The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Ch. 8 – The initiation of physical force as evil 312-324 Ch. 9 – Happiness (Introduction) 325 Ch. 9 – Virtue as practical 326-329 “So long as men desire to live together, no man may initiate… no man may start the use of physical force against others.” This is a quote from the main hero in Atlas Shrugged. In this episode we finish discussing why the initiation of physical force is evil. Then we move into chapter 9 to discuss Ayn Rand’s claim that virtue ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Ch. 8 – Pride as moral ambitiousness 303-309 Ch. 8 – The initiation of physical force as evil 310-312 Is pride a good thing? Yes and no. Today we are looking at Ayn Rand’s understanding of pride as a virtue. We will compare this idea with Christian teaching. After that discussion, we will to look at one major vice that Rand and Peikoff consider worthy of special investigation: the initiation of physical force. Listen to the podcast in the player below ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Justice as rationality in the evaluation of men (276-291) Productiveness as the adjustment of nature to man (292-303) In Proverbs 25:2 we read: “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.” At FTNCI, we believe in searching out the truth, wherever it is to be found. Today we’re looking at Ayn Rand’s understanding of the virtues of Justice and Productiveness. We read this with an eye toward how Christians in ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: -Values as objective 244-249 (cont.) -Virtue (Introduction) 250 -Independence as a primary orientation to reality, not to other men 251-259 “There is a flow to history and culture. This flow is rooted and has its wellspring in the thoughts of people.” That is a quote from Francis A. Schaeffer, in How Should We Then Live? How should we live? That is the question to which the philosophical branch called ethics seeks to provide a robust answer. What we’re e ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading in “Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand” this week was: -The individual as the proper beneficiary of his own moral action 229-240 -Values as objective 241-244 We have come to the key idea in Ayn Rand’s ethics: Rational Egoism. We are looking at the claim that “The individual is the proper beneficiary of his own moral action.” This section is in many ways common sense. But the precise way of arguing is unique. And some of Rand’s conclusions contradict ideas people a ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading in “Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand” this week was: Ch. 7 – Man’s life as the standard of moral value 213-219 Ch. 7 – Rationality as the primary virtue 220-229 It is necessary to return to a robust Christianity—an actual Christianity for people who love the truth and who love to look at God’s book truthfully. In order to do that, at FTNCI we find it useful to engage with the work of Ayn Rand. This week we look at the idea that “Man’s life is the standard of mor ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Ch. 7 – The Good (Introduction) 206 Ch. 7 – Life as the essential root of value 207-213 This week’s reading introduces the concept of “value”—which Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff correctly ground in our nature as goal-directed, living beings. We work to make it clear where Christians might agree with parts of Rand’s argument and disagree with other parts. We tend to agree with Rand and Peikoff’s definitions and conclusions about value (or with modified ver ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study met through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading this week was: Ch. 6 – Reason as an attribute of the individual 198 to 205 We begin our discussion this week by looking at a thread Jacob Brunton posted to Twitter: “Conservatives will rightly scoff at the Communist notion of pathetically making yourself and your family material dependents of the tribe. But those of the anti-individualist variety will openly advocate for being spiritually dependent upon the tribe for your ideas and values. They proudly assert the virtu ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Welcome to the Objectivism Book Study (Week 18) — Nature of Man. Our reading this week was: Ch. 6 – Man (Introduction) 187-188 Ch. 6 – Living organisms as goal-directed and conditional 189-193 Ch. 6 – Reason as man’s basic means of survival 193-197 The reading this week introduces the need for a philosophical inquiry into the nature of man. Leonard Peikoff notes that this inquiry comes before a theory of ethics. Before knowing what is right for man to do, we should estab ..read more

The Objectivism Book Study is meeting through 2022 to study Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, by Leonard Peikoff. Our reading in Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand this week was: Ch. 5 – Certainty as contextual 171-181 Ch. 5 – Mysticism and skepticism as denials of reason 182-186 Is science nothing but a progression of exploded theories? Is all knowledge only relative? Never fully validated? Never absolute, immutable, or certain? What can Christians learn about these issues from the unique philosophical system of Objectivism? Listen to the podcast in the player below, or view the ..read more