Ayn Rand Institute Courses & Lectures

This course was adapted from a series of lectures on the history of Western philosophy given by Dr. Leonard Peikoff to fans of Ayn Rand in the early 1970s.

This course is an in-depth treatment of three important issues in Ayn Rand’s moral philosophy: the virtue of justice, the evil of the initiation of physical force, and the virtue of independence.

This course applies the principles of Objectivism to the question of how to present ideas effectively. Based on a ten-lecture course given in 1980 by Dr. Leonard Peikoff, this course identifies certain principles of intellectual communication and applies them to three areas: writing, speaking and arguing.

This course presents an account of the philosophy of education from an Objectivist perspective. The course is adapted from recorded lectures that Dr. Leonard Peikoff gave at a conference for fans of Ayn Rand in 1985.

This documentary-style course traces Rand’s life (1905-1982) from the perspective of her goal to become a writer. Photographs, film clips, and audio of Rand’s own personal recollections enliven this narrative of her prolific career.

Grammar is the science that studies the methods of combining words into sentences. Discover how this normally dry subject is transformed into an engrossing epistemological field of study.

Topics include: background material on Rand and the era in which she wrote the novel; an overview of the story; an analysis of the principal characters; detailed discussion of the main theme and a number of related sub-themes.

This series of lectures was given by Leonard Peikoff in 1987, partway through the writing of his book Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.

The Atlas Project was an online, chapter-by-chapter discussion of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, exploring the novel's intricate plot and abstract themes through online discussion and live interactive video.

This free 4 hour course covers the book Anthem from both a literary and a philosophical perspective. In the first lecture, instructor Keith Lockitch gives a brief bio Ayn Rand and what let up to her writing the novel Anthem.