Program
General Sessions
Group Sessions
Meals
4:00 – 7:00 PMRegistration
7:00 – 9:00 PMWelcome Reception and Opening Remarks by Gregory Salmieri
9:00 – 9:45 AM Ben BayerAyn Rand’s Distinctive Case for Individualism
10:00 AM – 11:30 PM Ben Bayer, Michael Mazza, Gregory SalmieriReading Discussion: “The ‘Conflicts’ of Men’s Interests”
Ayn Rand’s essay “The ‘Conflicts’ of Men’s Interests,” a signature chapter from her book The Virtue of Selfishness, expresses much of what makes her individualism so distinctive, both via its view of social relationships and its approach to the objectivity of value. Students will be asked to submit answers to a homework question of their choice about the reading. Faculty will discuss the answers to these questions with the aim of deepening students’ appreciation of the essay and its significance for Rand’s philosophy.
Click here to download the homework for this session.
11:30 AM – 1:00 PMLunch
1:00 – 2:00 PM Gregory SalmieriThe Scope of Rationality
2:15 – 3:15 PM Michael MazzaAyn Rand’s Radical New Approach to Ethics
In her novels and essays, Ayn Rand presents and defends a radical new moral philosophy, one which advocates the selfish pursuit of one’s values as the highest moral ideal. The radicalness of her philosophy isn’t only found in its content—in the virtues and values it advocates—but in the way Rand approaches the very subject of ethics. In learning to appreciate how Rand argues for moral principles, we become better equipped to understand those principles and to live by them. In this talk, Dr. Mazza will explore Rand’s new approach to ethics in her essay “The Objectivist Ethics.”
3:30 – 5:00 PM Ben Bayer, Michael Mazza, Gregory SalmieriQ&A About Objectivism
After reflecting on the conference sessions, you will have a final opportunity to ask any questions you have about Ayn Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism. Students will submit their own questions about Objectivism in advance of the beginning of the conference. Faculty will answer selected questions, but also reserve some time for questions from the floor.
Click here for guidance on how to submit your questions before the conference.
6:00 – 7:30 PMGroup Dinner
10:00 – 11:00 AM Steven WardenAyn Rand’s Conception of Individual Rights
Ayn Rand claimed that “[t]he concept of individual rights” is “the concept to which we owe our lives—the concept which made it possible for us to bring into reality everything of value that any of us did or will achieve or experience.” And yet, she thinks, this concept is “so prodigious a feat of political thinking that few men grasp it fully—and two hundred years have not been enough for other countries to understand it.” What is this concept on which everything of value depends, and what were Ayn Rand’s distinctive contributions to our understanding of it?
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM Speaker TBASession TBA
Session details forthcoming.
2:00 – 3:30 PM Ben Bayer, Gregory Salmieri, Steven WardenQ&A Panel
Students will have the opportunity to ask questions of faculty about any issues that have sparked their interest over the course of the conference.
4:15 – 4:45 PMDon WatkinsClosing Remarks
Objectivist Conferences / Ayn Rand® Institute reserves the right to make necessary adjustments to the schedule. Speakers, talks, and events will be added periodically, as they are confirmed.
