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If you are new to the subject of rational thinking, you may wonder what it would be like to live a rational life when the majority of individuals in the world are anything but rational. The best way to answer this question is to take a good look at a man called Howard Roark.

Howard Roark is the main protagonist in the novel The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand. Ayn was the founder of the philosophy of Objectivism, and her aim in all of her novels (she also wrote Atlas Shrugged, Anthem and We The Living, as well as many non-fiction books) was to present her ideas of life and how it ought to be in a form that most people would find interesting and accessible. In The Fountainhead, Howard Roark is presented as 'the ideal man' ' a true fictional hero who would serve to inspire readers to live their own lives more rationally and productively.

Howard was an architect of talent and ability who was constantly being confronted by irrational thinkers and asked to compromise his life and values. This is something that the world asks all rational thinkers to do, and few individuals are able to understand how it is possible to resist such requests. Howard Roark shows us how. He remained true to himself despite being virtually penniless at one point, and his story is one that all visitors to this web site should read and take inspiration from.

The majority of role models in today's world are mystical in nature. Whether it's the story of Jesus as told in the gospels or the story of Superman as told on the big screen, the role models that the masses look up to are almost invariably gifted with super-human powers. Howard Roark, in contrast, is just a man. His story is not one which promotes a belief in prayer, mysticism or irrational thinking, but one which promotes genuinely workable ideas such as self-respect, self-reliance and rational self-interest.

In here foreword to The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand wrote:

'Whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of man's nature and of life's potential. There are very few guideposts to find. The Fountainhead is one of them. This is one of the cardinal reasons of The Fountainhead's lasting appeal: it is a confirmation of the spirit of youth, proclaiming man's glory, showing how much is possible.'

If you haven't read The Fountainhead, you really are missing out on something special. Get yourself a copy of The Fountainhead and discover for yourself why Howard Roark is a rational role model you ought to know.