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Peikoff Podcast Index

Search every question Dr. Leonard Peikoff answered on his podcast, from 2008 to 2016. Starting from episode 6.

413 episodes · 2,013 questions

About this index

Each episode title links to that episode’s page on Dr. Peikoff’s website. Each question links to its own page there, except in a few cases where it links to the full episode, usually because the question has no separate recording.

What the search can find: the index contains the questions, not Dr. Peikoff’s answers. A search only finds words that appear in a question (or in an episode’s title or notes). If a topic is only mentioned in an answer, the search is unlikely to find it, so try searching for how someone might have asked about it.

Words in [square brackets] are keywords, phrases, comments or questions added to make searching easier. All other questions are copied from Dr. Peikoff’s site, with only minor corrections.

Searching for several things at once:

  • Use “+” to find questions that mention all of your words. For example, Ayn Rand+love shows only the questions that mention both “Ayn Rand” and “love”.
  • Use “&” to find questions that mention any of your words. For example, Plato&Aristotle shows the questions that mention Plato, Aristotle, or both.
  • You can combine them. The “+” parts are matched first, so Ayn Rand+love&marriage shows questions that mention both “Ayn Rand” and “love”, plus any that mention “marriage”.

Credit to James Newport for helping to create the original list. Neither Dr. Peikoff nor Yaron Brook was involved in creating this index. Neither are responsible for any errors or anything else here.

A project of this size is unlikely to be completely free of errors. If you spot one, such as a result that shouldn’t match your search, please get in touch.

Episode 006 - January 7, 2008

Group discussion at the Ayn Rand Institute in California

  1. Is a non-interventionist, isolationist foreign policy the rational solution to America's problem with the Middle-East and Islamic fundamentalism?
  2. Is it possible for a person to act in the absence of any emotional impetus to take that action? [Role of Emotions.]
  3. What is your opinion of Objectivist clubs and advocacy groups on the internet?
  4. [Yaron Brook gives his views on the above question.]

Episode 007 - January 22, 2008

Group discussion at the Ayn Rand Institute in California

  1. How can Objectivism be objective when it says the primary purpose of any man's life is productive work? What about Mother Teresa? [Primary purpose of life.]
  2. Is it a moral crime to purchase the work of artists who oppose your core values?
  3. [What is the distinction between the previous response and pragmatism.]
  4. What is the difference between "hate" and "despise," and when is it proper to experience either?
  5. What is Objectivism's view on road ownership and mandatory auto insurance?
  6. When you refer to a dictionary for word definitions, which published edition of a dictionary do you rely on?

Episode 008 - January 28, 2008

Group discussion at the Ayn Rand Institute in California

  1. A discussion of the Objectivist view of the primacy of existence.
  2. Who is the musician that you play at the beginning of your podcasts?
  3. Can music be classified as Objectivist music?
  4. A discussion of Ayn Rand's definition of plot.
  5. Is it better to put creative work aside when one is confronting a serious emotional upheaval?

Episode 009 - February 25, 2008

Group discussion at the Ayn Rand Institute in California

  1. My parents don't know that I am an atheist. Am I being hypocritical if I pray at the dinner table and go to church so that they don't know?
  2. I have the idea in my mind that as one grows old they become super weak, fragile, sick and depressing. How do you do it? Give me details.
  3. What is the difference between love and rational sex?
  4. Is there a difference between embracing and integrating Objectivist ideas or concepts and getting rid of the pragmatic way of looking?

Episode 010 - March 10, 2008

Group discussion at the Ayn Rand Institute in California

  1. How would you reply to someone who grants that the economy should be free and individual rights absolute, but doubts whether men of flesh, blood, cunning, and force could ever practically create and sustain such a system?
  2. What is existence?
  3. Do great works of art, such as those of Homer, Hugo or Atlas Shrugged, tend to inspire philosophical movements or is it the reverse?
  4. Why is Ayn Rand not taken seriously in many modern intellectual circles?
  5. [How would you account though for the growing respect that she is getting among some philosophers and some scholars like Dr. Tara Smith, the increased interest in the ideas and the respect they are getting?]
  6. Do you think that the surrender of property to the socialist government with no recourse to the court is better than having to tolerate religious babble of politicians that will not translate into law or hold up when finally put to trial in court? [Democrats and Republicans.]

Episode 011 - March 24, 2008

  1. Does a John Galt exist in the real world?
  2. How is Objectivism not considered hedonistic when happiness is just a state of emotional pleasure?
  3. A response to Bill Gates recent statement about capitalism: "A kinder, gentler capitalism."
  4. To what extent is there such a thing as a fully evil genius, someone who's fully committed to using his mind for evil?
  5. [In relation to the previous response, what about Kant?]
  6. What is art to an intellectual but non-academic person who doesn't have values that he needs to see concretized in reality?
  7. [Is sense of life forming from the moment of birth, and can it be changed as an adult? Where would you begin?]
  8. [Moral but miserable.]

Episode 012 - April 07, 2008

  1. How would an Objectivist look at pursuing a job slightly less fulfilling but with higher monetary reward? Would that be a sacrifice of values or just the recognition that one requires money to lead a decent life?
  2. [What is the point of work ethics anymore? Is it really advisable to be ambitious anymore?]
  3. [Induction by simple enumeration vs. Mill's method of agreement and difference.]
  4. [Ethical correctness of concierge medicine.]

Episode 013 - April 21, 2008

One on one conversation with Kevin Delaney.

  1. What is the purpose of philosophy?
  2. Is part of the purpose of philosophy or the study of philosophy to make you a deeper thinker?
  3. How would you characterize a philosophically minded person?
  4. Is a study of at least the fundamentals of philosophy necessary for everybody?
  5. Is there any particular level of intelligence required in order to understand Objectivism?
  6. Can a person be properly called an Objectivist if he agrees with the philosophy but fails to apply to his life?
  7. What if anything does a person owe his parents?
  8. In Galt's speech, why did Miss Rand choose to write, "higher than reality," vs. "lower than reality"?
  9. Can it ever be appropriate for a human being to feel emotions of love or compassion toward an animal?

Episode 014 - May 05, 2008

  1. Is it immoral for a single, professional soldier to seek sex as a release for momentary pleasure considering that long-range relationship isn't possible and early death is possible? [Dr. Peikoff comments about sex in emergency contexts such as in the bomb shelters in London during WWII.]
  2. Can a gay person be a true Objectivist? [Homosexuality and Choice]
  3. How does Objectivism accommodate the human desire for transcendence?
  4. What is the basis for the rights of children, and how do these rights follow from an ethics of egoism?
  5. Is it a crime for a parent not to care for her child?
  6. Do you enjoy the works of author Frederic Brown?

Episode 015 - May 19, 2008

  1. What is the root cause of the business practice of mediocrity?
  2. Should an Objectivist pursue a serious romantic relationship with a Christian?
  3. If each parent holds the right to raise their child as they see fit, who's rights prevail when the two parents of the child disagree?
  4. To what extent can an individual voluntarily relinquish his rights?
  5. [Follow-up question: How would you evaluate mixed martial arts?]
  6. [Dr. Peikoff continues: You might say, "Well, is suicide then wrong because you're voluntarily relinquishing your rights?"]
  7. Is there a difference between the principle of self-ownership and the principle of individual rights?

Episode 016 - May 26, 2008

  1. If five people are in an emergency room dying, and one healthy person in the waiting room could save them all if we used his organs, is it morally permissible to do this even though he'll die?
  2. Is Ayn Rand's love for the music of composer, Sergei Rachmaninoff, in any way diminished or compromised by virtue of insecurities he harbored over his music? [Esthetics]
  3. If a person holds the right standard of self-esteem is it still possible to feel a lack of self-esteem as a result of psychological or psycho-epistemological thinking problems?
  4. [Nadia Comaneci and Tom Brady]
  5. Do you see any philosophical reason why artificial intelligence must be impossible, or is it purely a technical question?
  6. Did determinism hold true on this planet until humans obtained their volitional capacity? [Animals and Free Will]

Episode 017 - June 02, 2008

  1. What do you think about treason?
  2. [Follow-up question on treason in relation to war.]
  3. When if ever is it moral for a government to torture its enemy?
  4. If it is moral to use torture at all, how could you limit the government to only using this power in an emergency situation?
  5. What would you recommend as the best way for a post-college man to retrain himself to a conceptual, principled way of thinking?
  6. How would an Objectivist justify pursuing a career as a soldier, police officer, etc.?
  7. Did Ayn Rand ever regret using the kind of provocative tone that may have made it harder for some people to warm up to her philosophy?
  8. Isn't reproduction a source of values in its own right just as your individual life?
  9. If two people are engaged in physical activity such as sex, and one person has a heart attack during the activity, is the healthy person violating the injured person's rights by not seeking help for the injured person?

Episode 018 - June 16, 2008

  1. A discussion about the military and how it's currently being run.
  2. What did Ayn Rand mean when she used the term "heroic being" in describing her concept of man?
  3. How can Objectivists claim to know that there is no afterlife?
  4. Is the ability as a human being to think in abstract principles the single most powerful attribute one could ever possess?
  5. Did Ayn Rand ever comment on or use any psychotropic substances such as marijuana or LSD?
  6. What would Ayn Rand say about immigration for Mexicans?

Episode 019 - June 30, 2008

  1. Would it be morally acceptable, according to Objectivism, to purchase stock in tobacco companies?
  2. Does divorce traumatize and scar children to the extent to being a valid argument against divorce?
  3. How can existence have primacy over consciousness if existence is everything that exists and therefore includes consciousness?
  4. What is the definition of "Objectivist" as a noun referring to a person?
  5. Does Objectivism say anything about the immortality of the soul?
  6. What are your recommended translations of Homer's Iliad and Sophocles' Antigone?

Episode 020 - July 07, 2008

  1. To what degree should a man let the woman he is romantically interested in know of his interest?
  2. What is the rational basis for the laws against compelling a person to incriminate himself?
  3. Does the usage of the phrase, "drink the kool-aid," trivialize mass suicide?
  4. Is there a proper government role in regard to a minor marrying, even assuming the parents consent?
  5. How far does the right of self-defense go?
  6. From time to time I reach a point where I can't take the state of the world anymore. I listen to your tapes and feel better. What do you listen to?

Episode 021 - July 14, 2008

  1. Is government intervention in business ever justifiable for environmental purposes?
  2. Is it possible to learn to desire someone, to create a desire from love when it does not come spontaneously?
  3. Can reading Ayn Rand ever be escapism rather than legitimate refueling? [Sex in bomb shelters.]
  4. Is it immoral to not help a complete stranger in a matter of life and death if you don't think it's a valuable investment of your time and effort?

Episode 022 - July 21, 2008

Excerpt from a Q&A session held by Dr. Peikoff on July 2 of the Objectivist summer conference in New Port Beach, California.

  1. With regard to people who, acting on Ragnar's imperative, fail to file their personal income tax return, do they help or hurt Objectivism?
  2. What kind of fiction are you reading these days, Dr. Peikoff?
  3. Why have Objectivists not established a program to challenge current government practices? [The Constitution andPhilosophy]
  4. Do you think that any attempt to do a DIM analysis in the field of music would first require the development of what Miss Rand had described in "Art and Cognition" as the appropriate esthetic principles which would serve as the base of the objective validation of esthetic judgment within music?
  5. Is environmentalism turning America more towards the society depicted in Anthem?
  6. What should be done to bring about change in the culture?
  7. What is the significance of John Galt saying to Dagny Taggart at the end of Atlas Shrugged, "Don't look down"?
  8. Why do Objectivists not mention Ayn Rand in social situations?

Episode 023 - July 28, 2008

  1. Why did Ayn Rand give Howard Roark orange-red hair?
  2. What kind of commitment does it take to master Objectivism as a tool for living a just and happy life? [Philosophy for Rearden vs. philosophy for Akston]
  3. Where can a child desperate over the state of the world and with no heroes find hope and solace?
  4. If the modern scientific consensus says there is a beginning point to the universe, doesn't this put our understanding of the axiom of existence into a contradiction with the widely accepted big bang theory?

Episode 024 - August 04, 2008

  1. Can someone who is inherently non-conceptual correct this as an adult?
  2. What's wrong with a government ban on smoking?
  3. To understand something you need to rely on your own experience and culture. Does this mean that it is impossible to have objective knowledge?
  4. A discussion on treason during non-wartime. [Dr. Peikoff defined treason in the context of war in Episode 017.]
  5. What is a contextual absolute?
  6. In Ayn Rand's definition of capitalism, she says that all property is privately owned. Is that really true?

Episode 025 - August 11, 2008

Excerpt from a Q&A session held by Dr. Peikoff on July 2 of the Objectivist summer conference in New Port Beach, California.

  1. Why are there fewer women Objectivists than men?
  2. Can one have a happy retirement past the age of 70 while existing off past productivity with no attempt at new productivity?
  3. What is the role of philosophy in history and its influence now?
  4. How does Objectivism approach the arguably collective problem of polluting externalities of industries and governments of multi-national corporations as an attempt to promote development and innovation at the same time
  5. What do you hope to achieve with your podcasts, and where do you see it going in the future?
  6. Should theoretical, scientific research be guided by application?
  7. Dr. Peikoff identifies his favorites in each of the following genres: novel, play, painting, sculpture and song.
  8. Are gays over-represented in Objectivism?

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