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Do you want to better understand and appreciate Ayn Rand's epic novel Atlas Shrugged? Look no further! Explore Atlas Shrugged will help you gain fresh insights into the complex events, characters, and ideas of this epic novel – whether you've read it just once or a dozen times before.

The podcast and study questions below are a preview of Session 14. You can purchase access to the whole of Explore Atlas Shrugged – meaning, over 22 hours of podcasts, 1400 study questions, and other resources – for just $20 using the form below. The written materials in the course are also available from Amazon in paperback and kindle formats, and purchasers of those editions just pay $10 for access to the podcasts.

For more information, including previews of other sessions, visit Explore Atlas Shrugged.

Session 14 of Explore Atlas Shrugged covers:

• Part 3: Chapter 3: Anti-Greed

Listen to the podcast preview of Session 14 of Explore Atlas Shrugged now – or download it:

• Preview Duration: 31:27 (Full Podcast: 1:08:08)
• Download Preview: Standard MP3 File (10.8 MB)

Tags: Art, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Epistemology, Ethics, Literature, Metaphysics, Objectivism, Philosophy, Politics

Part 3: Chapter 3: Anti-Greed

Section 1 (816-831)

Dr. Robert Stadler is brought to the first public demonstration of Project X. There, he allows himself to be pushed into endorsing the deadly device by Floyd Ferris.

Core Questions

• How does Ferris manage and manipulate Dr. Stadler at the unveiling of Project X even before the demonstration? How – and why – does Ferris treat Dr. Stadler as he does? How is that different from their past meetings? (816-21)
• What does Project X do? How will the government use it? How does Dr. Stadler respond to that information? What does that reveal about him? (822-5)
• How does Ferris persuade Dr. Stadler to speak in support of Project X, ultimately? Why does Dr. Stadler acquiesce? What should he have done instead? What would that choice have required of him? (827-31)

Extra Questions

• How has Dr. Stadler's position in the world – and his state of mind – degenerated in recent months? Why has that happened? (816-31)
• Why did Dr. Stadler obey the mysterious orders to come to the demonstration of Project X? What does that show about his character? (816, 818)
• How was Dr. Stadler ordered and then delivered to the demonstration? What does that reveal about the nature of the government and his position in it? (818)
• What does Dr. Stadler's personal slogan – "What can you do when you have to deal with people?" – mean? What knowledge does that slogan protect him against? How does it shape his moral choices? (818, 819-20)
• What does Dr. Stadler think of the other notable people at the demonstration? What does his failure to recognize them reveal about him? (819, 821-2)
• Why do people accept the vague assurances of Drs. Ferris and Stadler that Project X must be good because it's a non-profit venture? What view of profits must people have? Are those views right or wrong? (819-20)
• Why does Dr. Stadler choose to answer the questions of the press, rather than admit his own ignorance? Why does he loathe himself for doing it? How does he rationalize that choice to himself? (819-20)
• Why does Dr. Stadler think that the people involved with Project X are the pawns of "an impersonal, unthinking, unembodied machine"? Is that true? Why or why not? (823)
• How does Project X exemplify the view that "there are no entities, only actions – and no values, only consequences"? (823)
• Why is Dr. Stadler particularly riveted by the goat kid and its mother? What do the effects of Project X on those animals reveal? (823-4, 821-2)
• Why is Dr. Stadler so horrified by the demonstration of Project X? Is that reaction justified? (824-5)
• What are the practical effects of Hank Rearden's refusal to provide the State Science Institute with Rearden Metal? How does that choice contrast with Dr. Stadler's choices at the demonstration? (823, 825)
• What is the reaction of the spectators to the demonstration of Project X? What does that reveal about the state of the culture? (824-5)
• How has Project X kept funds flowing to the State Science Institute in recent years? Would private industry have funded Project X? Why or why not? (825-6)
• What kinds of speeches are given after the demonstration of Project X, leading up to the speech of Dr. Stadler? What is their purpose? Are they honest? Why or why not? (826-8)
• How does Dr. Stadler respond to the young newsman's plea for him to tell the truth? Why? (830-1)
• What values does Dr. Stadler betray by giving the government's speech? What are (and will be) the consequences for him – and for the whole country – of that betrayal? (816-31)

Do you want to better understand and appreciate Ayn Rand's epic novel Atlas Shrugged?

Explore Atlas Shrugged is an in-depth course consisting of a podcast series, study questions, and other resources by philosopher Dr. Diana Brickell. The course breaks Atlas Shrugged into 20 manageable sessions, each covering about 65 pages of the novel.

• The study questions will help you better understand the novel on your own, as well as enable you to lead a successful reading group or class on Atlas Shrugged. The course contains over 1400 questions, organized into "core" and "extra" categories. You can preview the study questions for each session below.
• Each podcast is an in-depth look at the events, characters, and ideas from that portion of the novel. The course contains over 22 hours of lively and engaging podcasting. You can preview the podcast for each session below.
• Explore Atlas Shrugged also includes a Plot Outline, a Character Inventory, Questions for a Book Club, and a FAQ on Atlas Shrugged Reading Groups.

Explore Atlas Shrugged will inspire fresh insights into the complex events, characters, and ideas of Ayn Rand's epic novel, whether you've read it just once or a dozen times before.

Check out the previews, then purchase access to the whole of Explore Atlas Shrugged for just $20. The written materials of Explore Atlas Shrugged are also available from Amazon in paperback and kindle formats, and purchasers of those editions pay just $10 for access to the podcasts.

Access to the online version of Explore Atlas Shrugged costs just $20. It's half off – just $10 – for purchasers of the paperback and kindle editions of the book version. Also, if you contribute to Philosophy in Action's Tip Jar via recurring weekly or monthly contributions (or the equivalent), please email me for free access.

Terms of Sale: (1) You may share the podcasts with members of your household, but not beyond that. (2) You may share the study questions with members of your household, as well as with participants in your online or in-person Atlas Shrugged Reading Group. (3) Do not ever post the podcasts, study questions, or login credentials in any public forum.

The response to Explore Atlas Shrugged has been overwhelmingly positive, including the following remarks:

I require students to read Atlas Shrugged in my introductory economics class. Dr. Hsieh's Explore Atlas Shrugged podcasts were an essential tool to help communicate the novel's lesson and hold effective class discussion. Do not attempt to teach the book without consulting the podcasts first!

— Bailey Norwood, Associate Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Oklahoma State University

And:

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Diana – our GLO Atlas Reading Group is going so very well. We have about 12-13 people attending, and it is truly the most fun we've had in a long time. So much rewarding fun comes out of your ideas and organization. Can't thank you enough for your efforts!!!

And:

I just wanted to send you a quick note and thank you for your efforts on Explore Atlas Shrugged. As part of the Charm City Objectivists Society we used your questions and podcast to help kick off our reading group yesterday for session one. We had epiphanies all around the table from someone who is a firm student of Objectivism to a person who had read Atlas Shrugged but is new to Objectivism. I know that neither Ray (our moderator) or myself could have undertaken this kind of thing without the wonderful resource you have created. You have helped me make a difference in my community and I thank you for it.

And:

The other day, I began listening to your Explore Atlas Shrugged podcasts. I have read and listened to the book several times, but it has been admittedly too long since the last time. Although I can not adequately express how much experiencing your podcasts has meant to me and the extent to which they have reinvigorated me, I did want to thank you...Thank you.