Objectivist Epistemology in Outline (MP3 download)

By Gregory Salmieri Ayn Rand held that "philosophy is primarily epistemology," the "science devoted to the discovery of the proper methods of acquiring and validating knowledge." This class surveys Rand's "new approach to epistemology" - the most original and least widely understood aspect of her thought. The course emphasizes the structure of the Objectivist epistemology and the central role played by Rand's theory of concepts. The course covers some applications and extensions of Rand's ideas (including aspects of Leonard Peikoff's theory of induction) that illustrate the power of her epistemology. The first day of the course is devoted to the nature of consciousness in general and perception in particular. It distinguishes consciousness as a state of awareness from other states and activities of the faculty of consciousness and explains the difference between form and object and the error of conflating the two. By differentiating perception from sensation, perceptual judgment and