 Volition, Focus and Evasion
by Joseph Rowlands
I mentioned that Objectivism supports the position of Free Will. There is still a question of how this is manifested. Yes, we can choose between different actions, or different ideas, etc., but how? Is there a basic kind of choice?
The answer is volition. According to Objectivism, volition is the choice to focus or not to focus, and it is the fundamental choice. It amounts to choosing to think or not to think. To examine, or to not examine. Since consciousness is awareness, it's really a choice to be aware or not. That's as fundamental as you get. (Read more...)
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The Refueling of our Power for Creation
by Manfred F. Schieder
Ayn Rand, I, and the Universe, Part 7 and 8 (Read more...)
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The Logically Resulting Type of Society
by Manfred F. Schieder
Ayn Rand, I, and the Universe, Part 6 [Editor's Note: Last week I accidentally clipped two sections out of the end of this article. Here it is with those two sections restored.] (Read more...)
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The Required Change of Ethics
by Manfred F. Schieder
Ayn Rand, I, And the Universe, Part 5 (Read more...)
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Visualizing the Complex Relationship Between Truth and Falsehood
by Paul Hibbert
This essay presents a possible alternative way of conceptualizing how truth and falsehood interact. Geographical information can be transmitted verbally but a map can do the same thing holistically and much more intuitively and efficiently. In much the same way, the relationship between true and false statements can be transmitted verbally but it is proposed that it might be possible to create a visual depiction of the same data. This concept is developed as an analogy of the Mandelbrot set — a mathematical construct that is integral to Chaos Theory. It would be possible to demonstrate, visually, that there are no so-called "grey areas" in the matter of truth and falsehood; moreover, Rand's dictum of "Examine your premises" can take on a new, graphical meaning. (Read more...)
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Towards an Integrated Moral Standard
by Joseph Rowlands
The critical function of ethics is to provide a means of choosing between various choices. Morality is essentially a method of decision making. Morality is inescapable. Everyone must have some means of making choices. But not everyone identifies their method explicitly. They may end up with a hodgepodge of differe... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
October 17, 2007 |
Atlas Shrugged & Ethics
by Tibor R. Machan
[This essay formed the basis of a talk at the Atlas Society celebration of the 50 th anniversary of the publication of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, in Washington, DC, on October 6, 2007] When Ayn Rand titled her collection of writings on ethics The Virtue of Selfishness, she also provided a clear clue to what... (Read more...)
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Our Capacity To Think
by Manfred F. Schieder
Ayn Rand, I, And the Universe, Part 4 (Read more...)
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Time and Value
by Joseph Rowlands
This was a speech given in 2003. (Read more...)
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Erasing Impossibilities
by Manfred F. Schieder
Ayn Rand, I, and the Universe: Part 2 (Read more...)
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Rights, Games, and Self-Realization Part 1
by Stephen Boydstun
In Part I we shall uncover, for two socially isolated people, some semblance of rights against personal injury and some semblance of rights to liberty. (Read more...)
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Rights, Games, and Self-Realization
by Stephen Boydstun
Individual rights are those moral claims of one person upon another for which enforcement is morally permissible. The question of whether the use of deliberate force is morally justified turns upon the value to be secured and the strategic implications of resorting to force. What value could justify the use of force and in what circumstances? A short answer would be that only the defense of individual freedom can justify the use of force, that freedom can only be abridged by force, and that, therefore, no one has the right to initiate the use of force against another. The initiation of force becomes the hallmark of the violation of a right. In this essay, I offer an answer closely related, but informed by game theory and reaching a new view of rights in land and the nature of government. (Read more...)
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Acceptance
by Alexander Butziger
Why can't we just get along? Why can even apparently reasonable people sharing many fundamental values sometimes not agree on fundamental moral questions? Is reason limited, after all? Or are all human beings inherently irrational subjectivists, no matter what claims to reason and objectivity they may make? Is our faith in reason misplaced? (Read more...)
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Human Certainty: The only kind there is.
by Ed Thompson
The subtitle to this essay hints at the fact that human certainty is something special. Now, there are 2 ways to be certain:
1) psychologically (whenever any animate, perceptual being is "convinced" of things being a certain way)
2) philosophically (whenever any conceptual being has discovered an identifiable and potentially-measurable difference among the existents in the world)
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Mark Skousen on Ayn Rand and 'Atlas Shrugged'
by Andre Zantonavitch
A brief look at libertarian Mark Skousen's views of Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. (Read more...)
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From Objectivism to Neo-Tech and Back
by Luke Setzer
Disclaimer: I no longer have anything to do with Neo-Tech. I post this article only as a historical account of my past involvement with them and to enlighten those who may want to learn more about it. I confess some embarrassment at supporting them as long as I did but, as the saying goes, "Better late than never." (Read more...)
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Wednesday
November 29, 2006 |
Rand and Ethical Objectivity
by Tibor R. Machan
This is a short discussion of an issue that arises in Objectivist meta-ethics, that is to say, the foundation of ethics according to Ayn Rand. It is an attempt to quite briefly but accurately show why Rand believed that ethical knowledge is objective, that human beings can know what is morally right and wrong. (Read more...)
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Concepts
by Joseph Rowlands
Ayn Rand wrote a series of articles called Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, which eventually became a book. It was only ever designed as an introduction, not even covering many aspects of epistemology. The one issue she thought was most critical was the nature of concepts. And that's what we'll discuss on this thread. (Read more...)
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Unanswered Questions about Monopoly Government
by Raymond Raad
This is a challenge to objectivists to examine and support their theory of government. (Read more...)
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Semantic Sneak-Attacks
by Laure Chipman
Objectivists and non-Objectivists sometimes have difficulty communicating because of differences in word usage. Sometimes, the problem is more sinister -- the non-Objectivist is not just misunderstanding us, but is trying to use blurry concepts as a kind of "sneak attack" againt Objectivist principles. In thinking ab... (Read more...)
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Objectivism, "Contextual Knowledge" and the Correspondence Theory of Truth
by William Scott Dwyer
In a lecture entitled "Contextual Knowledge," available from the Ayn Rand Bookstore, Peter Schwartz argues that the concept of contextual knowledge implies that a conclusion validly derived from false premises is a false conclusion, because the context of the premises conditions the conclusion, so that if the premises are false, the conclusion must, therefore, be false. Since according to Schwartz, false premises can never yield a true conclusion, it follows that non-Objectivist libertarians cannot be regarded as true advocates of liberty. Since their conclusion that liberty is good is based on false premises, it must, therefore be a false conclusion.
Schwartz's view of contextual knowledge or, more accurately, of contextual truth, is untenable and implies a theory of truth that is at odds with the traditional correspondence theory. His view also has subjectivist implications, because it implies that an idea which corresponds to reality can be false for someone who holds it for the wrong reasons but true for someone who holds it for the right reasons. Schwartz also applies his view of contextual truth selectively and inconsistently, crediting Ludwig von Mises for being an advocate of liberty, while denying that title to other libertarians who are non-Objectivist. (Read more...)
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Objectivism 101
by Joseph Rowlands
Today I announced the birth of a new website, Objectivism101. It's an educational site dedicated to explaining Objectivism at multiple levels. You can find it at Objectivism101.com. (Read more...)
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A Review of Edward W. Younkins's Philosophers of Capitalism
by G. Stolyarov II
Mr. Stolyarov reviews a new anthology edited by Dr. Edward W. Younkins-- a renowned contemporary scholar of Objectivism and Austrian Economics. Mr. Stolyarov applauds Dr. Younkins's effort at creating a powerful libertarian synthesis by integrating the best elements of those two schools of thought. (Read more...)
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How to Think about God
by Ed Thompson
In his book: How to Think about the Great Ideas (2000), Mortimer Adler devotes a chapter entitled: "How to Think about God." His first subsection (after a short introduction) is entitled: "The Four Key Questions about God." Let me state at the outset that, though I agree with his method (of outlining pivotal questions, before engaging in any substantive discussion on the matter) -- my conclusions differ from his. (Read more...)
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Moral Habits or Mental Habits?
by Joseph Rowlands
I've seen some Objectivists describe virtues as a kind of moral habit. I believe the idea is that by practicing them consistently, they become second-nature to you. If you consciously practice the virtue of honesty, then your immediate reaction in any given situation is to tell the truth. As you act virtuous, it ge... (Read more...)
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