By Onkar Ghate
This is a 50-minute question-and-answer session on Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism with Dr. Onkar Ghate, a senior instructor at the Ayn Rand Institute. It was originally recorded as part of an introductory course on Objectivism given at the Objectivist Summer Conference 2012—an ARI-hosted conference for fans and followers of Ayn Rand’s philosophy.
Topics that Dr. Ghate addresses include:
- Why do most people accept self-sacrifice and altruism as morally proper?
- Religion as an early form of philosophy
- How can you distinguish between a person who is evading and a person who is trying to understand you?
- Why does Ayn Rand identify life as the standard of value, and not happiness?
- Religious mysticism and skepticism
- When should one use the word “selfish” when advocating Ayn Rand’s ideas?
- Induction versus deduction
- The validity of the concept infinity
- Does quantum mechanics show that the law of identity is incorrect?
Dr. Onkar Ghate is a senior fellow and vice president of Intellectual Leadership at the Ayn Rand Institute. He has been teaching Ayn Rand’s philosophy for over ten years through the Ayn Rand Institute’s various education programs.
This Q & A session was recorded at the 2012 Objectivist Summer Conference in San Diego, CA.
(MP3 download; 57 min., 40 MB)
