Notes on Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Leonard Peikoff

To help me dig deeper into Objectivism, a good friend recommend Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Leonard Peikoff, so that was next up on my reading list. I enjoyed how it systematically built up a hierarchy of concepts and applied them to many areas of life. I found a lot of the material reinforced stuff I saw before in The Virtue of Selfishness and Philosophy: Who Needs It.

This book, by contrast, was not written by Ayn Rand herself but by her "best student and chosen heir." It's based off his lectures on the subject.

I'm finding that a lot of this philosophy resonates with my own recent experiences and outlook on life -- focus on productiveness, self-esteem, and reality and existence as primary over consciousness. I feel like I suffered from many of the "faults" and irrationalities as described in these texts, and I think I'm slowly starting to recover. It's fascinating to me when a book causes me to question so many "everyday" verbal expressions and mindsets that seem so "popular" or "natural" but which in fact are not reality-based and don't stand their ground upon careful analysis. I've also been struggling to understand why I never encountered philosophy or ethics in the way it's structured in Objectivist texts in any of my education.

1 reality

• Philosophic system is integrations from reality
  
• Ur choice is if u define it rationally or whimsically
  
• One must know it to make practical use of it
  
• 5 branches
  
• Metaphysics
  
• Epistemology
  
• Ethics
  
• Politics
  
• Aesthetics
  
• Concept of existence
  
• This Is
  
• Existence exists
  
• Consciousness: there exists something of which I'm aware
  
• Faculty of receiving that which exists
  
• Law of identity: a thing is itself, a is a
  
• That which it is
  
• Cannot have cake and eat it to
  
• Existence is identity, can't separate when
  
• There is something I'm aware of
  
• Axiomatic concept: primary, implicit in all facts
  
• Axioms perceptually self evident
  
• Causality as consequence of identity
  
• First existence known as baby
  
• Then integrated into identity and concept of entity
  
• Entity, identity, action concepts and then learns causality
  
• Action is action of an entity
  
• Entity acts in accordance to its nature
  
• Existence not malleable to mental contents or consciousness
  
• Kant: human mind creates existence
  
• Groups and societies can bend reality, group introspection leading to truth
  
• Primacy of existence vs primacy of consciousness
  
• Objectivism rejects latter by saying existence exists
  
• Metaphysically given vs man made objects and laws
  
• Metaphysically given is absolute but man made are all by choice
  
• Creativity is power to rearrange natural elements to combination that hasn't been there before
  
• Actions must conform to metaphysically given reality
  
• metaphysically simply are and aren't right or wrong but standard of right or wrong
  
• Man made products and choices must be judged rather than accepted simply
  
• Rewriting reality is what religion does by saying creator made world and can change it via miracles
  
• Reject all supernatural that breaks existence and nature/reality
  
• Soul not ticket to other realm but very this-worldly and natural
  

2 sense perception and volition

• Epistemology studies human knowledge
  
• Cannot just accept ideas without understanding and just on feeling
  
• Man unlike animals needs to find rules to follow since mind fallible
  
• Concepts integrations of perceptual data 
  
• Tabula rasa at birth
  


• Validity of senses as axiom
  
• required by consciousness
  
• Senses do not censor or think
  
• Mind interprets and can make mistakes
  
• Color is interaction between object and individual's consciousness
  
• Consciousness has identity, not characterless mirror, and exists
  
• Kantian consciousness is non-entity
  
• Man perceives reality directly through senses
  
• Every part of knowledge involves what do I know and how do I know it
  


• Perceptual level as given
  
• First, sensation is irreducible, lasts as long as stimulus
  
• Perception integrates sensations into entity concept
  
• Sensation only what infants know at first
  
• Perception is primary, not sensations, because can't go f
  
• Integration of percepts into concepts
  


• Volition
  
• Primary choice of whether to focus or not
  
• Human freedom when have choice between at least 2
  
• Consciousness is active process, not passive
  
• Man who waits does in vain
  
• Freedom of choice whether to use thinking machinery and reason or not
  
• Lungs automatic but mind not
  
• Visual focus automatic as adults but can see blur too
  
• Same choice in thinking
  
• Focus on conceptual realm
  
• Goal-directed mind ready to grasp reality
  
• Full awareness is not omnipotence
  
• Vs passive, drifting mind
  
• Focus is readiness to think, not necessarily problem solving
  
• Demands constant attention and maintenance
  
• Primary initial choice is whether to be in focus or not
  
• Evasion of focus is vice that underlies all evil
  
• Evasion of focus is switching I wish for reality
  
• Man chooses the causes for his choices and has free will
  
• Man can act in accordance with his values or not
  
• Can be pushed by random urges and feelings or by reason
  
• Mental and physical drifting
  


• Volition as axiomatic
  
• Self evident that can make choice to use mind or not
  

3 concept formation

• Animals don't generalize
  
• Man can know facts beyond what has experienced himself
  
• Differentiation and integration
  
• Implicit concept of existent
  
• Entity concept
  
• Specific entity vs others: identity
  
• Specific to general: relationships among entities like similarities and differences
  
• Concept of unit: Entity as unit of some groups
  
• Classifications of units by criteria
  
• Analysis and synthesis
  
• Language as tool for integration
  
• Words as symbols to represent mental concretes
  
• Language as way to convert symbols to concretes
  
• Word is completion of integration stage
  
• Measurement is what entity being measured and unit of measure
  
• Measurement and conceptualizaton connected
  
• Brings universe into range of human knowledge
  
• Both methods relate concretes by mathematical/quantitative means
  
• Concept of length: objects differ simply in magnitude; integrate concept of length without storing the specific value of the measurement
  
• Must exist in some quantity but can exist in any quantity
  
• Distinctive shape concepts: omit all measurements of specific object and remember relationships between supports/form
  
• Interdependence between measurement and integration
  


• Conceptual common denominator (ccd): feature used to differentiate entities (shape, size, etc)
  
• Mathematical basis of concept formation
  
• Concept is integration of units with distinguishing characteristics omitted
  


• Men are living beings with rational faculty
  


• Perception like arithmetic and concept formation like algebra: can take any quantity but must take some quantity
  


• First level concepts from senses like entities
  
• Higher level concepts as concepts from concepts
  


• Abstraction as measurement omission
  


• Definition
  
• To distinguish a concept from others and tie them to reality
  
• Concepts of consciousness
  
• Definition isolates a concept's units and formalizes its essence
  
• Definitions contextual
  
• Definition is not the same as the concept
  


• Concepts as space savers/data compressors to allow cognition over wider sets of data
  
• Capture essence
  

4 objectivity

• Thinking should be grounded in reality
  
• Objectivity is volitional adherence To reality by method of logic
  
• Knowledge is grasp of an object through reality based process chosen by the subject
  
•  Must define proper method of doing this process correctly
  
• Method based on facts and logic
  
• No shortcuts or giving up and turning inward ignoring reality
  
• Logic is this method
  
• Art of non contradictory identification
  
• Consciousness is faculty of discovering identity
  
• Existence is identity. Consciousness is identification
  


• Knowledge as contextual
  
• Concepts formed by context and relationships with other concepts
  
• Otherwise taking quote out of context
  


• Knowledge hierarchical
  
• Ranked in order of dependence on one another and distance from axioms and sensory data
  
• Can't jump to higher level content without fully grasping intermediate levels
  
• Can't skip the effort
  


• Esteem is when man sees in another values with high moral value
  
• Friends feel esteem and affection for each other and genuine benevolence
  


• Conceptual reduction back to primaries
  
• Anticoncepts are those that can't be connected to something at perceptual level
  
• Doesn't need to be observed with eyes but has to be shown in evidence
  


• Rand's razor
  
• Name your primaries first instead of starting philosophizing without primaries and hierarchy
  
• Rejects skepticism
  
• Can't just base on previous generations of philosophy 
  
• Check your premises
  


• Intrinsicism, Platonism, nominalism
  
• Just knowing, intuition, divine revelation
  
• External entity creating mental content instead of sense data
  
• Subjectivism: primacy of consciousness
  

5 reason

• Faculty that integrates material from senses
  
• Reason organizes facts from senses using logic
  


• Emotions as product of ideas
  
• Feeling is response to object
  
• Person must identify the object
  
• Second person must evaluate the object
  
• Estimate the object in accordance with one's values
  
• Sensations independent of ideas
  
• Emotions product of content of mind
  
• Steps
  
• Perception
  
• Identification
  
• Evaluation
  


• Reason as only source of knowledge
  
• Emotions automatic consequence of past conclusions, whether volitional or not
  
• Emotions not method of cognition
  
• Reason only method of cognition
  


• Arbitrary statements should be ignored since have no relation to evidence or reality or logic
  
• Neither true nor false
  


• Onus of proof on those who claim a positive not a negative
  
• Cannot prove nonexistence of something
  
• Only existence exists, not non-existents
  
• Agnosticism is ignorance but rife with fallacies because considers arbitrary claims
  
• Cannot even consider arbitrary along with rational
  
• Can say I don't know only when issue actually cognitive
  
• Otherwise refuse to discuss
  


• Certainty as contextual
  
• Human knowledge always limited but can't just throw out all conclusions
  
• Something can be absolute and also contextual
  
• Relationships are not enemy of absolute but what supports it
  
• Modern definition of absolute is jaded
  


• Possible, probable, and certain
  
• Probabilities contextual
  
• Certain when evidence in favor conclusive and validated by evidence
  


• Can't just say anything is possible when have no data towards that
  
• Man's general capacity to err doesn't warrant that conclusion without any evidence for that in this case
  


• Knowledge is grasp of reality acquires through observation or reason 
  
• Contrary to skepticism man can grasp reality (definition of knowledge)
  
• Contrary to mysticism, this grasp only acquired through observation or reason
  


• Mysticism just accepts all
  
• Skepticism just rejects all
  


• No compromise between emotionalism and reason
  

6 man

• Living organisms as goal directed and self-generated
  
• Life as opposite of inert/nonliving
  
• Acting to sustain self
  
• Organism faces alternative between life and death
  
• Table and pebble don't self repair
  
• Life is motion
  
• Stillness is essence of death
  
• Reason as man's basic means of survival
  
• Goods we need must be created and reshaped by men
  
• Mind body dichotomy false
  
• Tie between science and wealth and innovation and life quality
  
• Reason is practical not spiritual
  
• Man indivisible between matter and consciousness
  
• No such thing as pure thought or pure action
  
• One is dead body and other is ghost
  
• All life quality and life span increase in industrialized world because of reason
  


• Reason as attribute of individual, not group
  
• Learn from others by understanding and grasping for self what others learned
  
• Knowledge is product of thinking which each person does independently; can't do thinking collectively
  
• No such thing as collective consciousness
  
• Not all contributions to progress equal; usually moved forward by a few great individuals
  
• Man self created, self propelling, and self responsible
  
• Self made soul
  
• Man chooses if will think
  
• Each man master of own destiny
  
• Not a pawn to instincts or puppet or fate or supernatural
  
• Nature vs nurture: both deny rational being nature
  
• Instead man is responsible
  

7 the good

• Ethics and morality not only describes but prescribes
  
• For what end to live
  
• By what principle to act
  
• Who should profit from his actions
  


• Ultimate virtue is life
  
• Method is reason
  
• Profiteer should be self
  


• Ethics not arbitrary or subjective
  


• Life as essential root of value
  
• Man needs to judge and select values
  
• Value is that which one acts to gain or keep
  
• of value to whom and for what
  
• Requires entity exists and can act and has alternatives
  
• Need valuer and alternatives
  


• Organisms only entities that can pursue values because have fundamental alternative of life or death
  
• Remaining alive core of all values
  


• Morality instruction manual for human self preservation
  
• Moral values are chosen in fundamental level
  
• Also aesthetic and political values
  
• Man must act long range because sets goals across time span
  
• Weighs consequences
  
• Animal not long range and all impulses short term and pro lifel
  
• Evaluate new situations based on past experiences and principles
  
• Principle is general truth upon which other truths depend
  


• Rationality of proper virtue
  
• 3 basic values
  
• Reason
  
• Purpose
  
• Self-esteem: certainty that mind capable to think and his life worth
  


• Mind can't tolerate a little bit of irrationality; subsumes others due to integration and logic
  


• Can't just hope for what want without working for it
  
• Can't also just want effect without cause or cause without effect (consequence)
  
• Can't place I wish above it is
  
• Don't be Whim worshipper
  
• If feeling conflict between ideal and emotion, delay action until can resolve or stay with ideal
  


• Ethical standard is principle to guide choices of man to live rational life
  
• Egoism: pursuit of self interest
  
• Concerned with own interests = selfish
  
• Man's life as virtue means egoism makes sense
  
• Living entities act for own sake
  
• Self-sustaining animals don't have choice but man does
  
• Man's self-sustaining not automatic and must decide to accept life as primary goal
  
• Self sustaining as act of choice and matter of principle
  
• Otherwise man as means to end for others
  


• I swear by my life and love of it that I will not live for another man nor let another live for me
  
• Man's life as incompatible with sacrifice or collecting sacrifices
  
• No conflicts of interest among rational men who live and trade by choice
  


• Society over individual provides knowledge and trade as benefits
  
• Value to one's own life of values one finds in others
  
• Selfless disinterested love is contradiction
  
• To say I love u, must first know how to say the I
  
• Must not help enemies or random ppl one doesn't know or value if involves any cost
  
• Create values not give away
  
• May not accept role of sacrificial animal
  
• Altruism is placing others above u always
  


• Values as objective
  
• Values require valuer and act of valuation
  
• Primacy of existence not consciousness
  

8 virtue

• 6 derivative virtues
  
• Independence
  
• Integrity
  
• honesty
  
• Justice
  
• Productiveness
  
• Pride
  


• Independence as primary orientation to reality not other men
  
• Accepting responsibility to accept one's own judgments and live by one's own mind
  
• Creator vs second hander/parasite
  
• Focus on work not working through others
  
• Learn from others and work jointly but core work is his own thinking
  
• Others not source of self esteem
  
• Second hander works to avoid thinking and seeks authority to make decisions for him
  


• Integrity as loyalty to rational principles
  
• Principle of being principled
  
• Changing views when find out ur view is wrong
  
• Can't fake reality or ur consciousness
  
• Loyalty to knowledge not whims
  
• Can't compromise between evil and good like between food and poison
  


• Honesty as rejection of unreality
  
• No faking
  
• State of full focus
  
• Only existence exists
  
• Lying evil even white lies or those to protect others
  
• Ok to lie if saving child or fighting evil (context always important)
  


• Justice as rationality in evaluation of men
  
• Grant to those that which they deserve
  
• Necessary to judge others
  
• Moral neutrality blinds from reality
  
• Judge and prepare to be judged
  
• Not about psychologizing
  
• Judge facts like juror
  
• Justice is primarily admiring the good and fighting to support it, not just about punishing evil
  
• Justice through trader principle
  
• Give something to receive
  
• Love as recompense for good
  
• Causeless love wrong
  
• People hate the good and envy the capable
  


• Productiveness as adjustment of nature to man
  
• No limit to man's need of wealth and productiveness
  
• No such thing as transcending need of progress as long as man's life is standard of value
  
• Values must be conceived and created not mooched
  
• Productiveness requires thought/knowledge and action
  
• Creation of material values
  
• Knowledge not for its own sake
  
• Always should be brought to material wealth and practicality
  
• Source of today's wealth is industrial revolution
  
• Cause was reason and actio
  
• Liberated human thought
  
• Productive ability is moral value
  
• Need of purpose as moral value
  
• Principle of purpose and being goal directed in all activities
  
• All goals must be integrated and interrelated
  
• Hierarchy among goals
  
• Must define central purpose
  
• Ruling standard of man's daily actions
  
• Cannot substitute people for work
  
• Productive not social work
  


• Pride as moral ambitiousness
  
• Achievement in self of best possible state
  
• Moral perfection
  
• Unbreached rationality
  


• Initiation of physical force as evil
  
• Cannot force a man's thought
  
• Should not force kids career or marriage
  
• Initiation of force evil but retaliation in self defense right
  

9 happiness

• This is Good man's experience of life
  
• Only purpose of life
  


• Virtue as practical
  
• To be moral is to be practical and is to do what you want rationally
  
• Sanction of the victim
  


• Happiness is normal condition of men
  
• Success in getting values is pleasure
  
• Happiness is noncontradictory joy
  
• Barometer of life vs death
  
• Don't blame problems on reality; just fight them
  
• Happiness as natural state
  
• Sex as celebration of self esteem and benevolent universe conviction
  
• Meaning is metaphysical
  
• Relationship between man and reality
  
• Reflects mind and body integration
  
• Brings love into physical reality
  
• It is moral, profound value
  
• End in itself
  
• Selection of partner according to values you care about
  
• As expression of reason
  
• Love not blind but driven by values and rationality
  

10 government

• Politics normative
  
• Defines proper social system
  
• Politics rests on ethics and not primary
  
• Individual rights as absolutes
  
• Moral concept guiding founding fathers
  
• Rights means of subordinating society to moral law
  
• Right to life: liberty, property, pursuit of happiness
  
• Liberty: to choose what to do
  
• Property: right to gain and maintain values
  
• Pursuit of happiness: pursuit of self value
  
• Don't need permission of anyone for these rights
  
• Human rights vs property rights: no property rights means competent work to feed incompetent
  
• Rights cannot force others to do something or have duty to u
  
• Free milk for some is slave labor for others
  
• No other types of rights (economic, collective, animal, fetal, etc) besides above
  


• Govt as agency to protect rights
  
• Servant of society not its ruler
  
• Defends country against invaders
  
• Monopolist of force
  
• Govt of objective laws not men
  
• Govt as automaton acting on laws
  
• Only services are police, army, and courts
  
• Everything else is criminal
  
• Govt inherently negative
  
• Enforcement of contracts and impartial resolution of disputes
  
• No involvement in virtue or truth or education or trade or economics
  
• Let ppl choose to do what want even if harmful
  
• Mixed economy in west contradiction advocating rights and no rights
  
• Capitalism best
  
• Protects individual rights and property
  
• Govt hands off
  
• Virtues
  
• Independence: individual rights, not social driven
  
• Only producers are consumers
  
• Pyramid of ability
  
• Those at top get only material reward and no mental benefits from creations of those below
  
• Those on bottom get to work and survive and depend on mental inventions of those above without contributing anything to those above them
  

12 art

• Art need of man as thinker and valuer
  
• Animals have no art
  
• Art as concretization of metaphysics
  
• Art as end in itself
  
• Art is selective recreation of reality based on artist's metaphysical value judgments
  
• Art as concrete embodiment of some philosophy
  
• Allows people to grasp philosophy as percept
  
• Concept integrates percepts
  
• Art integrates concepts
  
• Style of work reveals artist's psychoepistemology
  
• Reveals level of mind the artist feels most at home
  
• Confirmation of consciousness
  
• Art not didactic, to show not teach (philosophy teaches)
  


• Romanticism greatest achievement in art history
  
• Romantic lit: Dostoevsky, Hugo, schillet, Edmond rostand?
  
• Driven by man as having volition and not determinism
  
• Plot is logical progression of events towards purpose
  
• Poetry more important than history
  
• Art as fuel for soul and romanticism as model of life as ought to be
  
• Aesthetic judgment important
  
• Style: must be clear, subject matter choice important, must be integrated
  

Epilogue

• Aristotle vs plato
  
• Analysis of history through philosophy
  
• America created due to enlightenment
  
• Then Kant made good the object of hate 
  
• Must keep fighting for the good and for reason even if world not perfect
  
• Spinoza: all things excellent are as difficult as they are rare

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