Chapter 2, "Mental Health versus Mysticism and Self-Sacrifice", Nathaniel Branden (1963) Summary and Analysis

In this chapter, Nathaniel Branden provides a brief discussion of mental health and claims that it is in opposition with the primary trait of the traditional idea of ethics and self-sacrifice as is discussed in the previous chapter. Throughout his lecture, he defines certain terms to help his readers understand this discussion. These include: mental health, self-esteem, reason, faith, pride, humility, sacrifice, and self-sacrifice. According to Branden, mental health is "biologically appropriate mental functioning" (p. 36). In other words, a mind is healthy if it can provide a person with the control and cognition needed to support his existence. Branden suggests that a person must possess self-esteem in order to control her reality. Here, self-esteem is "the consequence, expression, and reward of a mind...