ONLINE READING GROUP
The Virtue of Selfishness
Dates
August 17 — October 12
Meeting Times
Thursdays at
9:00-10:45am PT
Required Readings
Atlas Shrugged &
The Fountainhead
Discussion Leader
ARI Junior Fellow
About the Book
- Most ethical discussions take for granted the supreme moral value of selfless service. In this volume’s lead essay, “The Objectivist Ethics,” Ayn Rand challenges that basic assumption by reconsidering ethics from the ground up. Why, she asks, does man need morality in the first place? Her answer to that question culminates in the definition of a new code of morality, based in rational self-interest, aimed at each individual’s life and happiness, and rejecting sacrifice as immoral.
- In subsequent articles, Rand expands her theory and discusses practical questions such as: Do people face intractable conflicts of interest? Isn’t everyone selfish? Doesn’t life require compromise? How do I live in an irrational society? What about the needs of others? What are political rights? What’s the rational function of government? Her fresh, provocative answers cast new light on what it means to be genuinely selfish.
About the Discussions
- Reading group participants are expected to meet weekly via Zoom, with occasional breaks for holidays and ARI events. We understand that participants may need to miss a few meetings. This is perfectly alright, but we encourage you to sign up only if you will be able to attend 4+ meetings, arrive prepared, and actively participate. Some reading groups also have optional weekly assignments (‘optional’ meaning not required, but highly encouraged to ensure quality discussions).
- If you want to participate but are unable to fulfill these participation standards due to special circumstances, please feel free to contact Jennifer Minjarez at jminjarez@aynrand.org.
- Upon sign-up, you will receive a reading schedule with meeting times and a Zoom link, an introductory letter from the discussion leader, and a link to request a free e-book from ARI so that you can access the reading materials.
- Discussions are led by members of ARI’s junior faculty. Their role is to direct participants’ attention to important passages within the readings, ask questions to stimulate discussion, and occasionally chime in with corrections or thoughts about the book’s content. That said, an ideal discussion from our perspective is one in which the participants drive the discussion and respond to each other! The junior faculty are happy to answer questions, and the final meeting will be a Q&A with a member of ARI’s senior faculty—experts on Rand’s life and philosophy.
ONLINE READING GROUP
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
Dates
August 12 — October 28
Meeting Times
Saturdays at
12:00-1:45pm PT
Required Readings
Atlas Shrugged &
The Fountainhead
Discussion Leader
Mohamed Ali,
ARI Junior Fellow
About the Book
- “The method of capitalism’s destruction,” Ayn Rand writes, “rests on never letting the world discover what it is that is being destroyed.” In Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, Rand and her colleagues define a new view of capitalism’s meaning, history, and philosophic basis and set out to demolish many of the myths surrounding capitalism.
- Does capitalism lead to depressions, monopolies, child labor or war? Why is big business so hated? Is religion compatible with capitalism? Is government regulation the solution to economic problems or their cause? What is freedom and what kind of government does it require? Is capitalism moral?
- Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal tackles these and other timeless questions about capitalism, and lays out Rand’s provocative thesis: that the system of laissez-faire capitalism is a moral ideal. This book is not a treatise on the economics of capitalism, but a collection of essays on the philosophy of capitalism: the basic truths and principles that make capitalism the only moral and practical social system — the only system consistent with man’s nature and the requirements of his life — the only one that enables each individual to reach his full, glorious potential.
About the Discussions
- Reading group participants are expected to meet weekly via Zoom, with occasional breaks for holidays and ARI events. We understand that participants may need to miss a few meetings. This is perfectly alright, but we encourage you to sign up only if you will be able to attend 4+ meetings, arrive prepared, and actively participate. Some reading groups also have optional weekly assignments (‘optional’ meaning not required, but highly encouraged to ensure quality discussions).
- If you want to participate but are unable to fulfill these participation standards due to special circumstances, please feel free to contact Jennifer Minjarez at jminjarez@aynrand.org.
- Upon sign-up, you will receive a reading schedule with meeting times and a Zoom link, an introductory letter from the discussion leader, and a link to request a free e-book from ARI so that you can access the reading materials.
- Discussions are led by members of ARI’s junior faculty. Their role is to direct participants’ attention to important passages within the readings, ask questions to stimulate discussion, and occasionally chime in with corrections or thoughts about the book’s content. That said, an ideal discussion from our perspective is one in which the participants drive the discussion and respond to each other! The junior faculty are happy to answer questions, and the final meeting will be a Q&A with a member of ARI’s senior faculty—experts on Rand’s life and philosophy.
ONLINE READING GROUP
The Romantic Manifesto
Dates
August 13 — October 8
Meeting Times
Sundays at
9:00-10:45am PT
Required Readings
Atlas Shrugged &
The Fountainhead
Discussion Leader
Sam Weaver,
ARI Junior Fellow
About the Book
- Ayn Rand, born in St. Petersburg in 1905, recalls growing up in “the last afterglow of the most radiant cultural atmosphere in human history (achieved not by Russian, but by Western culture).” It was an era of literary giants such as Victor Hugo, Friedrich Schiller and Edmond Rostand, when “art projected an overwhelming sense of intellectual freedom, of depth, i.e., concern with fundamental problems, of demanding standards, of inexhaustible originality, of unlimited possibilities, and, above all, of profound respect for man.”
- That atmosphere’s evaporation in the twentieth century — not only from neglect but through nihilistic movements in all of art’s branches — helped inspire Rand to elucidate her own esthetic theory and campaign for an esthetic renaissance. In these essays, she argues that art is not a luxury but a critical need — not a material need, but a need of man’s rational mind, on which his material survival depends.
About the Discussions
- Reading group participants are expected to meet weekly via Zoom, with occasional breaks for holidays and ARI events. We understand that participants may need to miss a few meetings. This is perfectly alright, but we encourage you to sign up only if you will be able to attend 4+ meetings, arrive prepared, and actively participate. Some reading groups also have optional weekly assignments (‘optional’ meaning not required, but highly encouraged to ensure quality discussions).
- If you want to participate but are unable to fulfill these participation standards due to special circumstances, please feel free to contact Jennifer Minjarez at jminjarez@aynrand.org.
- Upon sign-up, you will receive a reading schedule with meeting times and a Zoom link, an introductory letter from the discussion leader, and a link to request a free e-book from ARI so that you can access the reading materials.
- Discussions are led by members of ARI’s junior faculty. Their role is to direct participants’ attention to important passages within the readings, ask questions to stimulate discussion, and occasionally chime in with corrections or thoughts about the book’s content. That said, an ideal discussion from our perspective is one in which the participants drive the discussion and respond to each other! The junior faculty are happy to answer questions, and the final meeting will be a Q&A with a member of ARI’s senior faculty—experts on Rand’s life and philosophy.
ONLINE READING GROUP
Philosophy: Who Needs It
Dates
August 15 — October 17
Meeting Times
Tuesdays at
10:00-11:45am PT
Required Readings
Atlas Shrugged &
The Fountainhead
Discussion Leader
Tristan de Liège,
ARI Junior Fellow
About the Book
- Philosophy: Who Needs It is a collection of eighteen essays written by Ayn Rand in the years following Atlas Shrugged. In it, she argues that philosophy is not a pastime for brooding teenagers or ivory tower intellectuals. It’s a subject that deals with some of the most important issues in human life. Contrary to the notion that philosophy is detached from the practical concerns of life, Rand sees philosophy’s influence everywhere and argues that abstract ideas have profound real-life consequences.
- Join our Philosophy: Who Needs It reading group to learn why Rand’s answer to the question of who needs philosophy is an emphatic: you do!
About the Discussions
- Reading group participants are expected to meet weekly via Zoom, with occasional breaks for holidays and ARI events. We understand that participants may need to miss a few meetings. This is perfectly alright, but we encourage you to sign up only if you will be able to attend 4+ meetings, arrive prepared, and actively participate. Some reading groups also have optional weekly assignments (‘optional’ meaning not required, but highly encouraged to ensure quality discussions).
- If you want to participate but are unable to fulfill these participation standards due to special circumstances, please feel free to contact Jennifer Minjarez at jminjarez@aynrand.org.
- Upon sign-up, you will receive a reading schedule with meeting times and a Zoom link, an introductory letter from the discussion leader, and a link to request a free e-book from ARI so that you can access the reading materials.
- Discussions are led by members of ARI’s junior faculty. Their role is to direct participants’ attention to important passages within the readings, ask questions to stimulate discussion, and occasionally chime in with corrections or thoughts about the book’s content. That said, an ideal discussion from our perspective is one in which the participants drive the discussion and respond to each other! The junior faculty are happy to answer questions, and the final meeting will be a Q&A with a member of ARI’s senior faculty—experts on Rand’s life and philosophy.
ONLINE READING GROUP
Introduction to Ayn Rand's Essays
Dates
TBD — TBD
Meeting Times
TBD
Required Readings
The Fountainhead
Discussion Leader
ARI Junior Fellow
About the Essays
- Ayn Rand is known as the author of inspiring novels like The Fountainhead. But she also wrote non-fiction essays developing the philosophic ideas behind her stories and applying them to real life issues. In her essay “Philosophy: Who Needs It,” Rand argues that human beings need philosophic ideas to understand our existence and guide our course in life. She says of her own philosophy: “Formally, I call it Objectivism, but informally I call it a philosophy for living on earth.”
- In some of her most memorable essays, Rand articulates distinct views on how the right approach to morality empowers people to live rich, fulfilling lives, what political ideals lay a foundation for human happiness, and how to discover the deeper meaning behind historic events, like the landing of the first man on the moon. Her nonfiction works present readers with a bold and rational perspective on vital issues and fundamental questions about life.
- In this reading group, we’ll read six of Rand’s most interesting and accessible essays. We’ll also begin by reading the climactic courtroom speech from The Fountainhead and conclude the group with the first chapter of Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged.
About the Discussions
- Reading group participants are expected to meet weekly via Zoom, with occasional breaks for holidays and ARI events. We understand that participants may need to miss a few meetings. This is perfectly alright, but we encourage you to sign up only if you will be able to attend 4+ meetings, arrive prepared, and actively participate. Some reading groups also have optional weekly assignments (‘optional’ meaning not required, but highly encouraged to ensure quality discussions).
- If you want to participate but are unable to fulfill these participation standards due to special circumstances, please feel free to contact Jennifer Minjarez at jminjarez@aynrand.org.
- Upon sign-up, you will receive a reading schedule with meeting times and a Zoom link, an introductory letter from the discussion leader, and a link to request a free e-book from ARI so that you can access the reading materials.
- Discussions are led by members of ARI’s junior faculty. Their role is to direct participants’ attention to important passages within the readings, ask questions to stimulate discussion, and occasionally chime in with corrections or thoughts about the book’s content. That said, an ideal discussion from our perspective is one in which the participants drive the discussion and respond to each other! The junior faculty are happy to answer questions, and the final meeting will be a Q&A with a member of ARI’s senior faculty—experts on Rand’s life and philosophy.