Description
This article is from the Ayn Rand's Philosophy of Objectivism FAQ, by Chris Walker cwalker@aquila.ece.utexas.edu with numerous contributions by
others.
12 Reading List on Objectivism part1
This is my reading list for learning Objectivism. All works listed
are by Ayn Rand unless specified otherwise. In addition, I list some
other works recommended in the past by Objectivists to broaden
your study. Credit goes to Austin Moseley for his suggestions and
thanks to everyone else for their corrections and assistance.
For those who have little or no familiarity with philosophy, the
best introduction to Objectivism is through Ayn Rand's fiction.
Ayn Rand was primarily a novelist. In order to write the novels
about the kinds of men can and should exist in the world, she
developed Objectivism to support it. This philosophy of hero
worship captures the spirit of youth and its concomitant love of life.
A note on selection. I have freely borrowed from the reading list
in the Second Renaissance Books catalog and from other sources.
My general criterion is to point people to works whose writers
provide models of rational discourse and will enable readers to
find the same spirit in whatever works they encounter on their own.
Ayn Rand's Novels
"We The Living" -- Ayn Rand considered this novel to be the ideal Romantic
novel. This novel is about the destruction of the human
spirit under dictatorships. The specifics are the
Soviet dictatorship, but it addresses all such societies.
It was made into a movie in Fascist Italy without
permission and when the authorities finally realized
its anti-authoritarian message, the movie was banned.
"The Fountainhead" -- The leitmotif of this novel is independence, of
the worship of man as heroic creator of values
through means of the use of his own mind. Howard
Roark is the hero who remains true to himself in the
entire novel, never allowing his work to be compromised
no matter the temptation. He wins.
"Atlas Shrugged" --This is Ayn Rand's 'magnum opus', a great novel beyond
ordinary greatness. It is a novel of the role of man's
mind in civilization, of its enslavement to the
looters who refuse to use their own mind to produce
the values they need to live. The plot is in answer to
the question, "What if the men of the mind were to
go on strike?" Read it and find out.
"Anthem" -- This is a novel of the rediscovery of the most
important word in all of human life, without which,
true human existence is impossible.
Introductory Philosophical Works by Ayn Rand
These works present basic aspects of Objectivism and discuss the
value of philosophy. They also address the most important issues
of philosophy for everyday life.
"Philosophy: Who Needs It?", edited by Leonard Peikoff
"For the New Intellectual"
Basic Philosophical Essays by Ayn Rand
"The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism"
"Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal"
"The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution"
"The Romantic Manifesto"
Introductory and Intermediate Objectivist Works
These works are intended for those who already know the basic
principles of Ayn Rand's ideas and are ready to flesh out their
knowledge.
"The Ayn Rand Lexicon" by Harry Binswanger
"Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology" by Ayn Rand
"Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand" by Leonard Peikoff
"The Ominous Parallels" by Leonard Peikoff
"The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought" by Leonard Peikoff
Posthumous Publications
"The Letters of Ayn Rand" edited by Michael Berliner
"The Ayn Rand Column" edited by Leonard Peikoff
"The Early Ayn Rand" edited by Leonard Peikoff
An early work by Ayn Rand on Hollywood was recently discovered in
St. Petersburg. It should be available for sale from Objectivist
bookstores when it becomes available.
Study Aids
"A Study Guide to Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism:
The Philosophy of Ayn Rand" by Gary Hull (Highly Recommended)
"How to Study Ayn Rand" by Dr. Harry Binswanger, Audiotape
Recommended Courses/Lectures by Leonard Peikoff
These courses and taped lectures are currently for sale from
Second Renaissance Books. Having heard the majority of these courses,
I believe that they are of superior quality.
Objectivism courses:
"The Philosophy of Objectivism" -- 12 lecture introductory course presented
in 1976 with Ayn Rand in the Q&A
"Understanding Objectivism" -- 12 Lecture course. This is his
best course to my knowledge.
"Objectivism: The State of the Art" -- 6 lecture course
"Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand" -- 15 lecture advanced course
1-6 (1990), 7-15 (1991)
"Certainty and Happiness"--achieving success in thought and action
"Seminar on OPAR: Ayn Rand's Philosophy of Objectivism"
Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic: (This is the trivium of classical heritage)
"The Philosophy of Education" -- 5 lecture course
"Introduction to Logic" -- 10 lecture course
"Principles of Grammar" -- 8 lecture course
"Objective Communication" -- 10 lecture course (Principles of Communication,
Writing, Speaking, Arguing) Ayn Rand in
Q&A on lecture 1
"The Art of Thinking" -- An excellent course on common problems encountered
when thinking about philosophical issues.
"Objectivism Through Induction" -- Currently being offered. Expected to be
made available for sale in mid to late 1998.
Ford Hall Forum Presentations:
"The American School: Why Johnny Can't Think"
"Assault from the Ivory Tower"
"Medicine: The Death of a Profession"
"Modernism and Madness", 1994
"My Thirty Years with Ayn Rand: An Intellectual Memoir"
"The Ominous Parallels"
"Religion vs. America"
"Some Notes about Tomorrow"
"Philosophy and the Real World Out There"
"What to do about Crime", 1995
Important Polemical Essays
"Libertarianism: The Perversion of Liberty" by Peter Schwartz
"The Toxicity of Environmentalism" by George Reisman (available through
the Jefferson School)
"Education and the Racist Road to Barbarism" by George Reisman (ditto)
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