Quote Check of Ayn Rand’s ‘The Objectivist Ethics’

Just‧as‧the‧pleasure-pain‧mechanism‧of‧man’s‧body‧is‧an‧automatic‧indicator‧of‧his‧body’s‧welfare‧or‧injury,‧a‧barometer‧of‧its‧basic‧alternative,‧life‧or‧death—so‧the‧emotional‧mechanism‧of‧man’s‧consciousness‧is‧geared‧to‧perform‧the‧same‧function,‧as‧a‧barometer‧that‧registers‧the‧same‧alternative‧by‧means‧of‧two‧basic‧emotions:‧joy‧or‧suffering.‧Emotions‧are‧the‧automatic‧results‧of‧man’s‧value‧judgments‧integrated‧by‧his‧subconscious;‧emotions‧are‧estimates‧of‧that‧which‧furthers‧man’s‧values‧or‧threatens‧them,‧that‧which‧is‧*for*‧him‧or‧*against*‧him—lightning‧calculators‧giving‧him‧the‧sum‧of‧his‧profit‧or‧loss.↵
But‧while‧the‧standard‧of‧value‧operating‧the‧physical‧pleasure-pain‧mechanism‧of‧man’s‧body‧is‧automatic‧and‧innate,‧determined‧by‧the‧nature‧of‧his‧body—the‧standard‧of‧value‧operating‧his‧emotional‧mechanism,‧is‧not.‧Since‧man‧has‧no‧automatic‧knowledge,‧he‧can‧have‧no‧automatic‧values;‧since‧he‧has‧no‧innate‧ideas,‧he‧can‧have‧no‧innate‧value‧judgments.↵
Man‧is‧born‧with‧an‧emotional‧mechanism,‧just‧as‧he‧is‧born‧with‧a‧cognitive‧mechanism;‧but,‧at‧birth,‧*both*‧are‧“tabula‧rasa.”‧It‧is‧man’s‧cognitive‧faculty,‧his‧mind,‧that‧determines‧the‧*content*‧of‧both.‧Man’s‧emotional‧mechanism‧is‧like‧an‧electronic‧computer,‧which‧his‧mind‧has‧to‧program—and‧the‧programming‧consists‧of‧the‧values‧his‧mind‧chooses.↵
But‧since‧the‧work‧of‧man’s‧mind‧is‧not‧automatic,‧his‧values,‧like‧all‧his‧premises,‧are‧the‧product‧either‧of‧his‧thinking‧or‧of‧his‧evasions:‧man‧chooses‧his‧values‧by‧a‧conscious‧process‧of‧thought—or‧accepts‧them‧by‧default,‧by‧subconscious‧associations,‧on‧faith,‧on‧someone’s‧authority,‧by‧some‧form‧of‧social‧osmosis‧or‧blind‧imitation.‧Emotions‧are‧produced‧by‧man’s‧premises,‧held‧consciously‧or‧subconsciously,‧explicitly‧or‧implicitly.

Explanation

Just‧as‧the‧pleasure-pain‧mechanism‧of‧man’s‧body‧is‧an‧automatic‧indicator‧of‧his‧body’s‧welfare‧or‧injury,‧a‧barometer‧of‧its‧basic‧alternative,‧life‧or‧death—so‧the‧emotional‧mechanism‧of‧man’s‧consciousness‧is‧geared‧to‧perform‧the‧same‧function,‧as‧a‧barometer‧that‧registers‧the‧same‧alternative‧by‧means‧of‧two‧basic‧emotions:‧joy‧or‧suffering.‧Emotions‧are‧the‧automatic‧results‧of‧man’s‧value‧judgments‧integrated‧by‧his‧subconscious;‧emotions‧are‧estimates‧of‧that‧which‧furthers‧man’s‧values‧or‧threatens‧them,‧that‧which‧is‧

*

for

*

‧him‧or‧

*

against

*

‧him—lightning‧calculators‧giving‧him‧the‧sum‧of‧his‧profit‧or‧loss.↵
But‧while‧the‧standard‧of‧value‧operating‧the‧physical‧pleasure-pain‧mechanism‧of‧man’s‧body‧is‧automatic‧and‧innate,‧determined‧by‧the‧nature‧of‧his‧body—the‧standard‧of‧value‧operating‧his‧emotional‧mechanism,‧is‧not.‧Since‧man‧has‧no‧automatic‧knowledge,‧he‧can‧have‧no‧automatic‧values;‧since‧he‧has‧no‧innate‧ideas,‧he‧can‧have‧no‧innate‧value‧judgments.↵
Man‧is‧born‧with‧an‧emotional‧mechanism,‧just‧as‧he‧is‧born‧with‧a‧cognitive‧mechanism;‧but,‧at‧birth,‧

*

both

*

‧are‧“tabula‧rasa.”‧It‧is‧man’s‧cognitive‧faculty,‧his‧mind,‧that‧determines‧the‧

*

content

*

‧of‧both.‧Man’s‧emotional‧mechanism‧is‧like‧an‧electronic‧computer,‧which‧his‧mind‧has‧to‧program—and‧the‧programming‧consists‧of‧the‧values‧his‧mind‧chooses.↵
But‧since‧the‧work‧of‧man’s‧mind‧is‧not‧automatic,‧his‧values,‧like‧all‧his‧premises,‧are‧the‧product‧either‧of‧his‧thinking‧or‧of‧his‧evasions:‧man‧chooses‧his‧values‧by‧a‧conscious‧process‧of‧thought—or‧accepts‧them‧by‧default,‧by‧subconscious‧associations,‧on‧faith,‧on‧someone’s‧authority,‧by‧some‧form‧of‧social‧osmosis‧or‧blind‧imitation.‧Emotions‧are‧produced‧by‧man’s‧premises,‧held‧consciously‧or‧subconsciously,‧explicitly‧or‧implicitly.