[Lecture Three] Moral Virtue
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
Total Time: 2 hours
Course summary: 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. Read more »
In this lecture: 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.
Study Guide
This material is designed to help you digest the lecture content. You can also download below a PDF study guide for the entire course.
| Explain how understanding both “sides” of independence is necessary for a proper integration of the concept. |
| What is required for existential independence? |
| How does one assess what intellectual independence means? |
| Does intellectual independence require knowing everything first hand? |
| Does existential independence require working? |
| If someone is “making a living,” is that a sure sign of independence? |
| How does independence factor into differentiating between the metaphysical and the man-made? |
Q&A Guide
Below is a list of questions from the audience taken from this lecture, along with (approximate) time stamps.
| 1:47:02 | When does the issue of “conflict among men” appear in your hierarchy? |
| 1:49:23 | Why say that independence is the “primary orientation not to other men” rather than the “primary orientation not to other consciousnesses”? |
| 1:52:54 | What about a 12-year-old who relies on his parents for support, or a paralyzed individual? |
| 1:57:38 | Would you consider having a special session and answering questions on your article “Fact and Value”? |