About the Course
Fortify your understanding of Ayn Rand’s “philosophy for living” by grounding its key principles in perceptual reality.
Objectivism is a philosophy for flourishing. But its use-value is only as good as your understanding of its principles.
Many fans of Rand have only a vague understanding of its principles; consequently, they can’t tap into the full power of the ideas to make their lives magnificent. Don’t stay there!
Leonard Peikoff’s course “Understanding Objectivism” is designed to provide you with a deep understanding of the ideas. And systematically discussing the lectures with OSI fellow Martin Hooss and a small group of critical thinkers will enable you to integrate the ideas even more effectively—and put them to immediate use in your life.
You’ll discuss:
- The role of philosophy in human life
- Why life is the standard of value
- The importance of principles
- The hierarchical nature of principles and Objectivism
- How Objectivism differs from intrinsicism and subjectivism
- How it differs from rationalism and empiricism
- The nature of emotions
- Moral judgment
- Intellectual honesty, and more.
This listening group assumes a basic understanding of Objectivism—and it will help you achieve a powerful understanding.
Missed the course? We’ll notify you the next time it's offered!
How This Course Works
This course is interactive and discussion-driven, so enrollment is limited. Register early to secure your spot.
Participants will listen to the provided lecture recordings from “Understanding Objectivism” before each live session.
The course is held live on 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. OSI may sell course recordings and/or use them for marketing, promotional, or educational purposes.
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].
By enrolling, you agree to OSI’s Course Terms and Conditions.
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].
