Public Course Catalog

To understand Rand’s philosophy one must give careful consideration to the content and meaning of her novels. This course provides a powerful corrective to a tendency among students of Objectivism to neglect Rand’s fiction in their study of the philosophy.

The Man Who Laughs, according to Ayn Rand, was the best novel ever written by Victor Hugo, her favorite novelist. Together, we will see why she was right. 

This is Part II of the Intensive Seminar on Objectivism, a challenging and intensive course that looks at Objectivism as a system of philosophy and how some of Rand’s key ideas compare and contrast with those of other philosophers. Parts I and II of the Intensive Seminar compress what was a two-year course into a single year.

In this course, we will examine contemporary philosophical perspectives on work and labor through the 20th century to the present, contrasting important themes from academic philosophers’ work with that of Rand.

Ayn Rand called capitalism the unknown ideal. But what makes it an ideal–and why has that ideal remained unknown? In this course, we’ll examine the philosophy, history, and economics of capitalism. Above all, we’ll examine the debate over capitalism’s morality–from opponents like Marx to alleged champions like Hayek. And we’ll see how Objectivism’s unique understanding and philosophical defense of capitalism cements it as the only moral social system.

This course explores Karl Popper’s “critical rationalist” philosophy. We will examine and challenge the assumptions that lead Popper to conclude that induction is a myth. 

This is Part I of the Intensive Seminar on Objectivism, a challenging and intensive course that looks at Objectivism as a system of philosophy and how some of Rand’s key ideas compare and contrast with those of other philosophers. Parts I and II of the Intensive Seminar compress what was a two-year course into a single year.

Writing is a skill, a creative activity. As such, it cannot be learned primarily by reading a textbook or listening to lectures. One learns to write by writing . . . and writing and writing and writing. This course builds on the skills acquired and lessons learned in Introduction to Writing.

This course offers a moral defense of finance and financiers. It methodically examines the vital role they serve in the economy. And it explores the philosophical ideas that make the attacks on financial markets possible and why the profit motive is the only moral and practical motive for financial transactions.