Rational Egoism: The Morality for Loving Life
with Craig Biddle
6 hours total | 4 sessions, beginning January 16, 2025
Learn the moral code that helps you think clearly, live happily, and defend liberty.
Many believe morality comes from God through revelation, and is thus objective. Others believe morality is a matter of personal opinion or social convention, and is thus subjective. And practically everyone believes being moral consists in self-sacrificially serving others—whether God, the poor, your neighbors, or society.
But what if all of that is wrong? What if there is a demonstrably true morality based on observation and logic? What if it calls not for sacrificing or giving up your life-serving values, but for pursuing and achieving them while respecting the rights of others to do the same? And what if this code provides the principled guidance everyone needs in order to live a spiritually fulfilling life in peaceful harmony with others?
There is such a morality. It’s called rational egoism, and it was created by the philosopher Ayn Rand.
“The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live,” Rand argued—and she supported her ideas with evidence and logic.
In this course, you will learn the basic principles of this morality, including:
- How rational moral principles are derived from reality by means of observation and logic (i.e., how to bridge the so-called “is-ought gap”)
- The fundamental values and virtues that are essential to the achievement of personal happiness and social harmony
- The facts that give rise to the principle of individual rights and to the proper purpose of government
- And the political conditions on which civilized society and human prosperity depend.
Discover rational egoism. Gain moral certainty. Learn how to thrive.
Instructor
Craig Biddle
Craig is cofounder and executive director of Objective Standard Institute, cofounder and editor in chief of The Objective Standard, and executive director of Prometheus Foundation. His books include Loving Life: The Morality of Self-Interest and the Facts that Support It; Rational Egoism: The Morality for Human Flourishing; and the forthcoming Forbidden Facts: Moral Truths Your Parents, Preachers, and Teachers Don’t Want You to Know. His book-in-progress is on thinking in principles. Learn more and join his mailing list at CraigBiddle.com.
Course & Session Schedule
How the Course Works
This course is interactive and discussion-driven, so enrollment is limited. Register early to secure your spot.
The course is held live on a video conferencing app called Zoom, which you can download for free here. Sessions are video recorded, so if you miss a session (or want to review), you can watch the recording.
The course is 6 hours long, consisting of 4 sessions of 1.5 hours each. Homework assignments are optional. Doing them may require an additional hour or more per week but will greatly enhance what you learn in this course.
Course handouts and supplementary materials are delivered via email. Course participants are invited to an exclusive OSI Courses group on Facebook, where they can post questions and engage in discussions with the instructor and other participants.
Have a question that wasn’t answered here? Read our FAQ or email us at [email protected].
