Intermediate Semester Schedule

The Philosophic Message of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged

Suggested campus talk

Andrew Bernstein: "The Mind as Hero in Atlas Shrugged"
Andrew Bernstein: "The Literary Revolution in Atlas Shrugged"
Tore Boeckmann: "The Originality of Atlas Shrugged"

Video Recordings

Onkar Ghate: Three Part Video Course on Atlas Shrugged (Available under the "learning more" section at aynrandnovels.com)
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life

Audio Recordings

Andrew Bernstein: "The Mind as Hero in Atlas Shrugged" (In Lending Library)
Andrew Bernstein: "Literary and Philosophic Integration in Atlas Shrugged" (7 lectures)
Shoshana Milgram: "The Spirit of Francisco" (In Lending Library)
Shoshana Milgram: "The Creation of Ayn Rand's Ultimate Ideal Man
Greg Salmiari: "Atlas Shrugged as a Work of Philosophy"
Tara Smith: "No Tribute to Caeser: Good or Evil in Atlas Shrugged" (In Lending Library) 

Suggested reading list

Robert Mayhew: Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged 
Ayn Rand: "Is Atlas Shrugging?" Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
Ayn Rand: "The Goal of My Writing" The Romantic Manifesto
Onkar Ghate: Atlas Shrugged Teachers' Guide

Discussion Questions

1. What and where is the “Utopia of greed”?

2. Why does Dagny Taggart, a woman of ruthless logic who passionately loves life, chase a mysterious stranger’s plane in her own plane when she knows it will lead to her virtually certain death?

3. Why do Dagny Taggart and Lillian Rearden—both highly affluent women—fight over a cheap metallic bracelet? Who gets to keep the bracelet, and at what cost? What is Lillian’s real motive in trapping her husband Hank in infidelity?

4. Why does Francisco d’Anconia, heir to the greatest fortune in the world and a productive genius with boundless ambition, seek ever more outrageous ways to destroy his own business empire? Why does he turn into a playboy who forsakes the woman he loves and instead seduces prominent women who are of no interest to him?

5. When an entire country tells them that their railroad bridge, constructed from a new ultralight metal, won’t stand under the onrush of a speeding train, why are Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden so confident that it will? Were you convinced by the arguments offered against them by their opponents? Whom did you side with? Why?

6. According to Atlas Shrugged, selfishness is both moral and practical. What does Ayn Rand mean by “selfishness”? Compare the actions and character of James Taggart, Hank Rearden, Orren Boyle, and Francisco d’Anconia: Who is selfish and who is not? Can you present arguments for or against AR’s view of selfishness?

7. What basic motive unites people who brag about their sexual promiscuity and people who demand economic handouts from the government?

8. Explain the meaning and wider significance of the following quote from Atlas Shrugged: “The words to make money hold the essence of human morality.” Explain what ideas underlie the maxim that “money is the root of all good.”

9. Capitalism is often defended by appeal to the “public good”; that is, solely because its economic efficiency benefits society. Contrast this with Ayn Rand’s defense of capitalism, as dramatized in Atlas Shrugged.

10. Conventional defenses of capitalism are based on the altruistic premise of “social usefulness.” Contrast this with Ayn Rand’s moral defense of capitalism as dramatized in Atlas Shrugged.

11. Using the events in Atlas Shrugged, explain the moral and philosophical meaning of the following quote: “So you think that money is the root of all evil? . . . Have you ever asked what is the root of money?”

12. Using the events in Atlas Shrugged, explain the moral and philosophic meaning of the following quote: “The words ‘to make money’ hold the essence of human morality.”

13. Many people try to defend capitalism solely on grounds of its economic efficiency. Contrast this with Ayn Rand’s moral defense of capitalism as dramatized in Atlas Shrugged.

14. Ayn Rand described the theme of Atlas Shrugged as the role of the mind in man’s existence. How do the events and characters in the novel dramatize this theme? Discuss how the role of the mind is regarded in today’s world.

15.  What and where is the “utopia of greed”?

16. Why does Dagny Taggart, a woman of ruthless logic who passionately loves life, chase a mysterious stranger’s plane in her own plane when she knows it will lead to her virtually certain death?

17. Why do Dagny Taggart and Lillian Rearden—both highly affluent women—fight over a cheap metallic bracelet? Who gets to keep the bracelet, and at what cost? What is Lillian’s real motive in trapping her husband Hank in infidelity?

18. Why does Francisco d’Anconia, heir to the greatest fortune in the world and a productive genius with boundless ambition, seek ever more outrageous ways to destroy his own business empire? Why does he turn into a playboy who forsakes the woman he loves and instead seduces prominent women who are of no interest to him?

19. When an entire country tells them that their railroad bridge, constructed from a new ultralight metal, won’t stand under the onrush of a speeding train, why are Dagny Taggart and Hank Rearden so confident that it will? Were you convinced by the arguments offered against them by their opponents? Whom did you side with? Why?

20. According to Atlas Shrugged, selfishness is both moral and practical. What does Ayn Rand mean by “selfishness”? Compare the actions and character of James Taggart, Hank Rearden, Orren Boyle and Francisco d’Anconia: Who is selfish and who is not? Can you present arguments for or against Ayn Rand’s view of selfishness?

21. What basic motive unites people who brag about their sexual promiscuity and people who demand economic handouts from the government?Explain the meaning and wider significance of the following quote from Atlas Shrugged: “The words ‘to make money’ hold the essence of human morality.” Explain what ideas underlie the maxim that “money is the root of all good.”

22. Capitalism is often defended by appeal to the “public good”; that is, solely because its economic efficiency benefits society. Contrast this with Ayn Rand’s defense of capitalism, as dramatized in Atlas Shrugged. 

Note:

Complete assigned reading of Atlas Shrugged outside of meeting times.

Host a campus talk on Atlas Shrugged at the beginning of the semester to draw more members to your group.

End the semester with Ayn Rand's "Philosophy: Who Needs it" (article) on the importance of philosophy, to bring students back next semester.