Resources for learning about Objectivism. The four major sections are Books, Websites, Podcasts/Radio Shows, and Online Papers.
Category Notes:
(primary) – a work written or approved by Ayn Rand during her lifetime
(secondary) – a work written by an Objectivist intellectual, but not clearly approved by Ayn Rand (typically written after her death)
(secondary-new theory) – a work written by an Objectivist intellectual after Rand’s death, that adds significant new philosophical principles that are not part of Rand’s Objectivism proper
(scholarly debate) – a secondary work of academic Objectivist scholarship that includes critiques by non-Objectivist scholars
Books
Metaphysics and Overview of Philosophy:
- Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Leonard Peikoff (secondary)
- Objectivism in One Lesson: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Andrew Bernstein (secondary)
- On Ayn Rand (Wadsworth Philosophers Series) by Allan Gotthelf (secondary)
- A Companion to Ayn Rand (Blackwell Companions to Philosophy), edited by Greg Salmieri and Allan Gotthelf (secondary)
Epistemology:
- Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, Exp. 2nd Ed. by Ayn Rand (primary)
- The Evidence of the Senses: A Realist Theory of Perception by David Kelley (secondary)
- How We Know by Harry Binswanger (secondary-new theory)
- Concepts and Their Role in Knowledge: Reflections on Objectivist Epistemology (Ayn Rand Society Phil. Studies) by various authors (scholarly debate)
- The Logical Leap: Induction in Physics by David Harriman (secondary-new theory)
Ethics and Human Nature, Overview:
- The Virtue of Selfishness by Ayn Rand (primary)
- Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It by Craig Biddle (secondary)
- In Defense of Selfishness: Why the Code of Self-Sacrifice is Unjust and Destructive by Peter Schwartz
- Metaethics, Egoism, and Virtue: Studies in Ayn Rand’s Normative Theory (Ayn Rand Society Phil. Studies) by various authors (scholarly debate)
Meta-ethics and the Nature of Life, Detailed:
- Viable Values: A Study of Life as the Root and Reward of Morality by Tara Smith (secondary)
- The Biological Basis of Teleological Concepts by Harry Binswanger (secondary)
- Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist by Tara Smith (secondary)
Politics:
- Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand (primary)
- Capitalism Unbound: The Incontestable Moral Case for Individual Rights by Andrew Bernstein (secondary)
- Moral Rights and Political Freedom by Tara Smith (secondary)
- The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic and Philosophic Case for Laissez-Faire by Andrew Bernstein (secondary)
- Capitalist Solutions: A Philosophy of American Moral Dilemmas by Andrew Bernstein (secondary)
- Free Market Revolution: How Ayn Rand’s Ideas Can End Big Government by Yaron Brook and Don Watkins (secondary)
- Equal is Unfair: America’s Misguided Fight Against Income Inequality by Yaron Brook and Don Watkins (secondary)
- A New Textbook of Americanism: The Politics of Ayn Rand by Ayn Rand and various authors (primary and secondary)
Esthetics:
- The Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand (primary)
Philosophical Methods / Applied Epistemology:
- Objectivism Through Induction by Leonard Peikoff (lecture course) (secondary)
- Understanding Objectivism: A Guide to Learning Ayn Rand’s Philosophy by Leonard Peikoff (Lecture course or book) (secondary)
Applications / Political and Cultural Analysis:
- Philosophy: Who Needs It by Ayn Rand (primary)
- The Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution by Ayn Rand and Peter Schwartz (primary and secondary)
- For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Ayn Rand (primary)
- The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought by Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff (primary)
- The Ominous Parallels: The End of Freedom in America by Leonard Peikoff (primary)
- Winning the Unwinnable War: America’s Self-Crippled Response to Islamic Totalitarianism by Elan Journo (secondary)
- Rooseveltcare: How Social Security is Sabotaging the Land of Self-Reliance by Don Watkins (secondary)
- The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels by Alex Epstein (secondary)
- Why Businessmen Need Philosophy: The Capitalist’s Guide to the Ideas Behind Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand and various authors (primary and secondary)
- Failing to Confront Islamic Totalitarianism: From George W. Bush to Barack Obama and Beyond by Onkar Ghate and Elan Journo (secondary)
Ayn Rand’s Philosophical Fiction:
Websites
Ayn Rand Lexicon (Philosophical terms defined and explained by Ayn Rand and other sources she approved.)
Ayn Rand Institute (The premier organization that teaches Ayn Rand’s philosophy and writes articles applying it, especially for a non-academic audience.)
Check Your Premises (A blog of The Ayn Rand Society, (APA affiliate) where academic philosophers discuss Ayn Rand’s philosophy alongside contemporary academic literature.)
Ayn Rand Institute Campus (Free resource for detailed learning about Objectivism.)
Introduction to Objectivism on YouTube
Ayn Rand Institute eStore (Recorded lectures and other materials on Objectivism and Objectivist approaches to other subjects.)
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Ayn Rand (Entry describing Rand’s philosophy.)
Objectivism Online Forum (Discuss philosophy and other topics with self-described Objectivists.)
The Objective Standard (Objectivist periodical.)
Leonard Peikoff Website/Podcast (Philosophy Ph.D. and foremost authority on Objectivism answers questions.)
Objectivist Academic Center (Instruction in the principles and methods of Objectivism and in communication.)
The Ayn Rand Society (Organization affiliated with the American Philosophical Association that fosters scholarly study of Objectivism.)
The Undercurrent (An organization that publishes magazine articles from college students, who are also students of Objectivism. It now also organizes student conferences discussing liberty, Objectivism and activism.)
Objectivist Answers (Philosophical questions answered by self-described Objectivists. Answers are user-moderated, and may or may not agree with Objectivism as defined by Ayn Rand and/or fleshed out by professional Objectivist intellectuals.)
Americans for Free Choice in Medicine (Grass-roots organization advocating for individual rights in medicine.)
Podcasts and Radio Shows
The Yaron Brook Show (Blog talk radio show hosted by the president of the Ayn Rand Institute.)
Don’t Let It Go Unheard (Amy Peilkoff’s blog talk radio show on politics and current events from an Objectivist perspective. The show’s blog is here.)
Leonard Peikoff Website/Podcast (Philosophy Ph.D. and foremost authority on Objectivism answers questions.)
Objectively Speaking (Blog talk radio show that discusses current events and timeless themes related to politics and culture from the perspective of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism.)
Eye to Eye (Podcast by the Ayn Rand Institute)
Online Papers
Epistemology
Ayn Rand’s Theory of Concepts: A Brief Overview, by William Thomas (secondary)
Ayn Rand’s Theory of Concepts: Rethinking Abstraction and Essence, by Allan Gotthelf (secondary)
A Role for Abstractionism in a Direct-Realist Foundationalism, by Benjamin Bayer (secondary)
Why Internalists Need an Enriched Theory of Perceptual and Conceptual Awareness
to Escape from Bergmann’s Dilemma, by Benjamin Bayer (secondary)
Ethics
Metaethical Problems for Ethical Egoism Reconsidered, by Benjamin Bayer (secondary)
Objectivism In Depth 