues man cannot survive nor remain man.

Since one cannot be both, “dependent,” and, “free,” and these virtues are necessary for the “preservation of his independence,” they are necessary to freedom itself.

The Virtues of Independence

At the end of that earlier Daily Freedom I wrote: “The virtues of Individualism are integrity, responsibility, honesty, competence, productivity, dignity, and courage.”

This list is not exactly the same as the list Ayn Rand made either in her journal, or later in The Virtue of Selfishness, (VOS) because no such list enumerates every possible virtue. Virtues are those characteristics of thought and action that result from one’s moral principles or ethical values and any list can only contain the essential and most important virtues. An exhaustive list of virtues would not be possible.

A list of virtues is not meant to be a precise philosophical description of a man’s nature or character, but an observation of how certain philosophical principles work out in the life of individuals, and there is no objectively exact way virtues ought to be organized or described. Ayn Rand’s own description of virtues was very different in her journals and VOS.

In her journals, she wrote: “Integrity—the first, greatest and noblest of all virtues—is a synonym of independence.”

In VOS she wrote: “Value is that which one acts to gain and/or keep—virtue is the act by which one gains and/or keeps it,” and named the three cardinal values as, “Reason, Purpose, Self-Esteem, with their three corresponding virtues: Rationality, Productiveness, Pride.” “Rationality is man’s basic virtue, the source of all his other virtues,” she wrote, and describes the virtues of independence, integrity, honesty, and justice as consequent virtues of rationality. So which is the primary virtue, integrity or rationality?

In her journal, Rand lists seven virtues: integrity, courage, honesty, honor, strength, wisdom, and self-respect.

In VOS, Rand also lists seven virtues: rationality, independence, integrity, honesty, justice, productiveness, and pride. The only virtues common to both lists are integrity and honesty.

Then, of course, there is my own list of seven virtues: integrity, responsibility, honesty, competence, productivity, dignity, and courage. In truth, my list is no better than either of Rand’s lists, and neither of Rand’s list is better than the other. The virtues in any of these lists either imply or include those in the other lists, and there is no contradiction between any of the virtues in any of the lists.

Just for the sake of interest, I’ve compiled the following comprehensive list of virtues from all three lists:

All fifteen virtues are: integrity, courage, honesty, honor, strength, wisdom, self-respect, rationality, independence, justice, productiveness, pride, responsibility, competence, and dignity.

All of these virtues are the virtues of the independent individualist, and all of them are necessary virtues of those who truly choose to be free.

How To Have The Freedom Virtues

No virtue is achieved by directly pursuing the virtue itself. The virtues are the result of pursuing one’s values, and if one’s values and principles are based on objective reason, and one lives according to those values and principles their choices and actions will necessarily be virtuous.

The moral virtues are the characteristics of an independent individualist, but one cannot become an individualist by adopting the virtues of individualism. A list of virtues is not a creed to be followed, but a way of making the nature of ones values explicit in terms of their expression in one’s thoughts and actions. The virtues ought to be pursued, but only as one understands them as objectives consistent with one’s own values and as the means of achieving those values.

Individualist Virtues and Freedom

Over the next few weeks I’ll be examining the specific virtues of individualism. Since I’ll be using my own list of seven virtues, integrity, responsibility, honesty, competence, productivity, dignity, and courage, in addition to discussing what each virtue means and why each virtue is necessary to freedom, I’ll also show how that virtue relates to those in other lists of virtues.

I’ll begin with the virtue of integrity, which I think, as Rand did, at least in her journal, is the “first, greatest, and noblest of all virtues.”

The Virtue of _Integrity

I do not agree with Rand that integrity is a synonym of independence, though it is certainly true, to maintain one’s integrity requires independence.

Integrity means wholeness or completeness, but something can be whole or complete without integrity. By implication something is integrated when all the parts work as they should without any conflict. That is exactly what integrity means with regard to an individual.

Integrity means a fully integrated human being with no conflicts between one’s emotions and one’s reason. It means one’s life is consistent because it is guided by one’s principles, to which the individualist ruthlessly adheres, allowing no temptation or threat, danger or risk, to influence his choices and actions.

Integrity is sometimes referred to as character, particularly that strength of character that enables an individual to deflect all assaults on his reason, his independence, and his moral values.

Integrity is standing on one’s principles under all conditions and in every situation, both when others are in agreement with him, and when he must stand alone, or even against all others; it means having the courage to be the individual one is, whatever the cost.

Integrity means always being guided by reason, never allowing any feeling, passion, or whim interfere in the rational pursuit of ones life and values. So long as one guides their life by reason, they are in control of their life. The moment they surrender to any irrational desire or passion, they are out of control. Integrity means always being in control of one’s life.

Without integrity, freedom is impossible. Without integrity an individual is disintegrated and out of control; to such individuals freedom is a threat of insecurity and risk—those without integrity cannot even truly desire freedom.

But there is still that question, “which is the primary virtue, integrity or rationality?” For Rand, rationality was the primary, “virtue,” because if one is always rational their life will be fully integrated—they will have integrity as a virtue. But I regard rationality as a faculty, the faculty of reason, and since “integrity means always being guided by reason,” integrity and rationality are synonymous.