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Improving your thinking and understanding your emotions

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I have been studying Objectivism for a few years now and have read the main Objectivist literature including but not limited to OPAR, ITOE, and The Virtue of Selfishness.

My aim is to improve my thinking and understand my emotions, therefore I was intrigued by many lecture CDs over at http://www.aynrandbookstore2.com/, but could not decide which CD was right for me.

Harry Binswanger has many interesting lectures including:

-Abstraction From Abstractions (CD)

-Emotions (CD)

-Logical Thinking (CD)

-Psycho-Epistemology I (CD) and Psycho-Epistemology II (CD)

Then there are those by Edwin A. Locke:

-Reason and Emotion (Audio CD)

-Setting Goals to Improve Your Life and Happiness (Audio)

-Setting Goals to Improve Your Life & Happiness-Part2 (Audio)

-Stress and Coping: An Inductive Approach (Audio)

Finally by Leonard Peikoff:

-The Art of Thinking (CD)

-Introduction to Logic (CD)

-Objectivism Through Induction (CD)

-Understanding Objectivism (CD)

I would like to purchase all, however I don't have enough money to do so.

Any advice appreciated.

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ALS,

Peikoff's lectures are all fantastic in my experience, but some (like Objectivism Through Induction) are more advanced than others, so it's best to go through them in sequence according to difficulty. There is at least one thread on OO with recommendations about sequencing, perhaps one of the Mods could point it out (I couldn't find it using the "Search" option).

Several of Binswanger's lectures (Psycho-Epis I+II and Metaphysics of Consciousness in particular) are complex and somewhat speculative. They are very enjoyable but may not be a good place to start.

I haven't heard any of Locke's lectures that you listed. If you get any of them, let us know what you think.

Finally, Nathanial Branden's The Psychology of Self-Esteem is a must-read if you are interested in understanding the nature of emotions.

Happy lecture-listening!

--Dan Edge

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Harry Binswanger has many interesting lectures including:

-Abstraction From Abstractions (CD)

-Emotions (CD)

-Logical Thinking (CD)

-Psycho-Epistemology I (CD) and Psycho-Epistemology II (CD)

Then there are those by Edwin A. Locke:

-Reason and Emotion (Audio CD)

-Setting Goals to Improve Your Life and Happiness (Audio)

-Setting Goals to Improve Your Life & Happiness-Part2 (Audio)

-Stress and Coping: An Inductive Approach (Audio)

Finally by Leonard Peikoff:

-The Art of Thinking (CD)

-Introduction to Logic (CD)

-Objectivism Through Induction (CD)

-Understanding Objectivism (CD)

Any advice appreciated.

I have listened to the bold ones, and highly recommend them. I'd start with TAoT, then Logic, then UO.

I have heard both Locke and Binswanger speak, and if you are looking for practical guides to living, I'd start with Locke. I was in his and Dr. Ellen Kenner's Romance class at OCON last year and it was excellent.

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In my opinion, The Psychology of Self-Esteem is the best book out there on psychology. Rand edited and fully approved of the book. Her hand is all over it. If one is seriously interested in psychology, then I believe this book is required reading. All the rest of Branden's books are self-help applications of his first book, and I do not necessarily recommend them.

This is getting a bit off track, but -- I do not believe that one "sanctions" Branden's irrational criticisms of Objectivism by buying his books. While I agree that Branden is worthy of serious criticism, I believe it would be a sacrifice for one with a serious interest in psychology to refuse to buy his books on principle. If one does not have a technical interest in psychology, then I can see how one could view giving Branden money as a disvalue.

--Dan Edge

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Sorry, I didn't want to derail this into a discussion of Branden's credibility, I just wanted to check what sort of psychological framework he's coming from. Since you say it is a heavily Objectivist founded book, I'll trust that the ideas aren't too bizarre. :thumbsup: I'm not planning to only ever read something ever again, so long as it's good, Orthodox Objectivist thinking; I just want to know before reading something what sort of philosophy the author holds, so I can judge the merit of the book as I read it.

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Thanks all for the suggestions.

The reason I asked was because I was not sure of the intended audience of these lectures in terms of required context of knowledge and also purpose, specifically Psycho-Epis I+II .

I think I'll go for The Psychology of Self-Esteem and the two lectures by Locke on setting goals. The lectures by Peikoff are pretty expensive but vast in quantity (The Art of Thinking contains 15 CDs and is 14 hours hours) and I assume rich in quality as I have listened to various short lectures by him online.

Now I must find the thread that discusses the best sequence of Peikoff lectures.

Thanks again.

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Even if his books have value, I still don't think Objectivists should buy them.

How could this be anything other than self-sacrificial? Would you propose a boycott on all books written by evil or dishonest living authors, regardless of their value? If nothing else, why not just buy them from a used bookstore?

I haven't read The Psychology of Self Esteem yet. But I've read How to Raise Your Self Esteem and am now reading The Psychology of Romantic Love. The first had some quite valuable parts, the latter I have thoroughly enjoyed so far. It's his essay, "The Benefits and Hazards of Objectivism" which I find quite unforgivably dishonest, and some of those sentiments are repeated in other interviews and essays I've read by him.

My favorite Objectivist psychologist is Ellen Kenner. But I've gotten more from Dr. Branden than I have from non-Objectivist psychologists such as Freud or Jung or Rogers for sure (I might add that his contributions to The Virtue of Selfishness are quite good and important as well--and it's a shame they were omitted from the Oism Research CD). Maslo is pretty good..

Unfortunately, I haven't heard any of the lectures from the original post. I've heard both of Dr. Peikoff's History of Western Philosophy lectures, though, and they were phenomenal. "Understanding Objectivism" has been highly recommended by a lot of friends I respect. I wish I had the money for all of those lectures, too!

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In my opinion, The Psychology of Self-Esteem is the best book out there on psychology. Rand edited and fully approved of the book. Her hand is all over it. If one is seriously interested in psychology, then I believe this book is required reading.

Dan,

How much of The Psychology of Self-Esteem is covered in Branden's articles in The Objectivist?

Thanks.

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Good question. I'm not sure, and I don't have copies of his articles from The Objectivist.

Incidentally, I just blogged about the ethics of sanction here, in a post titled "On Sanctioning the Sanctioner Sanctioners." It will be copied here on OO in a week or so.

--Dan Edge

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Dan,

How much of The Psychology of Self-Esteem is covered in Branden's articles in The Objectivist?

Thanks.

The book is based on those articles so a I great chunk of it. I also would like to second above recommendations for The Psychology of Self-Esteem and The Psychology of Romantic Love.

Edited by ~Sophia~
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The book is based on those articles so a I great chunk of it. I also would like to second above recommendations for The Psychology of Self-Esteem and The Psychology of Romantic Love.
Thanks, Sophia. I asked because I was wondering if it's worth getting a copy of the book to have in addition to the articles in The Objectivist. It might be better organized in book form than in article form. Would you say that's the case?Dan,Good timing, I read your blog just after I posted my question!
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Thanks, Sophia. I asked because I was wondering if it's worth getting a copy of the book to have in addition to the articles in The Objectivist. It might be better organized in book form than in article form. Would you say that's the case?Dan,Good timing, I read your blog just after I posted my question!

I have not been closely comparing the two. That being said, I own both sources and I would not want to part with the book. I like the fact that it is all in one place.

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