In her fiction and early journal entries, Ayn Rand frequently refers to valuing as an action that one must "know how to" perform. Such formulations represent the first form in which she grasped the point that she would later formulate by saying that values (and concepts) are objective rather than intrinsic or subjective.

In this course, Mr. Salmieri traces the development of Rand's conception of valuing. In the process, he discusses a number of central tenets of the Objectivist ethics, including the values of reason, purpose and self-esteem, the virtues of productiveness, pride and integrity, the argument that Man's Life is the standard of value, and the role played by Rand's view of free will in her new conceptions of egoism and objectivity. Considering these points in the context of Rand's novels and the development of her thought makes them easier to grasp and to apply to one's own life.

This course closely parallels the material in Chapter 3 of A Companion to Ayn Rand.