Since we are, "Beginning With Objectivism," in our philosophical journey, we ought to know where we are if we are going to determine where we are headed. Where we are is the place where Ayn Rand's Objectivism has brought us. I am assuming that everyone embarking on this journey is in the same place.

I know that, in fact, many people are not very familiar with Ayn Rand's philosophy, and much of what we will discuss here will be a mystery to them without that familiarity. For those who are not sure they really understand Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism but would like to follow and be part of these discussions, I make the following recommendations.

Objectivism Resources

There are online resources which can be helpful in gaining an understanding of the fundamentals of Objectivism.

What is Objectivism? provides a brief but good overview of the essential teachings and structure of Objectivism.

The Importance of Philosophy is a much more thorough explanation of all the essential teachings of Objectivism.

For more links to online Objectivism resources see The Autonomist Objecivism Links.

The best source, and the only source that can provide a complete understanding of Ayn Rand's Objectivism are Ayn Rand's own works. Those listed here must be read to fully understand Objectivism.

Virtue of Selfishness
Objectivist ethics.

Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal
Objectivist political/economic theory.

Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology
Objectivist theory of knowledge.

To be thoroughly grounded in Objectivism, you ought to read all of Ayn Rand's books. Ayn Rand was not terribly prolific and all her books can easily be read in a year's time. If you have not read Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead you have missed two great reading experiences. Both of these books also provide a much richer appreciation for the philosophy that lies behind them.

Where Next?

This is only a tentative itinerary of planned excursions in our exploration of the philosophical unknown. Along the way, we may have to change our route, of course, but all of these places will be visited.

Next stop, metaphysics. Metaphysics is really a nice place, in spite of its somewhat mysterious sounding name. It only means the study of existence, the ultimate nature of, "what is."

Another word for this place which metaphysics is the study of, is reality. Just so you will understand what this place is like, it is exactly like the world you live in and experience every day. In fact, that world you live in is reality. It is against every philosophical and ideological assault on this fact this objective philosophy is launched.

Once we are familiar with the geography of metaphysics we will explore its most important feature, ontology. Ayn Rand considered knowledge the ultimate purpose of philosophy. I consider ontology the foundational branch of philosophy (and am quite aware of the subtle mixed metaphor in that statement).

"Existence exists," is the whole of ontology in Objectivism. The reason Ayn Rand was able to successfully develop her philosophy without ontology is because she correctly understood the axiomatic nature of that proposition, "existence exists," and its corollary, A is A. Unfortunately she did not see the importance of being able to say exactly what "A" is, that is, what we mean by the identity of things, particularly, material existents.

What's the Matter?

Ontology is the study of material existence. Beginning with the ultimate nature of physical existence itself, it answers the questions, "what is life?" and, "what is volition?" If knowledge is possible, the nature of material existence must make it knowable; that is why ontology is fundamental to epistemology.

From there we will explore as much of the philosophical terrain as possible. The following will serve as an outline of our planned exploration. It also provides a reasonably good outline of the entire field of philosophy.

Philosophical Itinerary

• Metaphysics—The nature of reality and existence.
  • Ontology—The ultimate nature of material existence.
  • Viology—The ultimate nature of life and living existents (organisms), including the essential nature of consciousness, as well as volitional consciousness.
• Philosophical Anthropology—The ultimate nature of man.
  • Human Nature—The essential characteristics of human nature, normality and purpose.
  • Philosophical Psychology—The nature of the mind, the rational/volitional consciousness. (Eliminates many pseudo-concepts like the subconscious, repression, and self-esteem.)
• Epistemology—The nature of knowledge.
  • Knowledge—The nature of concepts, language, and rationality.
  • Logic—The nature of and formalization of the rational process, i.e. correct thinking.
• Ethics—The nature of values, particularly, moral values.
• Aesthetics—The nature of beauty, creation, and art.
• Politics—The nature of values in a social context and moral relationships.

The outline above is an example of Ayn Rand's conceptual filing system, her analysis of the role of concepts in knowledge. By identifying the various aspects of philosophy, we are able to understand the relationships between them and see the hierarchical nature of their interdependence. This, as a matter of fact, is one of the problems, not only of philosophy, but most sophisticated subjects, such as the sciences.

No knowledge is independent of any other knowledge. Just as everything in reality has some relationship to everything else in reality, every philosophical idea has some relationship to every other philosophical idea. Often, it is necessary to understand some other aspect of philosophy (like ontology) to fully understand the one being studied (like epistemology).

But we cannot study all of philosophy in a piece. Knowledge is always a matter of simplification; to understand anything it is necessary to break it up into manageable understandable bits that can subsequently be integrated into a comprehensible whole. It will be necessary, as we make this philosophical journey, to refer to places we have not yet visited, and frequently backtrack to places we have already been. The guiding principle is always, no part of philosophy can contradict any other part. Wherever a contradiction becomes apparent, there is a mistake.

The outline above will serve as a guide, but we will frequently veer off the path, to make the connections necessary or to explain those things that would otherwise not be apparent, and to insure that the one danger we always avoid is contradiction.