The purpose of normative principles is to provide us with guidance. There are, of course, false principles--but is altruism simply a false principle, or is it essentially something else? Does it offer moral guidance, or does it--on its own terms--fail even to accomplish that? In this informal seminar, the author of In Defense of Selfishness: Why the Code of Self-Sacrifice Is Unjust and Destructive discusses what he learned about this question in the writing of his book.