Over the course of recent years, the American electorate has become increasingly tribal, unthinking, and easily swayed by demagoguery. How should we think about the state of America’s political culture as we head into this year’s election season?
Recorded live on June 14th in Anaheim, CA as part of OCON 2024
Want to join us next year?: https://events.aynrand.org/ocon/
Recorded live as part of AynRandCon Europe 2024 in Amsterdam.
Visit https://events.aynrand.org/ for more information.
Recorded live as part of AynRandCon Europe 2024 in Amsterdam.
Visit https://events.aynrand.org/ for more information.
The Galileo Affair is widely viewed as the classic example of a scientific genius being persecuted by religious dogmatists. Yet, in recent decades, some philosophers and historians of science have put forward a new interpretation that defends the Church’s position philosophically and puts (at least some of) the blame for the conflict on Galileo. Is there any merit to this view? What actually led to Galileo’s persecution, censorship, trial, and house arrest? To address these questions, this talk examines the Galileo Affair in detail.
Recorded live on July 3 at OCON 2023
This lesson explains Aristotle’s method of scientific investigation, focusing on Aristotle’s logical works—especially the Posterior Analytics. Salmieri discusses Aristotle’s view of the kinds of questions we seek to answer when we investigate; for example, the nature of definitions and their relationship to scientific demonstrations, and the formation of new concepts.
This course includes a handout: https://courses.aynrand.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Greg_Salmieri-Aristotles_Theory_of_Knowledge.pdf
Lesson 3 of 3 in “Aristotle’s Theory of Knowledge”
Copyright © 1985 – 2024 The Ayn Rand Institute (ARI). Reproduction of content and images in whole or in part is prohibited. All rights reserved.
In this lesson, Salmieri explains Aristotle’s theory of universals and how that theory makes possible scientific understanding (epistēmē) of this world based on sense-perception. The lesson explains that universal knowledge, for Aristotle, is a power to know particulars as falling under kinds. Salmieri concludes with a discussion of a famous chapter of the Posterior Analytics, in which Aristotle uses a battlefield metaphor to explain how we grasp universals.
This course includes a handout: https://courses.aynrand.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Greg_Salmieri-Aristotles_Theory_of_Knowledge.pdf
Lesson 2 of 3 in “Aristotle’s Theory of Knowledge”
Copyright © 1985 – 2024 The Ayn Rand Institute (ARI). Reproduction of content and images in whole or in part is prohibited. All rights reserved.
In this lesson, Salmieri discusses Aristotle’s view of the types and degrees of knowledge. In particular, he explains what is distinctive about the type of knowledge that Aristotle calls epistēmē (scientific understanding) and relates it to Objectivism’s view of the importance of thinking in principle. He also introduces Aristotle’s concept of technē (art, craft or skill) and explains why Aristotle regards both technē and epistēmē as superior to mere experience.
This course includes a handout: https://courses.aynrand.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Greg_Salmieri-Aristotles_Theory_of_Knowledge.pdf
Lesson 1 of 3 in “Aristotle’s Theory of Knowledge”
Copyright © 1985 – 2024 The Ayn Rand Institute (ARI). Reproduction of content and images in whole or in part is prohibited. All rights reserved.
After decades of debate, and despite the overwhelming strength of the evidence in favor of phonics, reading education is still a controversial topic in the United States. Many educators continue to resist phonics in favor of anti-conceptual methods that amount to not teaching reading at all. This talk will present the recent history and current state of the reading wars and examine the ideas behind the ongoing opposition to phonics.
Discover the crucial link between the right ideas and happiness. Visit aynrand.org/discover
Recorded July 1, 2023, at OCON in Miami, Florida.
Mathematics is the headquarters of Platonism—the reification of abstractions and the primacy of concepts over percepts. Even Euclid defined “line” as “breadthless length,” something not of this world, and the moderns define “one” in terms of nonbeing (the null set). In this lecture, drawing on a few incisive statements by Ayn Rand, Dr. Binswanger gives perceptually based definitions of key mathematical concepts, such as quantity, measurement, one, number, point, line, infinite, and mathematics itself.
Delivered at OCON 2023 in Miami, Florida on July 3, 2023.
When it comes to Israel’s mortal enemies, the usual suspects are Arab authoritarian regimes, Iran, and the antisemitic far right. And yet, some of the most dangerous wannabe-destroyers of Israel have come from the left. Whether it has been communist states, or terrorist groups, or “peaceful” organizations, the left’s war on Israel has been long and determined.
Delivered at OCON 2023 in Miami, Florida on July 3, 2023.
Attendees take this final opportunity to pose any lingering questions the conference may have raised.
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Con Europe 2023
This lecture clarifies the basic nature of reason and of faith. It explains the superiority of reason by highlighting its role in the acquisition of knowledge and the advance of human progress. Finally, it explores the prospects for reconciling reason with faith, finding that any attempts to partner the two serve only to destroy the benefits of reason.
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Con Europe 2023
After reflecting on the talks so far, here is your chance to ask any questions you have about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Con Europe 2023
“Give back,” “Serve something higher than yourself,” “Put others first” – this is the wisdom of the ages. Raised on these platitudes from religious and secular quarters alike, most people assume that to be moral simply is to be selfless. Ayn Rand rejects this assumption. She champions the virtue of selfishness. But what does that mean? This lecture highlights some of the key elements of rational egoism to illuminate what it is and is not. By refuting common misconceptions as well as indicating what genuine self-interest demands, it paves the way for the healthy exercise of selfishness and the happiness that it makes possible.
Handout link: hubs.la/Q01KqQZj0
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Con Europe 2023
Every major philosophy gives you answers to questions about the nature of the world we live in, about human nature, about how to live one’s life and organize society. The answers we accept (implicitly or explicitly) give us guidance and a framework for living. This talk will provide an overview of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, and her original answers to these questions, which have sparked an idealistic movement for reason, rational self-interest and laissez-faire capitalism.
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Con Europe 2023
Charles Darwin was far from the first person to defend the idea that new species originate by a natural evolutionary process. Between 1750 and 1850 the idea had many defenders, including his grandfather. Why did Charles Darwin succeed in convincing his fellow naturalists, when many before him had failed? Based on a decades-long study of his private notebooks and correspondence, this lecture by James Lennox will describe the inductive method that lies behind Darwin’s brilliant presentation of the theory of evolution by natural selection presented in On the Origin of Species.
Recorded live on July 3, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.
How do we judge viewpoints — political movements, ideologies, philosophies — that seem to contain mixtures of good and bad ideas? How do we determine whether any specific element of a broader framework is good or bad? This talk discusses a range of viewpoints, from environmentalism to religion to Black Lives Matter, and examines the means by which their concrete positions should be assessed. It explains how to identify the fundamental of any systematic viewpoint, and how that must shape our judgment of those concrete positions.
Recorded live on July 7, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.
The most significant figure in the history of logic after Aristotle is 19th-century German philosopher Gottlob Frege. Frege’s work in logic and philosophy is foundational to the “analytic” tradition in philosophy and has had a strong influence on mathematics and computer science. This lecture discusses his revolution in logic and critiques its philosophical foundations.
Recorded live on July 6, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.
Ayn Rand made abundantly clear that the morality of altruism had no basis in reason. Where then, if not from logical arguments, did it originate? It is not enough to point to irrational philosophies: the ultimate question is, where did philosophers get the idea? This talk will explore Ayn Rand’s own views on the motives that led thinkers to adopt this irrational morality. The talk will also examine how her views on this subject developed and deepened between the writing of The Fountainhead and her later nonfiction essays. It will also compare her views to Nietzsche’s views in The Genealogy of Morals, which are similar in certain respects but profoundly different in others.
Recorded live on July 3, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.
Tertullian (ca. 160–220) and Thomas Aquinas (13th century) both defended faith as a justification for their Christian beliefs, but whereas Tertullian proudly defended faith even when it clashed with reason, Aquinas argued that there was a harmony between faith and reason — that the two could never clash. In this lecture, Dr. Mayhew will examine the views of each in detail and briefly discuss the continuing influence of their conceptions of faith and reason in the 21st century.
The Objectivist ethics is grounded in the nature of life. Spanning meta-ethics to politics, this talk surveys the implications for this ethics of an aspect of life about which Rand said little: reproduction. Topics include what it means for an organism’s life to be its ultimate value, whether (and when) having children is egoistic, and the rights of parents and children.
Recorded live on July 5, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.
If Samuel Alito’s leaked first draft of a potential majority decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is a reliable indication, the Supreme Court will overturn (and may have already done so by the time of the conference) Roe v. Wade. Onkar Ghate examines the arguments offered in Roe, good and bad, the vulnerabilities of the decision, and the case being made for its overturn.
Recorded live on July 2, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.
Selfishness, as Rand conceived it, is a demanding discipline: only by tending to one’s character and nurturing one’s psychological development can one become fully a rational, self-esteeming being capable of authentic happiness. This self-nurturance is a continuation, applied to oneself, of the work a good parent does in raising a child. This workshop will synthesize insights from psychology, Objectivism, and Montessori education and parenting to offer a practical approach for lovingly observing, managing and, when needed, changing one’s own psychology.
Recorded live as part of The Objectivist Conference on August 30, 2021.
Ayn Rand named “purpose” as one of the three cardinal moral values of the Objectivist ethics. Drawing especially on Atlas Shrugged, this talk will illustrate what the value of purpose is, how it relates to the virtue of productiveness, and why it amounts to “that choice of the happiness which [one’s reason] must proceed to achieve.”
Recorded live as part of The Objectivist Conference on August 29, 2021.
At the root of Ayn Rand’s philosophy is the idea that reason is man’s basic tool of survival and only means of knowledge. What is reason? And why is it incompatible with faith? What are emotions and how do they relate to reason?
Recorded at AynRandCon – Europe in London on April 3, 2022.
After reflecting on the day’s talks, participants asked questions about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.
Recorded at AynRandCon – Europe in London on April 2, 2022.
This talk was part of Ayn Rand Con Europe on April 3, 2022.
Ayn Rand, champion of the independent mind, championed Montessori education. Drawing on their experience with hundreds of individual young minds in Toddler, Primary and Elementary Montessori classrooms as well as home environments, this panel will explore Montessori’s emphasis on children’s independence in thought and action. Parents and those who work with children will get ideas for supporting their children’s independence.
Ayn Rand was not a crusader against theism, but a creator and defender of a rational philosophy for living on Earth. Every fundamental of her philosophy, however, has negative implications for theism and religious belief. This lecture examines the radical nature of her atheism, with special attention given to the idea of God, the arguments for God’s existence, and what Ayn Rand means in claiming “that nobody actually believes in God.” (Companion to Mayhew’s OCON 2014 lecture “Ayn Rand’s Sacred Atheism.”) Recorded live as part of The Objectivist Conference on August 30, 2021.
In the 2016 election, there was widespread concern about “fake news” and media bias. This talk explores the guidance Objectivist epistemology offers for being an objective consumer of the news. How do the requirements of integration and reduction help guide one’s acceptance of the reports of others? How do we avoid uncritical reliance on the media without becoming skeptics of journalism as such? How do we avoid bias without abandoning concern for our values?
This talk is by Ben Bayer, fellow at the Ayn Rand Institute and former teacher of philosophy at Loyola University New Orleans. His research focuses primarily on questions about the foundations of knowledge and the freedom of the will. This talk was delivered on Monday, June 12, 2017, at Objectivist Summer Conference 2017 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
What exactly is Ayn Rand’s proof of man’s life as the moral standard? This talk gives the full answer, step-by-step. A brief concluding section analyzes the mistakes in the arguments by Hume and 20th-century philosophers that purport to show that morality is not subject to reason, logic or proof.
Recorded on May 16, 2020 as part of OCON Live! 2020
This talk discusses the meaning and importance of being honest, especially with oneself—why it matters, why it can be hard and how to make it habit. Dr. Gorlin offers tools for introspecting the difference between reason and rationalizing, for staying selfishly committed to facts even when it hurts, and for correcting habits to the contrary. The talk draws on research and clinical experience, further clarified by Ayn Rand’s insights on the choice to focus.
Recorded live at OCON on June 25, 2019.
According to Ayn Rand, the theme of Atlas Shrugged is “the role of the mind in man’s existence.” In this session, we explore how Rand conveys her distinctive theory of free will, that the operation of the mind itself is volitional. In particular, we focus on a key conflict in the plot that is resolved only when one character realizes that the mind is volitional. Recorded live at OCON on June 27, 2019
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Conference Europe 2020
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Conference Europe 2020
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Conference Europe 2020
Recorded live at Ayn Rand Conference Europe 2020
Recorded live as part of Ayn Rand Conference Europe 2020.
Listen to the first in a series of four discussions between Ayn Rand Institute chairman Yaron Brook and David Pakman about Ayn Rand and Objectivism. Pakman is the host of the internationally syndicated television and radio program The David Pakman Show.
Burnout is a vicious cycle involving loss of motivation for one’s job or career. Internal causes include altruism, the duty premise and secondhand values. External causes include unrealistic expectations of others and injustice. Our panel of experts: Ellen Kenner, Edwin A. Locke and Jean Moroney discuss how making selfish value choices breaks the vicious cycle of burnout, so you can experience a virtuous cycle of productivity for achieving selfish goals.
Objectivism is a “philosophy for living on earth” as Ayn Rand wrote. In this discussion, Ms. Agarwal and Mr. Tsfany relate how they understand the process of implementing Rand’s philosophy in one’s life and career. The conversation covers aspects of discovering, defining and pursuing a life of purpose and, consequently, happiness and fulfillment. This talk was recorded at Objectivist Summer Conference 2019.
Many people believe that while freedom of speech is a vital human liberty, economic freedom is entirely separate, merely a distant and inferior relation. This lecture exposes their error by examining the underappreciated implications of free speech on free markets. After isolating the First Amendment’s core concern as intellectual freedom, Smith demonstrates how the mind is the bridge between speech and property—between intellectual activity, on the other hand, and its manifold material rewards, on the other.
Recorded Live in Cleveland on Thursday June 27th, 2019.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the response to it at all levels of government have disrupted all of our lives. As we begin to contemplate the challenge of reopening and rebuilding the economy in the face on the ongoing spread of the virus, it’s critical to employ the right philosophical framework for thinking about these issues, and to not be misled by false alternatives, wishful thinking, tribalistic finger-pointing and other forms of distorted thinking.
This Q&A is the final talk recorded on April 18, 2020, as part of AynRandCon-LIVE, a free online event offering a framework for thinking about the COVID-19 crisis from the perspective of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the response to it at all levels of government have disrupted all of our lives. As we begin to contemplate the challenge of reopening and rebuilding the economy in the face on the ongoing spread of the virus, it’s critical to employ the right philosophical framework for thinking about these issues, and to not be misled by false alternatives, wishful thinking, tribalistic finger-pointing and other forms of distorted thinking.
This is the third of four talks recorded on April 18, 2020, as part of AynRandCon-LIVE, a free online event offering a framework for thinking about the COVID-19 crisis from the perspective of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the response to it at all levels of government have disrupted all of our lives. As we begin to contemplate the challenge of reopening and rebuilding the economy in the face on the ongoing spread of the virus, it’s critical to employ the right philosophical framework for thinking about these issues, and to not be misled by false alternatives, wishful thinking, tribalistic finger-pointing and other forms of distorted thinking.
This is the second of four talks recorded on April 18, 2020, as part of AynRandCon-LIVE, a free online event offering a framework for thinking about the COVID-19 crisis from the perspective of Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.