Dr. Stephen R.C. Hicks is a Canadian-American philosopher who teaches at Rockford University, Illinois. He has had visiting positions at Oxford University (England), Kasimir the Great University (Poland), and has lectured at universities across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. He specializes in modern European philosophy and politics, and has written extensively on Kant, Marx, including his two books, Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault and Nietzsche and the Nazis.
In this episode of Open College, Dr. Stephen Hicks tackles one of the most defining questions inside Objectivism: Is Ayn Rand’s philosophy an open system or a closed one?
Drawing from his 2023 debate in Belgrade, Hicks shows why philosophy must operate as a science of discovery rooted in evidence, method, and independent judgment rather than a fixed doctrine. He separates Rand the artist (whose fiction is untouchable) from Rand the scientist (whose philosophical system remains open to refinement), and explains how to think about completeness, correctness, and the role of benevolence in disagreement.
Topics Covered:
• Objectivism as a scientific discipline
• Rand’s distinction between art and philosophy
• Completeness vs. correctness in philosophical systems
• How to approach disagreements with Rand or other thinkers
• Avoiding dogma and intellectual “elites”
• Why young Objectivists should ignore old movement battles
• Reality and reason as the only true authorities
Listen, learn, and keep thinking independently.
17 Sept 2025
EP#62 | Why Sam Harris Matters
In this episode of Open College, Stephen Hicks reflects on the significance of Sam Harris as a public intellectual, drawing from his foreword to Sam Harris: Critical Responses. Hicks explores Harris’s wide-ranging contributions from morality, free will, and consciousness to religion, psychedelics, artificial intelligence, and politics arguing that Harris embodies a rare “third culture” synthesis of science and humanism at a time when philosophy has been split by C.P. Snow’s “two cultures” divide. Along the way, Hicks contrasts Harris’s reductionist approach with Jordan Peterson’s values-first orientation, using their exchanges to illustrate today’s ongoing struggle between facts and values, reason and emotion, and science and religion, and why overcoming these dualisms remains a central challenge for contemporary philosophy.
20 May 2025
EP61 | Is Religion Useful?
Stephen R.C. Hicks explores whether religion is useful by shifting focus from whether it is true to why it persists despite debates over its truth. He presents tough questions for both believers and non-believers, challenging the origins of belief and the consequences of disbelief. Through historical and philosophical reflection—highlighting figures like Hume, Kant, and Kierkegaard—he concludes that major thinkers agreed religious arguments fail rationally. Yet religion endures, suggesting its power lies not in truth but in its psychological, social, or pragmatic functions. The real question becomes: What does religion do for people, and why does that matter?
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.9 / 5
69 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 25 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
30
Social presence
0
YouTube
0
Engagement
51
Contact Open College Podcast
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of Open College Podcast?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
