Understanding Objectivism
Date:
Jan 01, 1983
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. Peikoff argues that to properly understand Objectivism, and philosophy more generally, one needs the right method for understanding philosophical ideas and keeping them tied to reality.
Using a combination of theory, demonstrations and exercises, Peikoff explains the essentials of a proper method, including: the need for concretization; the value (and misuse) of definitions; the importance of reducing abstract ideas to the perceptual level; the need to establish an idea’s context and understand the logical hierarchy of ideas. These processes are used to help reach a deeper and more grounded understanding of several key ideas in Objectivism, including: life as the standard of value, the virtue of honesty, the validation of individual rights, and the evil of the initiation of physical force.
For decades, students of Objectivism have found this course to be particularly helpful in improving their own thinking methodology and their understanding of Objectivism. The course includes periodic homework assignments. In order to get the most out of the course, complete each assignment before progressing to the next lesson.
objectivism
Parts:
12
Handout:
none
Publications:
-
e-Store, 2012
(En)
- 133 mins
-
Campus, 2018
(En)
- 1544 mins
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 132 mins
- Lesson 1 - Philosophy Versus Life: Three Arguments Against Philosophy
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 140 mins
- Lesson 2 - Life As the Standard of Value
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 143 mins
- Lesson 3 - The Virtue of Honesty
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 148 mins
- Lesson 4 - The Evil of Initiating Force and the Validation of Individual Rights
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 55 mins
- Lesson 5 - Question Period on Honesty, The Initiation of Force and What It Means to Live by Principles
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 85 mins
- Lesson 6 - Logical Structure of Objectivism
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 141 mins
- Lesson 7 - Objectivism Versus Intrinsicism and Subjectivism
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 138 mins
- Lesson 8 - Rationalism
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 138 mins
- Lesson 9 - Rationalism and Empiricism
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 144 mins
- Lesson 10 - Objectivism Versus Rationalism and Empiricism
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 137 mins
- Lecture 11 - Objectivism on Emotions and Moral Judgment
-
YouTube, 2020
(En)
- 143 mins
- Lecture 12 - Judging Intellectual Honesty