Leonard Peikoff,
Understanding Objectivism: A Guide to Learning Ayn Rand's Philosophy,
editor Michael S. Berliner, New York, New American Library, 2012, 383 pages.
In 1983,
philosopher Leonard Peikoff, the foremost student of Ayn Rand's philosophy,
Objectivism, presented eleven lectures on "distinguishing the right and
the wrong methods for trying to understand philosophy in general and for
understanding and validating Objectivism in particular." (Back cover)
Michael Berliner, "cochairman of the Board of Directors of the Ayn Rand
Institute and senior advisor to the Ayn Rand Archives," has undertaken the
enormous labor of editing and publishing the lectures. Berliner has produced a
book that flows smoothly while clearly conveying its difficult subject matter.
The book is a treasure chest of Dr. Peikoff's insights not only into the
philosophy of Ayn Rand but also into methods of thinking philosophically.
The book's table
of contents identifies the broad subject of each chapter, for example, Chapter
Six, "Objectivism Versus the Intrinsic and Subjective." Unfortunately, this first printing of Understanding
Objectivism has no index to lead readers back to particular topics.
For my own purposes, I have compiled an abbreviated and informal list of the topics that
intrigued me. This narrow personal index is not a substitute for a full formal
index compiled for a broad set of readers. It reflects mainly my interests. I
have listed some phrases as natural whole phrases—for example: "rational
self-interest" not "self-interest, rational." The reader should
be cautious, also, because I have not yet double-checked the page references
for accuracy. Further, listings of page numbers are not exhaustive. Often, I
made note of a topic only after seeing it mentioned once or twice.
Despite these
defects in this personal index, some readers may find it helpful. If nothing
else, it shows prospective buyers of the book the great range of subjects
covered—to the benefit of long-term, serious students of Objectivism.
analytic-synthetic
dichotomy, 255. artistic choices,
339. axiom, as a
precondition, 165.
Binswanger,
disagreements with as example of rational people differing, 149, 165. blurting out, as one step in thinking process, 194. Brown, Fredric,
as Peikoff's favorite science-fiction writer, 339.
career,
choosing, 329-331. cause and effect,
153. chewing, 24, 304-305; purpose of philosophical, 268. circularity,
good and bad types of, 280. cognitive
necessity, as a guide, 102. commonsense, 221
and 222. compartmentalization,
229 and 274. consciousness,
270. context, 146,
282; defined, 186.
corollary,
151-152. crow
epistemology, 198 and 328.
deduction, 63. definitions,
50-58; not the same as the entity defined, 52; depend on one's purpose, 199;
purpose of, 215. Descartes, 151. desert island
ethics, 189. determinism, vs.
indeterminism, 255-256; in rationalism, 220. Devil's advocate,
81. dishonesty vs.
dependence, 363-364. dogmatism, 187.
eclecticism,
264. egalitarianism,
354. emotion, being
aware of to avoid distorting thinking, 200. emotionalism,
righteous, 179. empiricism, 147,
308, 310, 311; symptoms of, 134. ethics, scope
of, 135. explicit vs.
implicit, 362-363.
fatigue, effects
on consciousness, 200. floating
abstractions, 211. friends,
choosing, 335.
genius, 302; as
a requirement for formulating philosophical fundamentals, 205. gun control,
137.
happiness, 104. hierarchical
structure, principle of, 138, 145, 157, 222. honesty, 247 and
277; evaluating a movement's followers' vs. leaders', 366. Hume, as a
concrete-bound philosopher, 240.
idealism,
philosophical, 151 and 213. induction, 63,
286; and deduction, 141; no particular order for performing, 235; problem of , 276. intrinsicism, 245;
and self-evidence, 183-184, 190; as Rand's coined term, 175. intrinsicist
"Objectivism," 186, 187. irrationalism,
264-265.
James, William,
249. judging others,
344-357.
Kant, as a
mixture of bad philosophies, 234, and 308-310.
law of identity,
146 and 196. liberty, 140. lying, 71.
mathematics,
218-219. metaphysics, of
epistemology, 201-202. mind, 270. mind/body
dichotomy, as root of many philosophcal errors, 25. mirroring
reality, fallacy of, 235, 236, 237, and 310. monism, 224. moralizers,
341-342. motherhood, 382. mysticism, 154,
155, 308; defined and related by intrinsicism, 180-181; moving from rationalism
to, 232.
Objectivist, serious,
32. objectivity,
validating the concept of, 20; essence of, 193 and 194. Occam's Razor,
143. options, 313; in
life, 187-188. oscillating
between definitions and entities, method of, 54 and 66. outline for
writing, not dictated by reality, 235.
partner in life,
benefits of having, 381. Peikoff's own
experiences with rationalism and other issues, 263, 326, 327, 340, 375 (the
movie E.T.), 377, 379, and 381. philosophy, attacks
on, 2; meaning of, 17; method for making real, 23, 100, and 101; as an ally in
keeping us sane, 382; structured as an X, 161; as a system, 101 and 167. Plato, 185, 310;
as an intrinsicist, 189. pluralism, 257. polemics,
defined, as a symptom of rationalism, 238, and 242-244. polylogism,
259-260. pragmatism,
249-250, 311. principle,
living on, 92-93. proof, 63; as
pointing, 64. psycho-epistemology,
359. psychologizing,
361.
Rand, interested
in others' reactions to her, 320. rationalism, 54,
59, 147, 308-310; testing oneself to detect, 229; and repression, 59, 322, and
323. rational
self-interest, 314. Rawls, John,
354. reason, 154-155. recreation, 336. reduction, 58
and 306. religion as intrinsicism,
189. rights, 138 and
203. Roark as a
fictional character combining philosophical and concrete optional
characteristics, 320. Russell, Bertrand,
as an ex. empiricist, 240.
sanction,
375-376. self-criticism,
improper, 191-192. self-evidence, 145,
183, 213 and 283; only at perceptual level, 190-191; improper claims of, 64; as
axioms, 81. selfishness,
argument for, 164. skyscrapers,
loving as optional, 334; analogy for cognitive hierarchy, 158 and 222. Sophists, 247. soul, 270. soulmate,
requirement for, 335. spiral theory of
gaining knowledge, 31, 101, 136, 198, and 281; exercise for, 167. stupidity, as
self-made, 360; Peikoff's definition, 192. symbolic logic,
241. synthesis, as
integration, 101. system building,
254.
Tertullian, 265. test of a
teacher as cognitive empathy, 357. test of honesty,
357. thinking,
structured, 136. tout, living one's life as a, 337. tragic sense of
life, 343. trichotomy, 175
and 308; of objectivity, subjectivity, and intrinsicism, 202.
understanding,
15 and 64; method for, 41; summary of method for, 62; requirements for, 63;
elements of, 65.
workaholic, 336. writing and
emotions, 237.
Burgess Laughlin
Author, The
Power and the Glory: The Key Ideas and Crusading Lives of Eight Debaters of
Reason vs. Faith, here
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