Steve Cohen: Is there a basic human need to be deceived? Do people seek out scenarios where they can be willingly deceived? Why would smart and/or successful people who typically are in control of every area of their lives be interested in coming to a “magic show”? Leonard Peikoff: I absolutely disagree that there is […]

Leonard Peikoff: That leads me to the other part of your question: how can you convince people, and create conviction? I would say that you can create only one kind of conviction, if you’re talking about a rational audience. It’s the conviction of your skill. You could not convince a rational audience that you have […]

I am currently rereading one of my favorite novels, Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand (pictured above). Near the end of her life, Rand appointed Objectivist philosopher Leonard Peikoff as the legal heir to her estate. He is the world’s foremost authority on Ayn Rand’s philosophy. By a stroke of luck, Dr. Peikoff recently visited my […]