Атлант расправил плечи

           Hecannotdigaditch—orbuildacyclotron—withoutaknowledgeofhisaimandofthemeanstoachieveit.Toremainalive,hemustthink.

           "Buttothinkisanactofchoice.Thekeytowhatyousorecklesslycall‘humannature,’theopensecretyoulivewith,yetdreadtoname,isthefactthatmanisabeingofvolitionalconsciousness.Reasondoesnotworkautomatically;thinkingisnotamechanicalprocess;theconnectionsoflogicarenotmadebyinstinct.Thefunctionofyourstomach,lungsorheartisautomatic;thefunctionofyourmindisnot.Inanyhourandissueofyourlife,youarefreetothinkortoevadethateffort.Butyouarenotfreetoescapefromyournature,fromthefactthatreasonisyourmeansofsurvival—sothatforyou,whoareahumanbeing,thequestion‘tobeornottobe’isthequestion‘tothinkornottothink.’

           "Abeingofvolitionalconsciousnesshasnoautomaticcourseofbehavior.Heneedsacodeofvaluestoguidehisactions.‘Value’isthatwhichoneactstogainandkeep,‘virtue’istheactionbywhichonegainsandkeepsit.‘Value’presupposesananswertothequestion:ofvaluetowhomandforwhat?‘Value’presupposesastandard,apurposeandthenecessityofactioninthefaceofanalternative.Wheretherearenoalternatives,novaluesarepossible.

           "Thereisonlyonefundamentalalternativeintheuniverse:existenceornon-existence—anditpertainstoasingleclassofentities:tolivingorganisms.