In this six-lecture course recorded in July of 2010 at the Objectivist summer conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, Leonard Peikoff discusses the final parts of his then book-in-progress The DIM Hypothesis, published in 2012.
Here is...
In this six-lecture course recorded in July of 2007 at the Objectivist summer conference in Telluride, Colorado, Leonard Peikoff discusses the first parts of his then book-in-progress The DIM Hypothesis, published in 2012.
Here is a...
This is an ongoing live course taught in the Objectivist Academic Center (OAC), ARI’s premier intellectual training program featuring weekly classes conducted by videoconference. Visit aynrand.org/oac to learn how you can gain access to this...
Ayn Rand is the first philosopher to recognize that the free will is at the root of not only ethics but also epistemology. By identifying that “Man is a being of volitional consciousness,” that one’s choice...
Though rationality and objectivity are central to Objectivism, Objectivists’ understanding of these concepts is often sketchy. In this course, Dr. Smith deepens your understanding of exactly what rationality and objectivity consist of. It identifies the...
If you are an honest person, you are not content to hold beliefs subjectively—because of accidental features of your psychology or circumstances. You aspire to be objective—to conform all of your thinking to the facts....
Many educated people today dismiss free will as an illusion and instead view themselves and other people as determined by their environment and their genetics. Objectivism offers a very different view. It holds that the...
These historic lectures present, for the first time, the solution to the problem of induction, and thereby complete, in every essential respect, the validation of reason.
Dr. Peikoff begins by identifying the axioms of induction and...
Ayn Rand defined psycho-epistemology as “the study of man’s cognitive processes from the aspect of the interaction between the conscious mind and the automatic functions of the subconscious.”
In these lectures extending material presented in “Psycho-Epistemology I”,...
Grammar is the science that studies the methods of combining words into sentences. Discover how this normally dry subject is transformed into an engrossing epistemological field of study. Learn why a mastery of the principles...
Ayn Rand defined psycho-epistemology as “the study of man’s cognitive processes from the aspect of the interaction between the conscious mind and the automatic functions of the subconscious.”
In these illuminating lectures on this new science, Harry...
Learning to write, Dr. Peikoff explains, requires not only an understanding of the proper principles, but also the ability to apply those principles to one's actual writing.
These lectures feature exercises on six different aspects of...
Atlas Shrugged has been aptly described as “a hymn to logic.” But today, logic textbooks contain only sterile, formalistic diversions from real-life issues. In this course, given at Objectivist Summer Conference 2018 (OCON), Harry Binswanger...
This course covers the standard topics taught in introductory courses in Aristotelian logic. It defines the principles of valid reasoning, and discusses prevalent logical fallacies. It formalizes the steps by which one derives conclusions from...
A proper view of man requires a thorough understanding of not only reason, but also emotion—and of the relation between the two. Philosophers who teach that emotions bypass the mind, claiming that emotions are either...
Do you want to improve your method of thinking?
This is a course on what to do with your mind during the act of thought, when to do it and how to do it. Leonard Peikoff...
Dr. Leonard Peikoff offers an intensive analysis of the process of evaluative judgment, applying the enormously abstract subject of morality to difficult cases. These lectures are invaluable guides for making moral decisions, an immensely important...
Dr. Peikoff’s analysis of the contrast between Objectivism’s “philosophy of success” and the culturally dominant “philosophy of failure”; and the fundamental error shared by the enemies of certainty and of happiness.
This lecture was delivered at...
In 1961, Ayn Rand received a speaking invitation from the Ford Hall Forum, a group that sponsors free public lectures on social and political issues. She spoke there almost every year until her death.
From 1982...
Ayn Rand’s theory of concepts is revolutionary in the field of philosophy and it forms the backbone of the Objectivist theory of knowledge. In this course, given at Objectivist Summer Conference 2017 (OCON), Harry Binswanger...
What is knowledge? What does it depend upon? What are the means of acquiring it? In this course, given at Objectivist Summer Conference 2016 (OCON), Harry Binswanger answers these questions and, in doing so, explains...
In this course, originally a series of advanced seminars given in 1990 and 1991, Leonard Peikoff discusses the content and process of writing his then forthcoming book Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand (OPAR). Although...
In these advanced talks, originally given in 1996, Leonard Peikoff discusses the significance and implications of the principle that all knowledge is interconnected. Peikoff makes the case for the unity of knowledge in great detail...
This course, originally given by Leonard Peikoff in 1997, teaches you the method of learning Objectivism’s principles that Ayn Rand used to discover them — the only method (in Rand’s words) of discovering and validating...
This course, originally given by Leonard Peikoff in 1983, is addressed to those who are sympathetic to Ayn Rand’s philosophy, but who experience difficulty in completely digesting it and integrating its principles into their lives....
This course was adapted from a series of lectures on the history of Western philosophy, given by Leonard Peikoff to fans of Ayn Rand in the early 1970s. Peikoff holds that a knowledge of the...
This course presents an account of the philosophy of education from an Objectivist perspective, addressing such questions as:
What is education?
What is its basic purpose?
What subjects should children be learning in school?
How...
If you want to convey your thoughts clearly — in a report for work, a speech for school or a discussion with friends — this course offers valuable advice from an Objectivist perspective. Drawing on...
What is philosophy — and how is it relevant to my life? Ayn Rand answered these questions in her address to the senior class of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1974.
Rand...
This series of lectures was given by Leonard Peikoff in 1987, partway through the writing of his book Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. The book is an edited version of Peikoff’s 1976 lecture course...
In 1962, Ayn Rand was invited to write a weekly column for the Los Angeles Times. Her first column was a brief introduction to her philosophy, Objectivism. In this short course, based on a recording...