“Until or unless I write a comprehensive treatise on my philosophy, Dr. Peikoff’s course is the only authorized presentation of the entire theoretical structure of Objectivism, i.e., the only one that I know of my own knowledge to be fully accurate.” — AYN RAND
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand (OPAR) by Leonard Peikoff
Ayn Rand’s philosophical ideas are spread through hundreds of fiction and non-fiction works, radio addresses, taped and untaped lectures, 
seminars, and discussions.
Until the publication of Peikoff’s magnum opus Objectivism (OPAR) ,there was no single book, the interested student of philosophy could turn to, that presented Rand’s philosophy as a single integrated whole. Thanks to Dr. Peikoff this is no longer the case.
Leonard Peikoff’s Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand covers every philosophical topic that Ayn Rand held as important–from the objectivity of concepts and the metaphysical nature of man to the virtue of selfishness and the purpose of art, this book covers it–and more. It is clear (Peikoff is a lucid writer), organized (the book presents Rand’s philosophy from the ground up, thus showing how her philosophical statement that capitalism is the moral system is inseparably tied to the metaphysical observation that A is A), and tightly written (Peikoff focuses only on essentials).
If you ever had any questions on the philosophy that Ayn Rand presented in her novels, or on the subject of philosophy in general (college students take note), this book has the answers you are looking for.
Said Ayn Rand on the lecture course given by Dr. Peikoff on which this later book is based: “Until or unless I write a comprehensive treatise on my philosophy, Dr. Peikoff’s course is the only authorized presentation of the entire theoretical structure of Objectivism, i.e., the only one that I know of my own knowledge to be fully accurate.”
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface
What Philosophy is, and How to Study It
- Existence, Consciousness, and Identity as the Basic Axioms
- Causality as a Corollary of Identity
- Existence as Possessing Primacy Over Consciousness
- The Metaphysically Given as Absolute
- Idealism and Materialism as the Rejection of Basic Axioms
- The Senses as Necessarily Valid
- Sensory Qualities as Real
- Consciousness as Possessing Identity
- The Perceptual Level as the Given
- The Primary Choice as the Choice to Focus Or Not
- Human Actions, Mental and Physical, as Both Caused and Free
- Volition as Axiomatic
- Differentiation and Integration as the Means to a Unit-Perspective
- Concept-Formation as a Mathematical Process
- Concepts of Consciousness as Involving Measurement-Omission
- Definition as the Final Step in Concept-Formation
- Concepts as Devices to Achieve Unit-Economy
- Concepts as Objective
- Objectivity as Volitional Adherence to Reality by the Method of Logic
- Knowledge as Contextual
- Knowledge as Hierarchical
- Intrinsicism and Subjectivism as the Two Forms of Rejecting Objectivity
- Emotions as a Product of Ideas
- Reason as Man’s Only Means of Knowledge
- The Arbitrary as Neither True Nor False
- Certainty as Contextual
- Mysticism and Skepticism as Denials of Reason
- Living Organisms as Goal-Directed and Conditional
- Reason as Man’s Basic Means of Survival
- Reason as an Attribute of the Individual
- “Life” as the Essential Root of “Value”
- Man’s Life as the Standard of Moral Value
- Rationality as the Primary Virtue
- The Individual as the Proper Beneficiary of His Own Moral Action
- Values as Objective
- Independence as a Primary Orientation to Reality, Not to Other Men
- Integrity as Loyalty to Rational Principles
- Honesty as the Rejection of Unreality
- Justice as Rationality in the Evaluation of Men
- Productiveness as the Adjustment of Nature to Man
- Pride as Moral Ambitiousness
- The Initiation of Physical Force as Evil
- Individual Rights as Absolutes
- Government as an Agency to Protect Rights
- Statism as the Politics of Unreason
- Capitalism as the Only Moral Social System
- Capitalism as the System of Objectivity
- Opposition to Capitalism as Dependent on Bad Epistemology
- Art as a Concretization of Metaphysics
- Romantic Literature as Illustrating the Role of Philosophy in Art
- Esthetic Value as Objective
Epilogue: The Duel Between Plato and Aristotle
References
Index
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand (OPAR) by Leonard Peikoff
