By Leonard Peikoff This course defines a new method of learning Objectivism. It is the method Ayn Rand employed to discover her philosophy, the only method (in her words) of discovering and validating principles in any field: induction. Induction, in essence, is generalization from perceptual experience. (Deduction is the application of a generalization to particular cases.) Such generalization is at once the best, and least, known form of cognition. Because it is indispensable to human learning, it is practiced daily and is in a sense obvious to everyone. Because of the deficiency of philosophers, however, induction is the cognitive method least grasped or defined. Methods not known consciously and explicitly are not within one's control and cannot be relied on to produce accurate results. According to Dr. Peikoff, this course "is the best way I know of tying your ideas to reality and acquiring a real understanding of Objectivism." The goal of the course is to enable you to learn the principles of a valid philosophy not from books or from lectures, but independently, from reality itself. Recorded in 1997. (MP3 download; 18 hrs., 11 min., 785.94 MB) This content is also available as a free course on campus.aynrand.org: link.
