About the Course
Ayn Rand’s Objectivist ethics is about how to think clearly, live fully, and defend freedom on solid ground. If these are your goals, this course is for you.
We will survey and integrate the basic principles of the Objectivist ethics with a special focus on the method Rand used to derive its principles from reality: objectivity.
You will learn:
- Why ethics (or morality) is properly about living and loving life—not about suffering or sacrificing for others;
- The basic principles of the Objectivist ethics and how they are derived from reality by means of observation and logic;
- The roles of reason and emotion in human life and happiness, and why both are profoundly important;
- The roles of purpose and self-esteem and how they integrate with reason and emotion;
- The irrationality and destructiveness of human sacrifice, whether sacrifice of self to others, or of others to self;
- The Objectivist virtues of rationality, productiveness, honesty, integrity, independence, justice, and pride—and how they can help you thrive;
- Why the initiation of physical force against human beings is profoundly immoral and properly illegal;
- Why laissez-faire capitalism is the only social system conducive to human life, liberty, and happiness; and
- How to communicate these truths clearly and persuasively to others.
Join us for a deep dive into Ayn Rand’s morality for loving life and advancing liberty.
All sessions are recorded, so if you miss a session (or want to review), you can watch the recording at your convenience.
How This Course Works
This course is interactive and discussion-driven, so enrollment is limited. Register early to secure your spot.
The course is held live on a video conferencing app called Zoom, which you can download for free here. Sessions are video recorded, so if you miss a session (or want to review), you can watch the recording.
The course is 7.5 hours long, consisting of 5 sessions of 1.5 hours each. Homework assignments are optional. Doing them may require an additional hour or more per week but will greatly enhance what you learn in this course.
Course handouts and supplementary materials are delivered via email. Course participants are invited to an exclusive OSI Courses group on Facebook, where they can post questions and engage in discussions with the instructor and other participants.
Have a question that wasn’t answered here? Read our FAQ or email us at [email protected].
Frequently Asked Questions
OSI courses are live, interactive, and discussion-driven, so enrollment is limited. Register early to secure your spot.
Courses are held on Zoom, and sessions are recorded, so if you miss a session (or want to review), you can watch the recording. You can download Zoom for free here.
Courses vary in length. And some involve homework. Please see the specific course pages for details.
Course handouts and supplementary materials are delivered via email (please register with an active email address). Participants have access to an exclusive OSI Courses group on Facebook.
Zoom is a free video-conferencing app that we use to conduct our courses. You can download it here.
Sessions are video recorded, so if you miss a session (or want to review), you can watch the recording. That said, we highly recommend attending each live session so that you can ask questions and engage with your instructor(s) and other participants.
If you do miss a session, we recommend that you watch the recording before attending the next session.
Anyone aged 29 or younger may apply for an OSI scholarship to cover the full cost of a course. For information on how the scholarships work, please visit our Scholarships page.
You can see all current and past courses here.
If you have a question that isn’t answered in the FAQ or course description, please email us at [email protected].