This course is a philosophical analysis of The Fountainhead. Taking an intimate familiarity with the book's plot as the given, we will analyze three issues: (a) how the plot-vehicle perfectly conveys the theme of first-handedness versus second-handedness; (b) how every character in the story is a subtle variation on the theme; (c) the connection between the theme and the book's other central philosophical issues: the theory of rational egoism and the relationship between morality and practicality.