Fellow and Senior Manager of Intellectual Outreach
Ayn Rand Institute
Aaron Smith is a fellow and senior manager of intellectual outreach at the Ayn Rand Institute. Dr. Smith writes, speaks and gives interviews for the Institute. He is a contributor to ARI’s online publication New Ideal and a senior instructor for ARI’s intellectual training program, ARU (formerly the Objectivist Academic Center). He develops new educational products for the Institute and provides intellectual and editorial support to a variety of ARI’s programs.
Dr. Smith received his PhD in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University where his research focused on ancient Greek philosophy. Prior to joining ARI in 2013, he was a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he taught ancient Greek philosophy, moral theory and epistemology. He is also a graduate of the Objectivist Academic Center and an alumnus of ARI’s Advanced Education Program.
Ayn Rand Institute
2025 – present
ARI Internship Program
2014 – present
Objectivist Academic Center
2013 – present
ARI Campus
2013 – present
Philosophy
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
2010 – 2013
“One of Stoicism’s Worst Ideas,” November 22, 2023
“Why Massimo Pigliucci Gets Ayn Rand Wrong,” August 30, 2023
“Stoicism vs. Objectivism: Is Free Will Magic?,” September 15, 2021
“The Poetic Power of Ayn Rand’s Anthem,” July 21, 2021
“Can Selfishness Be a Moral Ideal?,” December 2, 2019
“The Serenity Prayer and Why Ayn Rand Liked It,” October 07, 2019
“The False Promise of Stoicism,” June 10, 2019
“Whitewashing Coercion with the Language of Civility,” March 20, 2019
“Individualism: Genuine and Counterfeit,” December 12, 2018
“The Suffering of Moral Saints,” November 14, 2018
“Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead: Envisioning a New Moral Ideal,” September 05, 2018
“Why Read Thinkers You Disagree With,” July 02, 2018
Objectivism Through Ayn Rand’s Fiction
Advanced Seminar on Objectivism
OAC 3-Year Program
OAC Core Course
OAC Objective Communication
OAC Intermediate Writing
History of Ancient Philosophy
Ancient Greek Theories of Knowledge
Abstract Philosophy and Practical Life
Foundations of Ethics: The Nature of Value
Philosophical Skepticism
Hellenistic Philosophy
“Leaving Duty: Ayn Rand’s Ethics of Causality”; a live talk for the Hayek Society in Berlin, April 16, 2024
“Philosophical Ideals and the Fate of a Nation,” Classical Wisdom Symposium 2021: The End of Empires & the Fall of Nations, August 21, 2021
“Ayn Rand on Morality and the Misuse of Political Power,” Classical Wisdom Symposium 2020: Power & Politics, October 25, 2020
“Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal”; a book discussion for The Nightwatchman Society, a classical liberal organization based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, September 18, 2019
“Introduction to Objectivism”; a half-day seminar at the Ayn Rand Institute for students from the Mannkal Economic Education Foundation, July 03, 2019
“The Philosophy of Objectivism”; a seminar at the Ayn Rand Institute for students and professionals associated with Project Arizona, held multiple years: (2017, 2018, 2019, 2024)
“The Importance of Philosophical Training in Changing a Worldview”; Building a Future of Reason and Capitalism, February 25, 2017 (Irvine, CA), and March 11, 2017 (Chicago, IL)
“Non-Academic Jobs for Philosophers: The World of Think Tanks and Non-Profits”; Johns Hopkins University, Department of Philosophy, April 18, 2017
“Benevolence, Goodwill and the Rationally Selfish Life”; (New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Irvine), April 07-16, 2015
“Anthem: Discovering Moral Individualism”; panel presentation, Association of Private Enterprise Education, April 15, 2014
The Yaron Brook Show, Stoic Philosophy and the Modern Stoic Movement, May 25, 2023
“Ayn Rand and Selfishness,” BBC Radio 4, April 03, 2015
“Stoicism and Objectivism on What (and How) to Value,” July 04, 2023, Objectivist Summer Conference 2023
“Reason versus Faith and Emotionalism”, Ayn Rand Con Europe, London, April 03, 2022
“Stoicism versus Objectivism: What Is (and Is Not) In Our Control,” August 31, 2021, Objectivist Summer Conference 2021
“Duty as Anti-Morality,” July 22, 2019, Objectivist Summer Conference 2019
“Counterfeit Individualism,” November 04, 2018, Ayn Rand Student Conference 2018
“A Self Worth Preserving: Selfishness and Self-Esteem,” July 02, 2018, Objectivist Summer Conference 2018
“The Sacred and the Profane: Objectivism and Religion,” July 01, 2018, Objectivist Summer Conference 2018
“What Might Be and Ought to Be: The Idealism of Objectivism,” June 30, 2018, Objectivist Summer Conference 2018
“Understanding the Appeal of Stoicism,” June 14, 2017, Objectivist Summer Conference 2017
“The Morality of Life in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged”; Mercer University, April 05, 2017
“Why Read Atlas Shrugged?” Northwood University, September 15, 2016
“What Is Art, and Why Does It Matter?” July 02, 2016, Objectivist Summer Conference 2016
“Ayn Rand’s Anthem”; Manor New Technology High School, April 11, 2016
“Is the Welfare State a Benevolent Institution?”; briefing for congressional staffers, April 09, 2015
“The Perils of Misinterpreting Objectivist Principles,” with Mark Pellegrino, June 4, 2024
“Why Can’t Professional Philosophers Get Ayn Rand Right?” a New Ideal Live podcast (with Mike Mazza), April 18, 2024
“What is Good and Why It Matters: Stoicism and Ayn Rand,” with Gregory Salmieri, a Classical Wisdom podcast, July 14, 2023
“One of Stoicism’s Worst Ideas,” a podcast for The Secular Foxhole, February 16, 2020
“Did Ayn Rand Improve on Aristotle?” a podcast for Classical Wisdom, May 16, 2020
“Stoicism: Path to a Virtuous Life?,” with Nikos Sotirakopoulos and Mark Pellegrino, a podcast for Ayn Rand Centre UK, April 05, 2021
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