[Lecture Four] Objectivism: The State of the Art
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
Total Time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Course summary: In preparing the material for his treatise, Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, Dr. Leonard Peikoff confronted unique problems and challenges in how properly to systematize the material. Based on his earlier comprehensive course on Objectivism in 1976, Dr. Peikoff had to question whether he had developed the content to the most precise and accurate formulations. In completing this process, he arrived at new insights that allowed him to present the material more clearly and to demonstrate the proofs for them. He reviews this material in this course. Read more »
In this lecture: This lecture examines the distinctive view of logic in Objectivism. Dr. Peikoff explains the insights that Ayn Rand had in regard to the basis of logic and its application to a process of reasoning. He discusses how her perspective completes the understanding of logic.
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.
| Why is logic only appropriate for a conceptual consciousness? |
| If logic is non-contradictory identification, what is it that cannot be contradicted? |
| What kinds of contradictions can exist in a process of thinking? |
| What gives rise to the need for integration as a key process of thinking logically? |
| Why is internal consistency not sufficient for something to count as good knowledge? |
| What is the definition of proof? |
| What gives rise to the need for reduction as a key process of thinking logically? |
| What metaphysical fact demands that concepts be integrated in order to be logical? |
| How does one evaluate that a new belief is consistent with one’s knowledge? |
| Why can some knowledge only be grasped via other knowledge? |
| What is the relationship between reduction and proof? Explain using an example. |
| Why is a deduction from true premises not sufficient for proof? |
| What about Ayn Rand’s philosophy gives rise to her unique approach to logic? |
| What fact about man’s life initially suggests the need for principles? |
Q&A Guide
Below is a list of questions from the audience taken from this lecture, along with (approximate) time stamps.
| 54:44 | Do you usually start with reduction first? |
| 57:46 | Suppose you haven’t integrated an idea and then you act against it. Is that a moral breach? |
| 1:03:02 | How do you deal with arguments given for God? Do you have to refute the argument if you know that the conclusion itself is inherently contradictory? |
| 1:06:12 | Can you explain how the process of reduction relates to deduction and induction? In particular, isn’t induction, drawing from observations, the opposite of deduction? |
| 1:08:34 | Could you give an example of how you can prove something and then invalidate it by a process of integration? |