Philosophy can be defined as "a system of values by which one lives." In the world of today there are many different philosophies available to the individual. Among these are: Confucianism, Stoicism, Relativism, Daoism, Legalism, Empiricism, and a great many more. In Ayn Rand's Anthem, character Prometheus is an egoist (one whose philosophic doctrine states individual self-interest is the actual motive of all conscious action); in Prometheus" society he is considered evil for being an egoist, however to be an egoist is not to be evil. .
Firstly, an egoist is one who does everything for their self-interest. In the mind of an egoist, the egoist is God. In the mind of the egoist, it is the egoist who gives attributes to the world about him, because without the egoist's existence the egoist could not see the world about him and make decisions about it. An egoist's every action is driven by self-interest. Prometheus clearly shows this attribute. Prometheus, after establishing his new home, says that he will go back to the city and bring back not slaves, nor masters, but those that please him. Although it may appear that he is doing this to help them, to set them free, he's going to bring these people into his new society ultimately for his own happiness. Prometheus" bringing the new source of light to the World Council of Scholars is another great example of egoism. While he may have wanted to help out his "brothers," he in the end was hoping to become a member of the World Council of Scholars; to be known, like the twenty men who were pictured above the World Council of Scholars for creating the candle.
Secondly, to understand what it is to be an egoist in the sense of Prometheus one would have to look at the society that enveloped him. In a collectivist society where the words I, my, mine, he, she, etc. are considered to be unspeakable and possibly punished by death, Prometheus was said to be evil because he acted without his "brothers" in creating something.
