Ayn Rand Institute Live!

Recorded as part of the Ayn Rand Institute Gala at OCON 2021.Today, the energy industry—the industry that powers every other industry—is under unprecedented attack, with widespread calls to eliminate fossil fuels and continue the strangulation of nuclear power. The attack on energy is fundamentally philosophical in nature, rooted in an anti-human philosophy that regards human impact on nature—an essential of human flourishing—as immoral and inevitably self-destructive. Fortunately, there is a growing movement of energy champions, who, armed with pro-human philosophical ideas and a deep command of the facts about energy, environment and climate, are winning hearts and minds. Join us for a panel of distinguished experts who will discuss the intellectual challenges facing the energy industry today and how ARI can help create a new generation of energy champions.

In this talk, Dr. Adalja will discuss the science behind vaccine platform technologies such as the mRNA vaccines. He will also describe how changes in the scientific context impact the role of vaccines, the misconception of science as omniscient, and how the arbitrary must play no role in scientific-medical matters.

Recorded live on July 6, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference

If Samuel Alito’s leaked first draft of a potential majority decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization is a reliable indication, the Supreme Court will overturn (and may have already done so by the time of the conference) Roe v. Wade. Onkar Ghate examines the arguments offered in Roe, good and bad, the vulnerabilities of the decision, and the case being made for its overturn.

Recorded live on July 2, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference.

Tal Tsfany, ARI’s president and CEO, will review ARI’s mission to spread Objectivism and the progress made during 2021-22. ARI’s strategy for the future will be presented together with many data points and insights, collected through newly implemented technologies and methodologies.

Recorded on July 3, 2022 as part of the Objectivist Summer Conference

Objectivism holds that it’s vital to understand what things are under our control and what are not. To avoid passive resignation toward what we can change and futile rebellion against the unchangeable, we need to internalize the right perspective on this issue. This talk contrasts the Objectivist perspective on this question with that of Stoicism. Both philosophies regard the issue as of central practical importance to a good life, but they differ in fundamental ways that are instructive to explore.

Recorded live as part of The Objectivist Conference on August 31, 2021.

Selfishness, as Rand conceived it, is a demanding discipline: only by tending to one’s character and nurturing one’s psychological development can one become fully a rational, self-esteeming being capable of authentic happiness. This self-nurturance is a continuation, applied to oneself, of the work a good parent does in raising a child. This workshop will synthesize insights from psychology, Objectivism, and Montessori education and parenting to offer a practical approach for lovingly observing, managing and, when needed, changing one’s own psychology.Recorded live as part of The Objectivist Conference on August 30, 2021.

Ayn Rand named “purpose” as one of the three cardinal moral values of the Objectivist ethics. Drawing especially on Atlas Shrugged, this talk will illustrate what the value of purpose is, how it relates to the virtue of productiveness, and why it amounts to “that choice of the happiness which [one’s reason] must proceed to achieve.”Recorded live as part of The Objectivist Conference on August 29, 2021.

Objectivism regards pride as a crucial moral virtue. But what does it mean to act with pride, as opposed to feeling pride or achieving self-esteem? This talk will identify and elaborate on the central concern of the virtue of pride (the creation of one’s own character) and explore the chief practical requirements of the virtue, drawing on crucial examples from the plot of Atlas Shrugged.Recorded live as part of The Objectivist Conference on August 28, 2021.

After reflecting on the day’s talks, the audience asks questions they have about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism.

Recorded at AynRandCon - Europe in London on April 3, 2022.

At the root of Ayn Rand’s philosophy is the idea that reason is man’s basic tool of survival and only means of knowledge. What is reason? And why is it incompatible with faith? What are emotions and how do they relate to reason?

Recorded at AynRandCon - Europe in London on April 3, 2022.