Leonard Peikoff

Leonard Peikoff (born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1933) is an Objectivist philosopher. He was a friend of Ayn Rand since 1951 and became heir to her estate after she died in 1982. In 1985 Peikoff, who Rand had said knew and understood her philosophy better than anyone else, founded the Ayn Rand Institute.

Related Topics:
Winnipeg, Manitoba - 1933 - Objectivist - Ayn Rand - 1951 - 1982 - 1985 - Ayn Rand Institute

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Born in Canada, Peikoff later became a naturalized United States citizen. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from New York University; his advisor was the famous American Marxist and Pragmatist philosopher, Sidney Hook. His dissertation dealt with the law of non-contradiction in Classical philosophy. He taught philosophy for around ten years at CUNY's Hunter College.

Related Topics:
Canada - United States - New York University - Marxist - Pragmatist - Sidney Hook - Law of non-contradiction - Classical philosophy - Hunter College

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Peikoff was a member of the Collective (a group of Rand's closest associates) during the 50's and 60's. The Collective dynamic changed massively once Nathaniel Branden was expelled from the Objectivist movement in 1968, as Branden had originally been considered Rand's closest intellectual partner and heir. Once Branden, and then others, left the group, Peikoff's influence grew enormously, to the point where he eventually assumed the status as Rand's most trusted philosophical confidant.

Related Topics:
Collective - Nathaniel Branden - 1968

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Peikoff's article, "The Analytic-Synthetic Dichotomy," appeared as a postscript to Rand's 1968 book, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology. Peikoff's first book, The Ominous Parallels, was simultaneously an Objectivist explanation of the rise of the Third Reich and the Holocaust, and a warning that America was being led down the road to fascism. Since the publication of this book in 1982, Peikoff has given many lectures on philosophy, politics, and culture, the most important of which is probably 1985's "Understanding Objectivism," which is now available as a 30-CD set. He also revised his 1976 lecture course on Objectivism into book form, producing his magnum opus, , which was published in 1991.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As Rand's executor, Peikoff handles the copyrights to all of Rand's works (with the exception of Anthem, which has passed into the public domain). He can thus control the translation of Rand's works into other languages. He has the power of editing and releasing Rand's unpublished works, and has written forewords for all the current printings of her fiction.

Related Topics:
Anthem - Public domain

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As of 2004, Peikoff is writing a book called The DIM Hypothesis, where he explains the three alternatives of decision-making and attempts to solve the problem of induction.

Related Topics:
DIM Hypothesis - Decision-making - Problem of induction

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~