Ayn Rand Institute Live!

By Ayn Rand Institute

What's Ayn Rand Institute Live! about?

Ayn Rand Institute Live features a wide range of fascinating topics recorded at live events—all from the unique perspective of Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectivism. ARI experts and guest speakers bring new insights to complex topical issues, such as freedom of speech and the Middle East, or delve into important subjects in philosophy, ethics, psychology, culture, the arts, and more.

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Ayn Rand Institute Live! episodes:

03.29.2024
Happiness Team Presentation by Tal Tsfany
Happiness Team is a life-changing workshop and accountability team, aimed to systematize the pursuit of happiness using Ayn Rand’s deep, life-serving discoveries. In this session, you’ll get started on the road to understanding who you are, what you want and...
03.22.2024
The Galileo Affair by Dan Schwartz
The Galileo Affair is widely viewed as the classic example of a scientific genius being persecuted by religious dogmatists. Yet, in recent decades, some philosophers and historians of science have put forward a new interpretation that defends the Church’s position...
03.15.2024
Mickey Spillane’s Miami (and More) by Shosana Milgram
Ayn Rand admired Mickey Spillane as a writer and a crusader: “a brilliant literary talent” and a “moral absolutist.” Several of his novels, including the two-book series about Morgan the Raider (a pirate with an enigmatic past and mysterious motivations)...
01.26.2024
Aristotle’s Method of Scientific Investigation by Gregory Salmieri
This lesson explains Aristotle’s method of scientific investigation, focusing on Aristotle’s logical works—especially the Posterior Analytics. Salmieri discusses Aristotle’s view of the kinds of questions we seek to answer when we investigate; for example, the nature of definitions and their...
01.19.2024
Aristotle’s Theory of Universals by Gregory Salmieri
In this lesson, Salmieri explains Aristotle’s theory of universals and how that theory makes possible scientific understanding (epistēmē) of this world based on sense-perception. The lesson explains that universal knowledge, for Aristotle, is a power to know particulars as falling...
01.12.2024
Aristotle on the Different Types of Knowledge by Gregory Salmieri
In this lesson, Salmieri discusses Aristotle’s view of the types and degrees of knowledge. In particular, he explains what is distinctive about the type of knowledge that Aristotle calls epistēmē (scientific understanding) and relates it to Objectivism’s view of the...
01.05.2024
Stoicism and Objectivism on What (and How) to Value by Aaron Smith
The ancient Stoics held that we suffer in life because we value the wrong things and/or have the wrong attitude toward our values. If we want to live the good life, they held, we need to radically change the way...
12.29.2023
Augustine’s War Against Earthly Pride by Ben Bayer
St. Augustine’s philosophy marked a decisive turning point in the history of the West, the first systematic repudiation of the ancient Greek philosophical outlook in favor of Christian religion. Augustine’s ethics was especially crucial. He fundamentally repudiated the content of...
12.22.2023
The Reading Wars Today by Sam Weaver
After decades of debate, and despite the overwhelming strength of the evidence in favor of phonics, reading education is still a controversial topic in the United States. Many educators continue to resist phonics in favor of anti-conceptual methods that amount...
12.15.2023
Saving Math from Plato by Harry Binswanger
Mathematics is the headquarters of Platonism—the reification of abstractions and the primacy of concepts over percepts. Even Euclid defined “line” as “breadthless length,” something not of this world, and the moderns define “one” in terms of nonbeing (the null set)....
12.08.2023
Why We Are Losing Our Freedom of Speech by Peter Schwartz
Freedom of speech used to be an unquestioned value. Even as society endorsed the use of force in other realms, the individual’s right to express ideas freely was widely acknowledged. Today, that right is coming under increasing attack. Why? And...
11.17.2023
Happiness II: Objective Confidence by Jean Moroney
An important component of happiness is confidence in your future success. How is such confidence possible, especially with ambitious goals that involve significant risks? In this talk, Ms. Moroney will discuss how the Objectivist ethics and epistemology help you establish...
11.07.2023
How to Be an Earthly Idealist by Don Watkins
Many are attracted to Objectivism for its idealism. But they often struggle to successfully use Objectivism as a guide for living on earth, and experience its ideals as a source of frustration, confusion, and guilt. In this talk, Don Watkins...
11.03.2023
The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God by Robert Mayhew
Anselm of Canterbury (11th century) was the first to present the ontological argument, purporting to demonstrate God’s existence through a mere analysis of the definition of God. Aquinas rejected the argument, but Descartes revived it. Kant was thought by many...
10.31.2023
Moral Cognition: Telling Right from Wrong by Gregory Salmieri
What is the relationship between abstract moral principles (such as those that make up the Objectivist ethics) and the ability of people who do not (yet) grasp these principles to tell right from wrong? To what extent (and in what...
10.27.2023
Justice, Moral Judgment, and the Danger of Psychologizing by Onkar Ghate
Ayn Rand’s novels and nonfiction essays contain a wealth of material on the psychological dimensions of philosophical ideas and principles. But in one of those essays she also cautions about the danger of “psychologizing.” We’ll explore aspects of how to...
10.24.2023
The Left’s Long War on Israel by Nikos Sotirakopoulos
When it comes to Israel’s mortal enemies, the usual suspects are Arab authoritarian regimes, Iran, and the antisemitic far right. And yet, some of the most dangerous wannabe-destroyers of Israel have come from the left. Whether it has been communist...
10.13.2023
Living Objectively – Integrating Objectivity Into Your Every Day by Tara Smith
Objectivity isn’t simply a tool for concept-formation or analyzing arguments. Objectivity affects how you treat your friends, how you do your work, how you set your goals. This lecture probes objectivity’s role in everyday living. It considers ways that objectivity...
08.25.2023
How Objectivism Can Fuel Your Happiness by Tal Tsfany
Objectivism is a philosophy for living on earth. Happily. In this talk, ARI CEO Tal Tsfany will share concepts and actionable practices for leveraging Objectivism toward achieving the state of consciousness we call happiness. This interactive session will cover tools...
08.14.2023
Inside ARU: Philosophy and Work with Keith Schacht
Ayn Rand University is an online school of philosophy whose mission is to educate our students about Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism and to provide them with the intellectual, career and life guidance they need to flourish. In this clip, from the...
08.11.2023
Inside ARU: Philosophy and Work with Yaron Brook
Ayn Rand University is an online school of philosophy whose mission is to educate our students about Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism and to provide them with the intellectual, career and life guidance they need to flourish. In this clip, from the...
08.04.2023
The Immorality of the U.S. Immigration System by Agustina Vergara Cid
Opponents of immigration often say those who want to come to America should “get in line” and follow the law. But the U.S. immigration system sets legal immigrants up for failure, and penalizes the best people who want to make...
07.28.2023
Q&A Panel and Conclusion of Conference with Onkar Ghate, Robert Mayhew, and Gregory Salmieri
Attendees take this final opportunity to pose any lingering questions the conference may have raised. Recorded live at Ayn Rand Con Europe 2023
07.21.2023
Russia’s War in Ukraine by Yaron Brook
The war in Ukraine continues nearly a year and a half since Russia’s initial invasion. In this talk, Dr. Brook will illuminate the causes and consequences of this war. What were the factors that led to it, and what is...
07.14.2023
Anti-Americanism and Anti-Capitalism by Nikos Sotirakopoulos
When America was attacked by terrorists on September 11, 2001, Greece was among the countries with the strongest anti-American sentiment, together with the likes of Pakistan and Iran. At the same time, it was one of the few remaining countries...
07.07.2023
Reason and Faith — Their Methods, Their Consequences, Their Relationship by Tara Smith
This lecture clarifies the basic nature of reason and of faith. It explains the superiority of reason by highlighting its role in the acquisition of knowledge and the advance of human progress. Finally, it explores the prospects for reconciling reason...
06.30.2023
Aristotle’s Lyceum by Robert Mayhew
In this talk, after a quick look at the life of Aristotle and his establishment of a philosophical school at the Lyceum, Dr. Mayhew will describe the grounds and buildings of the Lyceum, its use as a school of philosophy,...
06.23.2023
Man’s Life as the Standard of Value in the Ethics of Ayn Rand and Aristotle by Gregory Salmieri
“Man’s life,” wrote Ayn Rand, “is the standard of morality.” Aristotle was the first to identify the proper standard of morality as the distinctly human form of life—the life of a rational animal. But Rand and Aristotle have importantly different...
06.16.2023
Panel Discussion: Objectivism and Ancient Greek Philosophy with Robert Mayhew, Gregory Salmieri and Aaron Smith
Today’s earlier sessions were about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism. In this panel we reflect on this philosophy in light of the nature of philosophy as a discipline and its origins in the thinkers of Ancient Athens. What is philosophy and...
06.09.2023
Q&A Panel on Objectivism with Onkar Ghate, Gregory Salmieri, Tara Smith and Aaron Smith
After reflecting on the talks so far, here is your chance to ask any questions you have about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism. Recorded live at Ayn Rand Con Europe 2023
06.02.2023
Capitalism: The Only Moral Social System by Gregory Salmieri
“If life on earth is one’s standard of value,” wrote Ayn Rand, “then the nineteenth century moved mankind forward more than all the other centuries combined.” She attributed the century’s “creative energy” and “rising standard of living” to the introduction...
05.24.2023
What Does It Mean to Be Selfish? – Ayn Rand’s Vision of Rational Egoism by Tara Smith
“Give back,” “Serve something higher than yourself,” “Put others first” – this is the wisdom of the ages. Raised on these platitudes from religious and secular quarters alike, most people assume that to be moral simply is to be selfless....
05.17.2023
The Evil of Altruism by Onkar Ghate
Everyone knows that altruism — selfless sacrifice for the sake of others — is the essence of virtue, right? But what if our understanding of the true meaning of “altruism” and “sacrifice” is completely mistaken? What if these ideas are...
05.10.2023
Ayn Rand’s Ideas: An Introduction by Aaron Smith
Every major philosophy gives you answers to questions about the nature of the world we live in, about human nature, about how to live one’s life and organize society. The answers we accept (implicitly or explicitly) give us guidance and...
05.03.2023
Is Inequality Fair? by Yaron Brook
We’re told that the gap between the poor and the rich has widened. Many decry the “injustice” of income and wealth inequality. But is it actually a problem and are the proposed remedies truly just? What is a fair “distribution”...
04.26.2023
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict . . . What Is the Solution? by Yaron Brook
Central to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the question of whether the state of Israel has a moral right to exist. In this talk Dr. Yaron Brook argues that Israel deserves — but is not receiving — America’s moral and political...
04.19.2023
Why Bad Economics Won’t Go Away by Yaron Brook
Why is it that people don't seem to learn from experience? It is clear that our existing Keynesian economic policies have failed miserably. We can compare controlled economies with those less controlled, and compare more regulated sectors of our own...
03.15.2023
Pandemics and Patents by Adam Mossoff
Biopharmaceutical innovators responded heroically to the COVID-19 pandemic. In unprecedented time and with cutting-edge technologies, they created vaccines and other medical treatments that saved millions of lives around the world. For this extraordinary achievement, leftists and libertarians have vilified them,...
02.22.2023
The Inductive Origins of Darwins Origin by James Lennox
Charles Darwin was far from the first person to defend the idea that new species originate by a natural evolutionary process. Between 1750 and 1850 the idea had many defenders, including his grandfather. Why did Charles Darwin succeed in convincing...
02.15.2023
Judging Viewpoints by Their Fundamentals by Peter Schwartz
How do we judge viewpoints — political movements, ideologies, philosophies — that seem to contain mixtures of good and bad ideas? How do we determine whether any specific element of a broader framework is good or bad? This talk discusses...
02.09.2023
The Progress Movement: Origins, Momentum and Opportunities by Jason Crawford
In the last few years, a new intellectual community and movement has arisen, centered on the value of scientific, technological, industrial, and economic progress. These ideas have caught the attention of business leaders, academic economists, and prominent journalists. Where did...
02.01.2023
“We the Living” – Celebrating the Film’s 80-Year Journey by Duncan Scott
Mr. Scott, restorer of the film classic We the Living, will give a talk celebrating the movie’s astonishing 80-year journey—from 1942 to 2022. Scott will vividly describe the many controversies and intrigues surrounding the film’s production in war-time Italy; the...
01.25.2023
Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”: The Story of Her Original Screenplay by Shoshana Milgram
Ayn Rand’s original screenplay for The Fountainhead was 283 pages long. The final screenplay for the 1949 film was less than half that length. Much of her work, therefore, has never been available to the public. The OCON program includes...
01.18.2023
Building the Builder’s Mindset: Psychological Lessons from Working with Entrepreneurs by Gena Gorlin
Having spent much of the past two years offering psychological support to entrepreneurs, Dr. Gorlin has witnessed how much support the most ambitious people need—even, sometimes especially, when they already have the right philosophy. This talk will recount what she...
01.11.2023
Emil Theodor Kocher: A Chance to Cut by Laura Mazer
Emil Kocher, Swiss surgeon in the late 1800s, is known mostly for revolutionizing surgery of the thyroid. In his hands, the mortality rate of thyroid removal dropped from 50% to less than 1%. But tragedy soon followed triumph: before Kocher,...
01.04.2023
Frege’s Logic: Revolution or Devolution? by Mike Mazza
The most significant figure in the history of logic after Aristotle is 19th-century German philosopher Gottlob Frege. Frege’s work in logic and philosophy is foundational to the “analytic” tradition in philosophy and has had a strong influence on mathematics and...
12.28.2022
The Case for Open Borders by Harry Binswanger
Dr. Binswanger defends a radical position on immigration: the moral imperative to end all forms of governmental interference with freedom of travel. Crossing a national border, he argues, should be as free, unregulated, and unsupervised as crossing a state border....
12.21.2022
Criminalizing Economic Inequality through the Prohibition on Insider Trading by Kevin Douglas
Mr. Douglas will describe how insider trading laws criminalize several forms of economic inequality. Property law generally protects a business owner’s freedom to profit from trade secrets and business opportunities, and by setting prices. By contrast, the prohibition on insider...
12.14.2022
Understanding Evil: The Soviet Union and the Sanction of the Victim by Nikos Sotirakopoulos
The Bolsheviks began as an insignificant, minority group that seized power in 1917, yet they maintained it for seven decades and established an empire with global reach. The regime struggled from day one, and yet it managed to sustain itself...
12.09.2022
The Dollar and the Gun Under Xi Jinping’s Dictatorship with Scott McDonald, Adam Mossoff, and Elan Journo
Rapid economic opening and growth since the 1980s led many to expect the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to undergo political liberalization and assume a business-friendly environment. This panel will explore contemporary conditions in the Communist Party–ruled state and seek...

What's Ayn Rand Institute Live! about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Ayn Rand Institute Live! episodes:

Happiness Team Presentation by Tal Tsfany

The Galileo Affair by Dan Schwartz

Mickey Spillane’s Miami (and More) by Shosana Milgram

Aristotle’s Method of Scientific Investigation by Gregory Salmieri

Aristotle’s Theory of Universals by Gregory Salmieri

Aristotle on the Different Types of Knowledge by Gregory Salmieri

Stoicism and Objectivism on What (and How) to Value by Aaron Smith

Augustine’s War Against Earthly Pride by Ben Bayer

The Reading Wars Today by Sam Weaver

Saving Math from Plato by Harry Binswanger

Why We Are Losing Our Freedom of Speech by Peter Schwartz

Happiness II: Objective Confidence by Jean Moroney

How to Be an Earthly Idealist by Don Watkins

The Ontological Argument for the Existence of God by Robert Mayhew

Moral Cognition: Telling Right from Wrong by Gregory Salmieri

Justice, Moral Judgment, and the Danger of Psychologizing by Onkar Ghate

The Left’s Long War on Israel by Nikos Sotirakopoulos

Living Objectively – Integrating Objectivity Into Your Every Day by Tara Smith

How Objectivism Can Fuel Your Happiness by Tal Tsfany

Inside ARU: Philosophy and Work with Keith Schacht

Inside ARU: Philosophy and Work with Yaron Brook

The Immorality of the U.S. Immigration System by Agustina Vergara Cid

Q&A Panel and Conclusion of Conference with Onkar Ghate, Robert Mayhew, and Gregory Salmieri

Russia’s War in Ukraine by Yaron Brook

Anti-Americanism and Anti-Capitalism by Nikos Sotirakopoulos

Reason and Faith — Their Methods, Their Consequences, Their Relationship by Tara Smith

Aristotle’s Lyceum by Robert Mayhew

Man’s Life as the Standard of Value in the Ethics of Ayn Rand and Aristotle by Gregory Salmieri

Panel Discussion: Objectivism and Ancient Greek Philosophy with Robert Mayhew, Gregory Salmieri and Aaron Smith

Q&A Panel on Objectivism with Onkar Ghate, Gregory Salmieri, Tara Smith and Aaron Smith

Capitalism: The Only Moral Social System by Gregory Salmieri

What Does It Mean to Be Selfish? – Ayn Rand’s Vision of Rational Egoism by Tara Smith

The Evil of Altruism by Onkar Ghate

Ayn Rand’s Ideas: An Introduction by Aaron Smith

Is Inequality Fair? by Yaron Brook

The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict . . . What Is the Solution? by Yaron Brook

Why Bad Economics Won’t Go Away by Yaron Brook

Pandemics and Patents by Adam Mossoff

The Inductive Origins of Darwins Origin by James Lennox

Judging Viewpoints by Their Fundamentals by Peter Schwartz

The Progress Movement: Origins, Momentum and Opportunities by Jason Crawford

“We the Living” – Celebrating the Film’s 80-Year Journey by Duncan Scott

Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead”: The Story of Her Original Screenplay by Shoshana Milgram

Building the Builder’s Mindset: Psychological Lessons from Working with Entrepreneurs by Gena Gorlin

Emil Theodor Kocher: A Chance to Cut by Laura Mazer

Frege’s Logic: Revolution or Devolution? by Mike Mazza

The Case for Open Borders by Harry Binswanger

Criminalizing Economic Inequality through the Prohibition on Insider Trading by Kevin Douglas

Understanding Evil: The Soviet Union and the Sanction of the Victim by Nikos Sotirakopoulos

The Dollar and the Gun Under Xi Jinping’s Dictatorship with Scott McDonald, Adam Mossoff, and Elan Journo