The following essays constitute a Symposium in response to Marsha Familaro Enright's essay “The Problem with Selfishness,” The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies 14, no. 1 (July): 38–54. We are proud to present replies from Arnold Baise and Merlin Jetton. This is followed by a rejoinder from Marsha Familaro Enright. Enright's original essay has stirred so much discussion that we will be featuring a sequel to this symposium in a forthcoming issue.

I agree with Marsha Enright's criticism of the use of the word “selfishness” to denote a virtue in Ayn Rand's ethical philosophy (Enright 2014), but I'd like to add a comment on the nature of the Oxford English Dictionary, and its importance regarding the definition of words in general and of “selfish” and “selfishness” in particular.

First, I give three quotations in which Rand discusses her use of these words; note that the last two quotes...

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