Glossary of Terms
Community noun group of people united by a common characteristic or purpose.
Ego Unit noun a self-contained, purposeful sequence of activity that creates a value.
Enroll verb to align one’s reason and motive power for an action or a course of action to produce a particular result. I’m enrolled in that idea, meaning I’m “on board” to do that. This is distinguished from “liking” an idea.
Ethics noun 1 the moral principles that guide a person’s behavior. 2 the branch of philosophy concerned with moral principles.
Life noun a process of self-generated, self-sustaining action.
Life Force noun The energy of a living entity available to generate and sustain its life.
Moral adj pertaining to the life force.
Moral Authority noun the person/persons who holds the standard by which you judge your actions.
Moral Code noun 1 general meaning: a set of principles to guide a man’s life. Such principles are themselves values. 2 particular meaning: a set of principles chosen to invigorate and strengthen one’s life force over the span of one’s life.
Moral Community noun a community committed to particular values and principles for the purpose of the vitalizing and strengthening its members’ life force.
Moral Fiber noun the strength to do what is consistent with one’s values and principles in difficult situations.
Moral Support noun the support of a person’s life force vs. not concerned with that aspect of a person.
Moral Victory noun a victory noted for the moral choice that was made. Note: If the proper moral choice did not produce the victory, then it is not a moral victory. The moral choice was absent its practical application.
Moral Vitality noun the vitality which follows from the knowledge and pursuit of values which strengthen one’s energy (matter and spirit) for living life. These values are moral values.
Moralize verb telling others what they ought or not do absent authority to do so.
Morally adv. a type of choice which strengthens the life force. Opp: immorally. A type of choice which weakens the life force.
Morals noun standards and principles which support the health of the life force.
•Need noun a requirement for life to continue its existence.
Power noun the capacity to manifest a result.
Financial power – to manifest a result with money. Political power – to manifest a result via politics. Military power – to manifest a result via military means. Personal power – to manifest a result via one’s ability to be trusted and believable. Motive power – to manifest a result by enrolling oneself and others to produce a result entailing acting for that result. Moral power – to manifest a result knowing and knowing that one knows that he is right to pursue his chosen course of action.Rational Egoism noun an ethics resulting in a set of principles for guiding one to select his values and actions based on the requirements of man’s survival qua man, i.e., according to his nature which has him be a human being and not some other species. The essential characteristic distinguishing man from other species is his type of consciousness – a conceptual consciousness. The idea is that if one lives by these principles, he lives to thrive as the unique human being he is, and not settle for surviving at some lower level of what is possible for him – whether it to be lazy or to get along with other people for that sake only – which depletes him of vital energy.
Reactionary principle noun the selection of one’s values and actions based on an emotional reaction.
Self noun the collection of premises and values that have a person be who he is.
Spiritual adj pertaining to consciousness
•Value noun that which one acts to gain and/or keep. (Notice it is not something one talks about gaining or wanting to keep. Rather, it is acting for something.)
Discussion of Value and Need as aspects of Life:
Value is that which one acts to gain and/or keep. Values pertain to every living thing. They are not ascribed to non-living things – like rocks. Life is a self-generating, self-sustaining process. It’s like a wind-up toy that comes into existence once it is wound up and set on the table to run. A toy has to be wound up by someone else. But life has to be continually wound up by oneself (i.e., self-generated). In order to keep doing this and remain living, the actions it must take when it is running are those that keep it able to keep running (self-maintaining) which includes those to keep it self-generating. This is true of a single cell or a complex set of cells such as a giraffe.
Values are substances or conditions necessary for a life to do this. Living things have a way of signaling that it is “low” on a particular value. We call that a need. It can come in the form of an urge, a feeling, an idea, where one’s attention goes, etc. Life lets us know we need something – food, oxygen, protection, stimulation, pleasure, order, etc. Some are originated by the body and some are originated by the consciousness although in the view here, the mind and the body are always integrated. We as living things find a way to get those needs met. We may err in this process and it take us longer to get those needs met. Or we may die which means the system, the process, we call a life goes out of existence.
This view is the view held by objectivism, the philosophy originated by Ayn Rand. It is used here because I assess it as true, i.e., corresponds to reality. This view is the standard by which I measure other’s views on this subject.
Vital adj necessary or essential in order for something to live.
Vitality noun an animated level of energy and enthusiasm, vigor.
Vitality Principle noun the selection of one’s values and actions to support and forward a life worth living as assessed by himself wherein one’s vital energy is evident and regenerated.
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