OBJECTIVE COMMUNICATION IS a course on how to present ideas clearly and effectively, whether in writing, speaking, or argument. Leonard Peikoff describes it in his opening remarks as “the application of Objectivist philosophic principles to the problem of achieving clear thought and communication about ideas.” The material in this book was originally presented as a series of lectures in New York City in early 1980. For many years these lectures were available on tape or CD for interested listeners, and they are still used in the curriculum of the Objectivist Academic Center at the Ayn Rand Institute. A full transcript of the original lectures may be found in the Ayn Rand Archives, a special collection of the Ayn Rand Institute.
A word on the course content is in order. Objective Communication was not intended as a formal or methodical treatment of its subject; nor was it an attempt at original or substantial philosophic insight. Rather, it was offered as a series of informal, albeit philosophically based, observations and guidelines for students to grasp and put into practice. Thus, in addition to the lectures proper, Dr. Peikoff provided samples of writing, including writing by Ayn Rand, for the audience to analyze. He also invited volunteers to submit for critique a brief essay, oral presentation, or unscripted argument on a given topic. Finally, each lecture was followed by an extensive and wide-ranging question-and-answer period. The course thus involved a great deal of audience participation, which is reflected in the organization and contents of this book. For works offering systematic conceptual precision, coupled with integration on a broad scale, readers are referred to Dr. Peikoff’s books The Ominous Parallels, Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand, and The DIM Hypothesis.
In editing these lectures for publication, I have made a number of changes. I have rearranged the lecture material slightly in order to create a more orderly structure. I have eliminated repetition and colloquialisms and touched up grammar where needed. In merging the question-and-answer sessions into the text, I have eliminated some exchanges that I deemed irrelevant (however interesting), and moved others to where I thought they would be more appropriate. All punctuation is my own, as are paragraph breaks and subsection titles. Material prepared for the course by students is either integrated into the text or reproduced in the appendices.
I would like to express my profound gratitude to Leonard Peikoff for the opportunity to turn these lectures into a book. But I must also stress that while I feel confident that I have accurately rendered the original, oral material into written form, Dr. Peikoff has neither reviewed nor approved the content of this book.
Barry Wood