[Lecture Nine] Objectivism Through Induction
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
Total Time: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Course summary: In this course, Dr. Peikoff demonstrates how to grasp philosophic ideas and principles in the same way that they were discovered—through induction from the facts of reality. Working through a process of generalizing from observed facts, Peikoff shows how a student can come to grasp and validate key ideas in Objectivist philosophy. Key concepts covered in the course include the idea of objectivity in both knowledge and values, egoism, reason as man’s means of survival, and the metaphysical status of sex. Read more »
In this lecture: This lecture examines the topic of sex as metaphysical. It approaches the topic within the context of the normative branches of philosophy. The material demonstrates the process of induction for a topic where more direct observations must be matched with broader observations.
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.
| What is the inductive method of “meeting in the middle” that Dr. Peikoff describes? Why is it a useful approach on some topics? Which ones specifically? |
| What are the differentiating factors of sexual pleasure versus other pleasures? |
| Explain the two basic types of pleasures and give some examples of each. |
| Why does contrasting sex with work and art help us understand it better? |
| What differentiates the pleasure of sex and work? |
| What differentiates the pleasure of sex and art? |
| In what way can we observe the opposite mental and physical experience of sex? What kinds of evaluations are part of that? |
| Why are the broadest evaluations about self and reality necessarily a part of the experience of sex? |
Q&A Guide
Below is a list of questions from the audience taken from this lecture, along with (approximate) time stamps.
| 1:21:08 | In answer to his friend in Australia who submitted an essay: is it a) too rationalistic, b) off the planet, or c) on the right track? |
| 1:26:54 | You talk about the principle that in a mixed economy breed controls. How then do you integrate Federal deregulation of the airlines and the trucking industry? Is the deregulation unreal, or do the looters ease up now and again for periods? |
| 1:31:11 | Out of time, but to one person: Any situation arising in private employment, even if your boss makes impossible requests, is not physical force. If you are free to quit, you cannot accuse your boss of physical force. An irrational boss is not the same as one who threatens physical force. |