This course extensively analyzes Ayn Rand's groundbreaking principle that the mind cannot function under coercion, and uses this principle as a case study in the proper method of understanding Objectivist ideas. Topics include (among others): coercion as an assault on the mind; normal vs. emergency functioning under coercion; the willing vs. the unwilling victim of coercion (e.g. Stadler vs, Galt). Methodological Issues Include the practical significance (in "chewing" ideas) of the principle that concepts are open-ended; the error of under-specifying the relevant context of knowledge; and the importance of taking a "non-neutral" approach to normative questions.