 Emotional Responses and Selecting Values
by Joseph Rowlands
In the last lecture, I talked about how intrinsic values can't be rationally compared, so you're left with just feeling your way to a solution. This is a pretty serious problem, and what we're going to focus on in this thread. (Read more...)
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Objective, Subjective, Intrinsic
by Joseph Rowlands
There are three major views of the nature of values. The first two, subjective and intrinsic, are often seen as a dichotomy. Objectivism accepts an objective view of values. (Read more...)
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Values
by Joseph Rowlands
Value is the central concept in ethics. Everything else revolves around it. Ethics is a person's means of choosing between actions. Actions, on the other hand, are aimed at accomplishing something. That something is called a value. Rand defined a value as "that which you act to gain and/or keep". It's what you're trying to accomplish when you do something. That can be acquiring some physical good, like a steak or a new car. It can also mean something like pleasure or improved physical fitness. It can be a friendship, or romantic interest. It can be the development of a new skill. And to give an example of keeping something, putting out a fire to protect your house is an example of acting in order to keep it. Anything you act to gain and/or keep is a value, in the widest sense of the term.
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Free Will and Volition
by Joseph Rowlands
The debate between Free Will and Determinism has been raging forever. It's one of the trickier issues, and there's little agreement on terms. You'll even find arguments about it on Objectivist forums, although the official Objectivist position sides with Free Will. Let me do a little introduction to the topic (Read more...)
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Axiomatic Concepts
by Joseph Rowlands
Going back to Epistemology now, I'm going to discuss a greatly misunderstood topic. Axiomatic concepts, commonly referred to as the axioms. (Read more...)
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Objective Reality
by Joseph Rowlands
The phrase "objective reality" means that reality exists independent of our minds. The description "objective" doesn't make a lot of sense on its own, but it does in comparison to the competing theory of the relationship between consciousness and existence. (Read more...)
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Consciousness
by Joseph Rowlands
One of the big metaphysical concepts is consciousness. It's something we experience and are aware of directly. You know your own mind. You think, you feel, you focus, you remember, and you perceive. It's so immediate that some philosophers started with an awareness of their minds, and posited it as being primary. Reality you only know through your senses, but your mind! You know that first hand! (Read more...)
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Causality and Change
by Joseph Rowlands
We discussed the Law of Identity, but there are two related issues that have confused people in the past. First, it's fine to say that something exists in a particular way, but what happens when it changes. For instance, your own mind has a particular identity, but as you learn new things or direct your attention to something else, it's not the same anymore? Is it no longer the same entity? Are you no longer who you were yesterday? And the other question is how do things act and react? If I put a piece of paper into a fire, it act different from how an ice cube acts. Why? What's the nature of cause and effect? (Read more...)
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Wednesday
January 17, 2007 |
Law of Identity
by Joseph Rowlands
The Law of Identify is one of those very simple ideas that is so universal, it's difficult to describe it in words. It is simply the fact that whatever exists, exists in a particular way. Everything that exists has identity. (Read more...)
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Themes of Metaphysics
by Joseph Rowlands
We're going to take a break now from Epistemology, and go into Metaphysics a little. Some of the issues in Epistemology are so dependent on Metaphysics, it's important to get some of the background information. In this thread, I just want to talk about Metaphysics in general. What are the key issues? What kind of answers are we looking for? (Read more...)
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Wednesday
October 25, 2006 |
Context, Context, Context
by Joseph Rowlands
The Contextual Theory of Knowledge is one of the broadest ideas in Objectivism. It basically says that all of our knowledge exists in a context. Context is the background in which something is said. There's a huge amount of background information you assume in every statements, and all of that information is then connected to more information. When you identify something, you identify it within a given context. (Read more...)
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Logic
by Joseph Rowlands
Rand defines logic as "the art of non-contradictory identification". The just means that logic is concerned with eliminating contradictions. A contradiction is when two things can't both be correct at the same time. In reality, if something can't happen, it doesn't. But in the world of ideas, you may be mistaken about what can or can't happen, as well as whether they actually did happen. (Read more...)
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Reason vs. Faith
by Joseph Rowlands
Sometimes the best way to understand a concept is to contrast it with others. There are some aspects of reason that fit this description. Specifically, it's useful to contrast it with the concept of faith. (Read more...)
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Tuesday
September 26, 2006 |
Hierarchical Theory of Knowledge
by Joseph Rowlands
We've already hinted at a lot of things along the way. First, we talked about concepts having a genus and differentia as part of their definition. This rests on an interesting assumption. In order to have a genus, the concept you're referring to must be part of a larger category. A larger concept, actually. (Read more...)
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Thursday
September 14, 2006 |
Higher Levels of Abstraction
by Joseph Rowlands
Let's continue on the theme of concepts. We've discussed the process of concept formation already, and this is most easily seen when the referents are perceptual existents. That means it's easiest when you can directly see what you're talking about. So length, color, and cars are all easy examples. These are all concepts formed at the perceptual level. You see them out in the world, and can point to them. (Read more...)
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Definitions and Words
by Joseph Rowlands
We just discussed how concepts are formed. There's a little more to know about the topic. At the point I ended the concept formation discussion, we had completed the process of abstraction. But to retain the concept, it needs to go a little further. (Read more...)
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Concept Formation
by Joseph Rowlands
It's time to go over exactly how a concept is formed. Understanding this process can help you in several ways. First, by understanding how they are formed, you get a better idea of what a concept is. By understanding the method, you can learn to perform it more efficiently, and more accurately. You'll learn the kinds of mistakes that can happen if someone doesn't construct a concept correctly. You'll be able to understand the limits and advantages of conceptual thought. (Read more...)
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Objectivity
by Joseph Rowlands
With a name like Objectivism, you knew we had to talk about objectivity eventually. (Read more...)
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Emotions
by Joseph Rowlands
It's time to talk about emotions, and how they fit into the Objectivist theory of knowledge. Where do they come from? How reliable are they? What can you do with them? What should you do with them? Are some good and some bad? (Read more...)
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Standards of Evaluation
by Joseph Rowlands
What's the difference between fact and opinion? A standard of evaluation. When someone says "Sports team X scored the most points", it is a fact that everyone can go and verify. When someone says "Sports team X is the best", it is opinion because it's unclear what the standard is. Other people can't verify the results because there is no explicit method by which you came up with the result. (Read more...)
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Integration
by Joseph Rowlands
Integration is the method by which you take new ideas or facts and fit them in with the rest of your knowledge. It means more than just accepting something as true. You actually have to tie it in with the rest of your knowledge. The more you do so, the better integrated it is. (Read more...)
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Induction and Deduction
by Joseph Rowlands
Induction is a process of taking specific data and generalizing it. It something we do all the time, and you use the product of it constantly. For instance, if you see that the first car you drive has turn signals, and you see another car, and it has turn signals, you can extrapolate and guess that all of them do. If you see the sun rises in the morning, and falls in the evening, you guess that it will continue to do that. You may later supplement this knowledge with a reason behind it, but you start of seeing the results and you generalize the event. (Read more...)
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Sense Perception
by Joseph Rowlands
The reason we start with perception is that it's the source of all of our knowledge about reality. It is our link to the real world. It's what keeps us honest. And because of that, it's also been attacked viciously by the opponents of reason. If you can invalidate the senses, you throw everyone into an imaginary world where anyone's thoughts or ideas are just as good as anyone else's. (Read more...)
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The Themes of Epistemology
by Joseph Rowlands
I call this thread The Themes of Epistemology because there are some broad patterns to Epistemology you need to be aware of before going into more detailed analaysis. You need to understand what are the goals of Epistemology, and the kinds of topics it covers. (Read more...)
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The Themes of Epistemology
by Joseph Rowlands
I call this thread The Themes of Epistemology because there are some broad patterns to Epistemology you need to be aware of before going into more detailed analaysis. You need to understand what are the goals of Epistemology, and the kinds of topics it covers. (Read more...)
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