Intensive Seminar on Objectivism Part I: Foundations | 2025

The Intensive Seminar on Objectivism compresses what was a two-year course into a single year. It is aimed at students who want a challenging and intensive study of Objectivism as a system of philosophy and how some of Rand’s key ideas compare and contrast with those of other philosophers. Each part of the intensive course is two quarters long and corresponds to a year of the original course, so the workload is roughly double that of a standard ARU course. 

The purpose of the Intensive Seminar is to help you learn how to better understand various principles of Objectivism and philosophical issues more generally, including the subject of philosophy and the fact that Objectivism’s principles often address long-standing philosophical issues and approaches. Part I focuses on foundational issues. Part II focuses on the guidance Objectivism offers in epistemology, ethics, and politics.

The cash value of gaining a better understanding of the principles of Objectivism, including some of its advice about proper philosophical methodology, is that the philosophy can become more fully an aid to your own life: to your thinking, including to your thinking about the intellectual world at large, to your work, and to your happiness. 

Prerequisites or Corequisites: None. 100-level courses have “Objectivism through Ayn Rand’s Fiction” or the “Intensive Seminar on Objectivism” as a corequisite.

Part II has Part I as a prerequisite.

Please note: Students who complete Part I but not Part II will receive 6 credits, but will not fulfill the Objectivism Seminar requirement. This is because key concepts in Objectivism are still to be covered in Part II. Students who fail to complete Part II of the intensive seminar must take the 16-Week Objectivism Seminar course to fulfill the ARU Certificate requirements.

Course Start Date: October 23, 2024

Instructors: Onkar Ghate, Ben Bayer, Aaron Smith, Mike Mazza
TAs: Dan Schwartz, Alex Silverman
Syllabus: Syllabus
Course Outline and Schedule: Course Outline and Schedule


Assignment to be Completed Before First Discussion Session:

  • Group A and B students have a written assignment to be completed before the first live session.
  • Group A students, Assignment Set 1 is now posted in the Q1 Week 1 module below. The deadline for this assignment is Friday, October 18, by 12 pm PT.
  • Group B students, Assignment Set 2 will be posted in the Q1 Week 1 module below on Friday, October 18, at 12 pm PT. The deadline for this assignment is Monday, October 21, by 12 pm PT.

Assignment Groups: Assignment Groups
Assignment Schedule: Assignment Schedule
Tutorial Schedule: TBD

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Course Includes

  • 5 Lessons
  • 3 Topics
  • 18 Writing Assignments
  • Course Faculty

    Onkar Ghate
    Onkar Ghate
    Dr. Ghate is senior fellow, chief philosophy officer, and a board member of the Ayn Rand Institute. He specializes in Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, and is ARI’s senior instructor and editor. He publishes and lectures on Rand’s philosophy and fiction, including application of Objectivism to cultural issues. He holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Calgary.
    Ben Bayer
    Ben Bayer
    Dr. Bayer is a fellow and director of content at the Ayn Rand Institute. He teaches at Ayn Rand University and gives talks and interviews for ARI. He writes and edits for ARI’s online publication, New Ideal. Dr. Bayer holds a PhD in philosophy and his writing focuses primarily on the application of philosophy to contemporary cultural and political controversies.
    Aaron Smith
    Aaron Smith
    Dr. Smith is an instructor and fellow at ARI where he teaches and designs educational content for the Institute’s intellectual training and e-learning programs. He also writes, speaks, and gives interviews for the Institute. Dr. Smith received his PhD in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University where his research focused on Aristotle’s theory of knowledge.

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