ARI Campus

Introducing Objectivism (ARI)

Offered by The Ayn Rand Institute,

In 1962, Ayn Rand was invited to write a weekly column for the Los Angeles Times. Her first column was a brief introduction to her philosophy, Objectivism. In this short course, based on a recording of Rand reading her column, you will hear her summarize her positions on the nature of reality, the efficacy of human reason, the nature of man, and the ideal political system.

Here are some of the questions this course addresses:

What are the basic tenets of Objectivism?
What is the nature of reason?
What is man’s moral purpose in life?
Why is capitalism the ideal politico-economic system for man?
What is destroying capitalism?

Lesson Outline:

OBJECTIVISM "ON ONE FOOT"
REALITY, REASON, SELF-INTEREST, CAPITALISM
ALTRUISM VS. CAPITALISM

To get the most from this course, it is recommended that you first complete the short Philosophy: Who Needs It course.

Related Courses

Coursera

University of Pennsylvania

Philosophy of Science (Coursera)

Humanities

For the last four centuries, scientists have aimed to provide us with an understanding of the world around us. By all appearances, science has made substantial progress during this time. But is this progress real or illusory? And if it is real, how has this progress been made? This four-week course will consider these important questions.

Oct 5th 2026

4 Weeks

Science Philosophy Scientific Methods

Coursera

Wesleyan University

The Modern and the Postmodern (Part 1) (Coursera)

Humanities

This course examines how the idea of "the modern" develops at the end of the 18th century in European philosophy and literature, and how being modern (or progressive, or hip) became one of the crucial criteria for understanding and evaluating cultural change. Are we still in modernity, or have we moved beyond the modern to the postmodern?

Oct 5th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Philosophy Enlightenment Modernity

EdX

University of Naples Federico II,FedericaX

Comprendere la filosofia (edX)

Humanities

Un viaggio nella storia della filosofia tra passato e presente. Che cosa è la filosofia? Questo corso offre un racconto del pensiero filosofico attraverso quattro epoche da quella antica cosidetta della contemplazione a quella più recente.

Self Paced

Self-Paced

Philosophy Philosophical Thought

EdX

HarvardX,Harvard University

The Einstein Revolution (edX)

Humanities

Traces Albert Einstein’s engagement with relativity, quantum mechanics, Nazism, nuclear weapons, philosophy, the arts, and technology. Albert Einstein has become the icon of modern science. Following his scientific, cultural, philosophical, and political trajectory, this course aims to track the changing role of physics in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Self Paced

Self-Paced

Philosophy Art Technology

ARI Campus

The Ayn Rand Institute

Philosophy: Who Needs It (ARI)

Humanities Social Sciences

What is philosophy — and how is it relevant to my life? Ayn Rand answered these questions in her address to the senior class of the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1974.

Self Paced

Self-Paced

Philosophy Objectivism

Coursera

University of California, Irvine

Relativism (Coursera)

Humanities

Relativism is an ancient philosophical doctrine which has recurred time and again in the history of philosophy. It has also transcended the boundaries of that discipline, for it has shaped much of the methodology in anthropology and sociology, as well as in critical theory and literary studies. While often advocated for its supposed tolerance of differences, relativism has profound consequences for how we think of reality, for the possibility of knowledge, both in the factual and in the moral domain, and may engender the practice of double standard.

Oct 12th 2026

4 Weeks

Philosophy Relativism Coursera Plus

Coursera

University of California, Santa Cruz

The History of Medicine: Philosophy, Science, and Psychology (Coursera)

Health & Society

"History of Medicine" provides an accessible historical and interdisciplinary perspective on medicine, focused primarily upon therapy and practice, to achieve better understanding of the scope, practice, and limits of medicine. Medicine is defined as the treatment of disease. Human attempts to understand and treat disease will be seen as evolving from the spiritual and mystical practices of the distant past, to the rational approach of the Classical World, and finally to the scientific thinking of the Renaissance and beyond.

Sep 28th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Medicine Science Philosophy

Coursera

University of Pennsylvania

Ancient Philosophy: Aristotle and His Successors (Coursera)

Humanities

What is philosophy? How does it differ from science, religion, and other modes of human discourse? This course traces the origins of philosophy in the Western tradition in the thinkers of Ancient Greece. We begin with the Presocratic natural philosophers who were active in Ionia in the 6th century BCE and are also credited with being the first scientists. Thales, Anaximander, and Anaximines made bold proposals about the ultimate constituents of reality, while Heraclitus insisted that there is an underlying order to the changing world.

Sep 21st 2026

5-12 Weeks

Philosophy Ancient Greece Aristotle

Coursera

Sungkyunkwan University - SKKU

Introduction to Korean Philosophy and Culture (Coursera)

Humanities Art and Culture

This course will give you the cultural and historical background to begin your journey into Korean philosophy, and there is no prerequisite knowledge on philosophy required. Anybody who either has an interest in Korean culture, maybe through K-Dramas or K-pop, or an interest in philosophy from a cross-cultural perspective, are all welcome.

Sep 28th 2026

4 Weeks

History Philosophy Culture

Coursera

University of Alberta

Science & Religion 101 (Coursera)

Humanities

This course examines the nature of both science and religion and attempts to explore the possible relationships between them. The primary purpose is to dispel the popular myth that science and religion are entrenched in a never-ending conflict. As a result, this course argues that if the limits of both science and religion are respected, then their relationship can be complementary.

Sep 28th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Science Astronomy Philosophy

Coursera

University of Edinburgh

Philosophy, Science and Religion: Religion and Science (Coursera)

Humanities

Philosophy, Science and Religion mark three of the most fundamental modes of thinking about the world and our place in it. Are these modes incompatible? Put another way: is the intellectually responsible thing to do to ‘pick sides’ and identify with one of these approaches at the exclusion of others? Or, are they complementary or mutually supportive? As is typical of questions of such magnitude, the devil is in the details. For example, it is important to work out what is really distinctive about each of these ways of inquiring about the world. In order to gain some clarity here, we’ll be investigating what some of the current leading thinkers in philosophy, science and religion are actually doing.

Oct 6th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Science Evolution Universe

Coursera

University of Edinburgh

Philosophy, Science and Religion: Science and Philosophy (Coursera)

Humanities

Oct 5th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Neuroscience Science Evolution