Understanding Objectivism
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
- 12 lectures, 26 hours
- Recorded in 1983
In this course, Dr. Peikoff explores the proper methodology for understanding Objectivism, and philosophy more generally. The end goal in grasping any complex set of ideas, he notes, is to keep them tied to reality. This course features lecture material by Dr. Peikoff as well as exercises and demonstrations from the live audience. The main methodological topics covered are the need for concretization, the role of definitions in concept formation, the understanding of hierarchy, reduction of concepts to the perceptual level, and the role of context in epistemology. Peikoff also presents essential material on the main cognitive and methodological mistakes that can be made in attempting to understand Objectivism, namely empiricism and rationalism. The course concludes with a discussion of the importance of moral judgment.
Download the entire course (1.06 GB) 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 | Dr. Leonard Peikoff introduces some crucial errors in thinking about the role of philosophy in human life. In discussing how people come to learn a philosophy, he explains the crucial errors made in the process of learning new ideas and in dealing with the supposed mind/body dichotomy that contribute to an incorrect understanding of Objectivism. |
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| Lecture 2 | Using the Objectivist idea of “life as the standard of value,” Dr. Peikoff demonstrates the method for how one can digest and understand key philosophic ideas. By using an audience volunteer, Peikoff illustrates the steps in a progression from confusion and rationalism to increasing clarity and objectivity. |
| Lecture 3 | Focusing on the Objectivist virtue of honesty and the importance of principles in a rational life, Dr. Peikoff continues his demonstration of the method of chewing ideas and integrating them into one’s own context. He emphasizes the importance of finding the balance between specificity and generality, setting the correct context, the need for a hierarchical approach, and the proper understanding of what a principle is. |
| Lecture 4 | Using the idea that the initiation of force is evil and the foundation of rights, Dr. Peikoff offers more analysis of the process of chewing and digesting key ideas of Objectivism. He focuses on the use of examples and how to structure a process of understanding an idea in detail. Peikoff also explains how to connect an understanding of principles to how we connect points in Objectivism. |
| Lecture 5 | This lecture focuses on the question of the hierarchical structure of Objectivism and the logic behind it. The material revolves around the exercise of putting a list of philosophic points in order hierarchically. |
| Lecture 6 | This lecture examines the issue of the objective versus the subjective or intrinsic as the basis of understanding empiricism and rationalism. Peikoff demonstrates how to grasp the nature of the intrinsic and objective methods by chewing each idea thoroughly. He demonstrates with examples how the trichotomy appears in all areas of philosophy. |
| Lecture 7 | In this lecture, Dr. Peikoff turns to a comprehensive description and analysis of the approach of rationalism to philosophic thinking. He provides a “syndrome” analysis of the main indicators or rationalism and how to recognize it in one’s own thinking. |
| Lecture 8 | In this lecture, Dr. Peikoff turns to a comprehensive description and analysis of the approach of empiricism to philosophic thinking. He provides a “syndrome” analysis of the main indicators or rationalism and how to recognize it in one’s own thinking. |
| Lecture 9 | This lecture reviews the eight major issues in philosophy raised by the earlier discussions and explains the Objectivist approach and methodology on those questions. It illuminates how Objectivist approaches dealing with ideas, thinking, understanding, and writing. The lecture concludes by revisiting the question from the first lecture concerning the role of philosophy in everyday life using examples from student responses. |
| Lecture 10 | In this lecture, Dr. Peikoff investigates how the understanding of the role of emotions in human life parallels the trichotomy of rationalism, empiricism, and Objectivism. He further develops this application by connecting this view to the perspective on how we should make moral judgments within a wider discussion about the three approaches to value judgments more generally. |
| Lecture 11 | Lecture Eleven has been omitted at the request of Dr. Peikoff. |
| Lecture 12 | This lecture examines a vital question when it comes to judging people, the issue of intellectual honesty. Dr. Peikoff examines the factors that enter into the question of judging honesty, including the specific ideas involved, the important contextual issues, and the application of judgment in the course of a philosophic life. |