The lesson content for this course will be available in early October. An announcement will be made when you can begin the course.
This course will examine the foundational principles of Ayn Rand’s moral philosophy while addressing core questions that her theory typically raises. Its major topics will be: the foundations of value; the objectivity of value (in contrast with intrinsicist and subjectivist conceptions); the fact-value relationship; survival “versus” flourishing; the choice to live; the causal character of moral guidance; the role of values and virtues; egoism. Principal readings will be essays and excerpts from Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff, possibly supplemented with essays by other scholars of Objectivism.
Required Readings
- Gregory Salmieri, “Egoism and Altruism – Selfishness and Sacrifice,” in A Companion to Ayn Rand, ed. Allan Gotthelf and Gregory Salmieri, Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2016.
- Tara Smith, “Morality’s Roots in Life,” in Viable Values – A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.
- Tara Smith, “Morality’s Reward: Flourishing,” in Viable Values – A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2000.
Recommended Readings
- Tara Smith, “The Importance of the Subject in Objective Morality: Distinguishing Objective from Intrinsic Value.” Social Philosophy and Policy 25, no. 1 (2008) 126-148.
- Darryl Wright, “Reasoning about Ends – Life as a Value in Ayn Rand’s Ethics,” in Metaethics, Egoism & Virtue – Studies in Ayn Rand’s Normative Theory, eds. Gotthelf & Lennox, pp. 3-32.
- Darryl Wright, “‘A Human Society’ – Rand’s Social Philosophy.” In A Companion to Ayn Rand, edited by Allan Gotthelf and Gregory Salmieri, 159-186. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2016.
- Tara Smith, from Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics, Chapter 10
- Tara Smith, from Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics, Appendix on “Egoistic Friendship”
- “The Morality of Life,” by Allan Gotthelf, A Companion to Ayn Rand.
Course Bibliography: Bibliography
There are two types of assignments that you will complete in this course.
- For four of the eight units, you are required to answer a question posed by the instructor. The maximum word count for these answers is 600 words (about one to two pages). Answers to these assignments are graded on a 0 to 5 scale. See the Grading Scale for Unit Assignments for more information.
- At the end of the course, there is a final exam consisting of two essays for you to complete. Your essays will have a word count between 1250-1500 words, and you should focus on how clearly you can get your thoughts and arguments stated in writing, and not on rhetorical style.
Course Grade Breakdown:
- Homework 40%
- Exam 60% (30% per essay)
Homework will be graded on a 0-5 scale.
The individual essays will be graded on a 0-20 grading scale and summed together for the Final Exam Grade.
Steven Warden will host a weekly “live” discussion session in which anyone in the course can attend to discuss the course material. This is optional, but all participants in the class are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity. Discussion sessions will alternate, week by week, between Saturday 9:00-10:00 am and Friday 9:00-10:00 am Pacific Standard Time, attendance is encouraged but optional.
The primary purposes of ARU assignments are 1) to help you to develop your ability to think about and communicate philosophical issues; and 2) to help instructors to understand where you are in your development of these abilities. To accomplish these aims, your work must be entirely your own and should not have input from others or from outside sources (unless explicitly allowed by the instructor and cited in your assignment).
This means that you should not be collaborating with others or asking others to review your work before submitting it, including spouses and others in close relationships with you. This also includes a prohibition on the use of generative AI tools like Chat GPT when used to produce or revise an answer to an assignment. Assignments that use generative AI or which draw from other sources without citation will receive a zero, and could lead to a student’s removal from the course.
One exception is the use of translation tools by non-native English speakers. You may make use of such tools when drafting your assignments provided you include in the assignment an indication of the tool used. Be aware that such tools often struggle with translating philosophical ideas accurately, and you will have assignments with an oral component that require you to speak in English. Your assignments will be graded on their substance and will not take into account your English language ability.
If you have any questions about the course content or assignments, please email Steven Warden (swarden@aynrand.org). For administrative or technical issues, please email Reagen Leimbach (rleimbach@aynrand.org).
Tara SmithTara Smith is a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas. Her main interests concern the nature of values and virtues, and the requirements of objective law. Legal interests center around proper methodology in judicial review and First Amendment issues of intellectual freedom. Current research concentrates on privacy (both as a personal value and a legal right), and psychological dimensions of moral values, including psychological challenges of aging.