Moral Virtue
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
- 4 lectures, 7 hours
- Recorded in 1989
This course features an extended discussion of three issues in moral virtue that Dr. Leonard Peikoff learned about in writing his treatise on Objectivism. He reviews the virtues of justice and independence as well as the chief vice, the initiation of force, and applies new insights about their derivation, validation, and application.
Download the entire course (274 MB) to listen in the audio player of your choice—or listen online starting with Lecture One below. If listening to the course from this website, be sure to make a note of the current lecture and timestamp before leaving so that you can easily resume where you left off.
Study Guide
This course includes a study guide, featuring questions and other material designed to help you digest the course content. This material accompanies the individual lectures and is also available below as a PDF.
Lecture Guide
Summaries of the lecture content are provided below for your reference and convenience.
| Lecture 1 | This lecture features a discussion of the virtue of justice and its comprehensive role in the life of a rational man. Dr. Peikoff illustrates the deepest roots of the concept with reference to an individual’s use of his volition and the nature of evaluation. He discusses the questions of psychologizing, context in judgment, and the role of causality in justice. |
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| Lecture 2 | This lecture covers the chief vice of initiating physical force. Dr. Peikoff discusses the connection between inactive evil, irrationality, and open embrace of physical force. He illuminates the nature of how force arrests the rational mind as well as the common pseudo-arguments that favor it. |
| Lecture 3 | This lecture examines the nature of the virtue of independence. Dr. Peikoff traces the crucial understanding he achieved through understanding the proper relationship between existential and intellectual independence. |
| Lecture 4 | This is a dedicated question and answer session with Dr. Peikoff. |