Yaron Brook: Ayn Rand and the Philosophy of Objectivism | Lex Fridman Podcast #138

The following is a conversation with Yaron Brook, one of the best known objectivist philosophers and thinkers in the world. Objectivism is the philosophical system developed by Ayn Rand that she first expressed in her fiction books, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and later in non-fiction essays and books. Yaron is the current chairman of the board at the Ayn Rand Institute, host of The Yaron Brook Show, and the co-author of Free Market Revolution, Equal Is Unfair, and several other books where he analyzes systems of government, human behavior, and the human condition from the perspective of objectivism. Quick mention of each sponsor, followed by some thoughts related to the episode. Blinkist, an app I use for reading through summaries of books. ExpressVPN, the VPN I've used for many years to protect my privacy on the internet. And Cash App, the app I use to send money to friends. Please check out these sponsors in the description to get a discount and to support this podcast. As a side note, let me say that I first read Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead early in college, along with many other literary and philosophical works from Nietzsche, Heidegger, Kant, Locke, Foucault, Wittgenstein, and of course all the great existentialists from Kierkegaard to Camus. I always had an open mind, curious to learn and explore the ideas of thinkers throughout history, no matter how mundane or radical or even dangerous they were considered to be. Ayn Rand was, and I think still is, a divisive figure. Some people love her. Some people dislike or even dismiss her. I prefer to look past what some may consider to be the flaws of the person and consider, with an open mind, the ideas she presents and Yaron now describes and applies in his philosophical discussions. In general, I hope that you will be patient and understanding as I venture out across the space of ideas and the ever-widening Overton window, pulling at the thread of curiosity, sometimes saying stupid things, but always striving to understand how we can better build a better world together. If you enjoy this thing, subscribe on YouTube, review it with five stars on Apple Podcast, follow on Spotify, support it on Patreon, or connect with me on Twitter @lexfriedman. And now, here's my conversation with Yaron Brook. Let me ask the biggest possible question first.

Sure.

What are the principles of a life well-lived?

I think it's to live with, uh, with thought. That is, to live a rational life. To- to think it through. I think so many people are, in a sense, zombies out there. They're alive, but they're not really alive, 'cause their mind is not focused. Their mind is not, you know, focused on, "What do I need to do in order to live a great life?" So, too many people just go through the motions of living, rather than really embrace life. So, I- I- I think the secret to living a great life is to take it seriously.