Previous: Chapter 31: The Architecture of Happiness
Roark said that thought, choice, action, and feeling are the functions of the self. In order to live a successful human life, I must be independent in my thinking, my choices, my actions, and my feelings. It is this independence that Roark possesses but that Keating lacks.
Independence gives me ultimate power over my own life. Not power over others, but power over myself: the inner strength to understand reality, to direct my energy and attention, to create value, to experience meaning.
To be independent in this way is to be a sovereign individual, to be a law-maker for myself, to be a self-governor.
This supreme independence makes me free.
Next: Chapter 33: A Higher Step