Titanic Deck Chairs hosts the Objectivist Round Up this week.
Next week, it’s my turn!
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Rational Jenn hosts the Objectivist Round Up this week. I see three posts about selfishness in sports, inspired independently by the Olympics, Tiger Woods, and basketball, and there is a fourth that examines selfishness more generally. Interesting. There is some stuff about sex and booze in there, too. You don’t want to miss this one!
I think we have a new host this week! The Secular Foxhole has published The Objectivist Round Up. There are 4 parenting posts this week, and a lot of other great stuff. Check it out!
Lynne has the Objectivist Round Up this week at 3 Ring Binder.
Titanic Deck Chairs hosts the Objectivist Round Up this week. Enjoy!
The 2010 Objectivist Summer Conference schedule and details are here! I’m super excited because we are actually going this year. That’s a certainty, because my husband, Adam Mossoff, is giving a general lecture - Intellectual Property Rights: Securing the Values of the Mind. Here is the session description from the OCON web site:
The extraordinary achievements in the modern pharmaceutical, biotech, telecommunications and computer industries are dramatic evidence of the significance of intellectual property rights to man’s life. Yet patents, copyrights and other intellectual property rights are under attack—theoretically, morally and legally.
This lecture explains why intellectual property rights are fundamentally important property rights by grounding them in the values that man must conceive and produce in order to live and flourish.
Fundamentally, all property is at root intellectual property, which is why Ayn Rand believes that intellectual property rights represent “the legal implementation of the base of all property rights: a man’s right to the product of his own mind.” In explaining why this is the case, this lecture identifies the radical political and legal implications of Rand’s innovative ethical theory, such as her novel concept of value and her discovery of the role of man’s mind in sustaining his life.
Adam’s presentation at the conference will be geared toward Objectivists, but this lecture is not some side-line of his intellectual work as a law professor. This is his intellectual work! And if you are thinking about how lucky he is to be able to do this for a living, shame on you. Luck had nothing to do with it. Adam created this career for himself through a relentless, passionate, independent, selfish quest. There was no road-map for him, and being an Objectivist made everything more challenging. And just last month, the faculty at George Mason University School of Law voted in favor of tenure for him. There are a few, mostly bureaucratic, hurdles left, but we can pretty safely say that Adam has earned tenure!
I’ve learned so much from the way Adam has managed his career goals, and if you can’t tell, I admire him greatly for it. I actually think that he could give a conference lecture on the subject of pursuing a career in academia, but in the meantime, he’s promised to guest blog about it here sometime in the near future.
Anyway, I hope to see and/or meet many of my readers at the conference. With Leonard Peikoff giving another series of lectures on his DIM Hypothesis, Adam’s lecture, and what looks to be a really nice venue, it should be quite an event!
Kelly is hosting this week’s Objectivist Round Up at her blog, Reepicheep’s Coracle. Happy reading!
Rational Jenn hosts the Objectivist Round Up this week. This edition includes quite a nice variety of subjects to choose from. Check it out!
New Scientist magazine’s interview with Burt Rutan, one of the greatest men alive today, reads like Ayn Rand fiction. Even the journalist’s skepticism and slightly derisive tone only serve to highlight Rutan’s excellent character. For instance, the author calls Rutan a “maverick genius” and speaks of his “swimming against the tide.” What he observes but cannot precisely identify is the virtue of independence. For clarification, see, The Fountainhead.
I’ve decided to eliminate something from my blog: any posts on parenting philosophy or theory.
I do find it helpful to write out my thoughts on these issues, but I’ve also developed an unhealthy habit by using my blog for this purpose. I’ve started thinking in a second-handed way about it. Instead of thinking about the issue in relation to reality, I’m focused on 1) how to express my thoughts to others, and 2) how to make it interesting enough to be blog-worthy.
I’m not saying that I’ve become a complete second-hander – I’m just saying that I’ve made the classic mistake of trying to think by means of writing for others. Thinking on paper is fine if you are writing for yourself, but you can’t write something for publication unless you’ve done the necessary thinking first, and separately.
I’m still working out my own parenting philosophy. I’m trying to be inductive about it (and overall I think I’m doing an excellent job at that), but the blog is pushing me to come to abstract conclusions before I’ve really done enough thinking. Therefore, I’m going to stop writing posts about issues like discipline, screen-time, honesty with children, etc. I might report on concrete things that I’m doing, like using a reward chart or letting Sammy watch different types of TV shows as she matures, and I might write about the results that I observe, but I won’t be writing about any abstract conclusions I might be coming to on those issues, as I’ve done in the past. From now on, I’ll be writing about those kinds of thoughts in my own, personal journal. In fact, I’ve already started doing so.
Don’t worry, I’m still highly opinionated on these matters! What I mean is that I act decisively on my current thinking, even when I know that I can get more clear about it. I have to act on something, and I know I have a great foundation of principles to draw from, so I’m confident that I’m doing a good job as a parent. But I’ll be able to do an even better job if I stop the premature blogging.
Check out this week’s Objectivist Round Up, hosted by Titanic Deck Chairs.
Welcome to the January 7, 2010 edition of the Objectivist Round Up!
This Round Up is a weekly compilation of posts from Objectivist bloggers. In case you’ve stumbled upon this publication for the first time, here is a brief summary of the philosophy of Objectivism, in the words of its originator, Ayn Rand:
At a sales conference at Random House, preceding the publication of Atlas Shrugged, one of the book salesmen asked me whether I could present the essence of my philosophy while standing on one foot. I did as follows:
- Metaphysics: Objective Reality
- Epistemology: Reason
- Ethics: Self-interest
- Politics: Capitalism
If you want this translated into simple language, it would read: 1. “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed” or “Wishing won’t make it so.” 2. “You can’t eat your cake and have it, too.” 3. “Man is an end in himself.” 4. “Give me liberty or give me death.”
If you held these concepts with total consistency, as the base of your convictions, you would have a full philosophical system to guide the course of your life.
The best source for more information about Objectivism is The Ayn Rand Institute’s web site, where you can find excerpts from her fiction and non-fiction, a short biography, information about her ideas, and much, much more.
And now, I present the January 4, 2010 edition of The Objectivist Round Up:
Mike Zemack presents 2010 – Into the Political Vacuum posted at Principled Perspectives, saying, “A brief look back … and ahead: In 2010, the political vacuum widens, and so will Objectivism’s opportunity.”
C.W. presents Meltdown by Thomas Woods, Review posted at Krazy Economy, saying, “Review of “Meltdown” by Thomas Woods. A book recommended by Yaron Brooke. Excellent, detailed explanation of the 2008 panic. Good economics.”
Ottens presents Deregulate the Banks! posted at Atlantic Sentinel, saying, “Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is wrong. A lack of regulation did not produce the financial crisis; the Federal Reserve along with enormous government intervention in the American housing market did.”
Rachel Miner presents Sharing Emotions posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, “As Faber and Mazlish state, ‘Children need to have their feelings accepted and respected.’ (A separate issue from the necessary limits on their actions). I discuss why I think the same applies to parents and why, I think it is letting one aspect of the teaching opportunity pass to supress our emotions as a shelter for a child and focus only on the physical consequences, alternative actions, identification / acknowledgement.’”
Trey Givens presents Insurance is not a Coupon for Free Stuff posted at Trey Givens, saying, “I’ve written three posts recently on health insurance that I think are pretty good, but this one came to me in a flash of insight. Apparently, there are a bunch of people out there who think insurance is a discount program!”
Ari Armstrong presents What Are Conservatives Trying to Conserve? posted at FreeColorado.com, saying, “A look at the four strains of conservatism: libertarianism, tradition, faith, and liberty.”
Myrhaf presents 2009 and Beyond posted at The New Clarion.
Pomponazzi presents Digesting Objectivist Principles posted at Pomponazzi ponders, saying, “I explain what the primacy of existence means and use it to refute the false theories of Descartes and Kant.”
Paul Hsieh presents 2009 Front Range Objectivism Media Output posted at NoodleFood, saying, “In 2009, Front Range Objectivists published 57 OpEds, 48 LTEs, and 3 articles, including high-profile outlets like the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Christian Science Monitor. Most of this was done by volunteer activists working in their spare time. Americans are willing to hear our ideas — we just have to be willing to articulate them!”
Adam Reed presents A Radical Strategy for Objectivists posted at Born to Identify, saying, “Most people’s New Year resolutions have to do with a new commitment to act in accordance with one’s values, but often too little thought is given to the identification of the course of action that will lead to the realization of one’s values. The principles relating actions to values constitute a strategy for the achievement of values.”
Diana Hsieh presents The Unsoap Experiment posted at NoodleFood, saying, “It sounds crazy, but I’m experimenting with going mostly soap-free and shampoo-less in January — yet definitely not unwashed.”
Ryan DeGoyler presents Toddlers-Selfish or Selfless? posted at The Undercurrent, saying, “Are children naturally altruistic? A recent study seems to suggest so. DeGoyler discusses the assumption that cooperation is altruistic, and presents an alternative explanation for the child’s motives.”
Andrew Dalton presents The soul of an egalitarian posted at Witch Doctor Repellent, saying, “A British intellectual notices that children who attend private schools succeed disproportionately — and proposes banning private schools as the solution.”
Stella presents One good point, and a lot of bad ones posted at ReasonPharm.
C.W. presents Speech by Ben S. Bernanke, Commentary posted at Krazy Economy, saying, “I read this so that you don’t have to. Really, it wasn’t fun. But it was revealing. This isn’t just bad economics, it is a methodological disconnect from reality. Freedom, reality, even money supply are not terms that he would ever use in a conversation.”
Edward Cline presents States’ Rights: Dumb Show and Noise posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, “The Republican Party has reached deep into its armory of political arguments and come up with its best shot against federally-mandated health care “reform.” Citing the Tenth Amendment, they are beginning to claim that Congress is overstepping its Constitutional authority to require individuals to purchase health insurance, thus usurping states’ “rights” to do the same thing. The power is not enumerated; ergo, it is unconstitutional.”
Tom Utley presents Clemson has an Institute for the (honest) Study of Capitalism! posted at It’s My Blog, saying, “This is my first ever submission to this list, but I wanted to share the news to all objectivists because I’m so proud of my Alma Mater!”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of the Objectivist Round Up by using our carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page. Next week’s host will be Titanic Deck Chairs.
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Happy New Year! Rational Jenn has the New Year’s edition of the Objectivist Round Up, which highlights some of the best posts of 2009.
Miranda Barzey has the Christmas edition of the Objectivst Round Up at her blog, Ramen and Rand. This week the round up has a theme: The Benevolent Universe Premise. (Objectivists often refer to this idea as the BUP.) Leonard Peikoff describes the Benevolent Universe Premise this way:
Although accidents and failures are possible, they are not, according to Objectivism, the essence of human life. On the contrary, the achievement of values is the norm—speaking now for the moral man, moral by the Objectivist definition. Success and happiness are the metaphysically to-be-expected. In other words, Objectivism rejects the view that human fulfillment is impossible, that man is doomed to misery, that the universe is malevolent. We advocate the “benevolent universe” premise.
The “benevolent universe” does not mean that the universe feels kindly to man or that it is out to help him achieve his goals. No, the universe is neutral; it simply is; it is indifferent to you. You must care about and adapt to it, not the other way around. But reality is “benevolent” in the sense that if you do adapt to it—i.e., if you do think, value, and act rationally, then you can (and barring accidents you will) achieve your values. You will, because those values are based on reality.
Leonard Peikoff, The Philosophy of Objectivism,
lecture series (1976), Lecture 8.
What a perfect theme for Christmas! I hope you enjoy the round up and I wish you all a Merry Christmas.
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