Name: Objectivism
ISBN: 9780452011014

Objectivism

This brilliantly conceived and organized book is based on a lecture course given by Dr. Leonard Peikoff in 1976, entitled "The Philosophy of Objectivism." The lectures were attended by Ayn Rand, who helped prepare them and also joined Peikoff in answering questions. Ayn Rand said of these lectures: "Until or unless I write a comprehensive treatise on my philosophy, Dr. Peikoff's course is the only authorized presentation of the entire theoretical structure of Objectivism--that is, the only one that I know of my own knowledge to be fully accurate."Dr. Peikoff, Rand's designated heir and foremost interpreter, reveals the abstract fundamentals of Objectivism and its practical applications in the everyday world. He covers every branch of philosophy recognized by Rand and every philosophic topic she regarded as important--from certainty to money, from logic to art, from measurement to sex. Illustrated with quotes from her published works, complete with an abundance of new material that Ayn Rand offered only in private conversations with Peikoff, these clear, cogent chapters illuminate Objectivism--and its creator--with startling clarity. Now the millions of readers who have been transformed by Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead will discover the full philosophical system underlying Ayn Rand's stories about life "as it might be and ought to be."

What Hacker News says

gavinrayApr 2025

My Ayn Rand "unpopular opinion" is that Atlas Shrugged is a wordier, less interesting The Fountainhead.

Wouldn't suggest anyone read Atlas Shrugged, saying this as someone who also read Peikoff's "Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand"

Just read The Fountainhead and imagine that with trains and the railroad.

"Anthem" is a short read and also pretty solid.

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abtinfAug 2023

The universe exists. It exists outside of our minds. We have the ability to explore and understand it, by choosing to focus our minds and engaging our rational faculty.

If we don’t have free will, then we can’t reason. If we can’t reason, then there is no such thing as evidence.

To learn more about this approach, see Rand’s “Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology” and Peikoff’s “Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand”.

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abtinfNov 2017

Since you seem to be interested in ideas, in how we know things, and how ideas can impact the degree to which we flourish in life, I will suggest two books to you that made a lot of sense to me.

https://www.amazon.com/Objectivism-Philosophy-Ayn-Rand-Libra...

https://www.amazon.com/How-Know-Epistemology-Objectivist-Fou...

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IsaacLJan 2017

This is not a very good article. Like a lot of writers in the Lesswrong-rationalist sphere, the author is very smart and describes her thought process in great detail, but has too many erroneous premises and ends up with wrong conclusions.

I understand her conclusion as "people study old philosophers, not to learn about their views, but to learn about their thinking techniques". In contrast, I would say that the primary reason for studying old philosophers first-hand is to properly understand philosophy.

(I wouldn't start by studying the old philosophers - I would start by reading modern summaries, especially those that focus on the actual philosophical problems. Study the old philosophers only if you want a full understanding).

You have to understand what philosophy is. It's studying the fundamental nature of reality and our thoughts about it. When you get down to fundamental issues, there are often a very small number of plausible answers, and much of philosophy is extrapolating the consequences of those answers. These issues are timeless and still relevant.

The pervasive modern belief is that philosophy is mostly meaningless word-games that can be dismissed, and science should be the basis of everything. But collecting more observations of reality does not help answer these questions. Furthermore, without knowledge of the implications of certain answers, you easily wind up advocating positions that don't actually hold up. (E.g., many people think neuroscience has disproved the existence of consciousness, when all it has proved is that consciousness is closely related to the brain).

Like Katja, I used to follow Lesswrong-style rationalism, but after studying different philosophies I concluded that Objectivism made the most sense. (Whatever you may have heard about Ayn Rand, I recommend evaluating her views for yourself). Leonard Peikoff gave an excellent and comprehensive course on the history of philosophy from an Objectivist POV: https://campus.aynrand.org/campus-courses/history-of-philoso...

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dmfdmfAug 2015

I would recommend Rand's Philosophy: Who Needs It then Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. The Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (ITOE) is good but is a bit technical and not everyone has the interest and motivation to read it. At the very least, if you can find it at a bookstore, read the intro because it does a good job of setting the historical context on why the theory of concepts is so important.

BTW, in some ways The Romantic Manifesto which you mentioned is more difficult than the ITOE.

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maxharrisMay 2013

The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Those are the two to start with.

If you like those, check out some of her nonfiction books: The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism, Philosophy: Who Needs It, and Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (these are but a few - Rand wrote a long series of nonfiction books).

Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist by Tara Smith (a philosophy professor at UT-Austin) is excellent because it unpacks Ayn Rand's ethical system in an academic style. Finally, Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand gives a comprehensive view of Rand's entire philosophy.

Light reading (not by Objectivist authors, and not in any particular order):

Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture by David Kushner

The Soul of A New Machine by Tracy Kidder

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA by James Watson

What Do You Care What Other People Think?: Further Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard Feynman

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