 In Praise of SOLO
by Jason Dixon
I had sought out Objectivist-related websites and forums and been left for the most part unsatisfied. A new friend suggested I check out SOLO, and I did. Exploring the website and reading the Credo in particular, I felt as if I had found the place I could focus my energy and maybe even a place that could become my "home" on the web. (Read more...)
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Utopianism
by Joseph Rowlands
Any attempt at a rational improvement of the world will necessarily involve contrasting what we have with what we think is better. If the mere act of claiming something is better is considered utopian, there's no possible way of improving. If we're afraid of projecting ideals, we'll always be stuck where we are now. (Read more...)
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A Randian Definition of the Common Good
by Edward W. Younkins
Whatever is alleged to be the common good must be good and must be universal. The common good must be that which is good for every human being. Liberty fulfills this requirement, because protected self-directedness is good for every person. The common good rests not in what men do when they are free, but rather in the fact that they are free. The common good consists in treating each person as an end and never solely as a means to an end. This simply means respecting the personal autonomy of each individual. (Read more...)
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SOLO In Review, Part 3: Pyramid Of Activism
by Joseph Rowlands
"We seek nothing less than to change the world." - SOLO Credo (Read more...)
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Saturday
December 25, 2004 |
Ayn Rand Among The Religious
by Neil Parille
Ayn Rand has been the target of several critiques by religious writers. This article surveys some of the better known ones. (Read more...)
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A Reply to Manfred F. Schieder
by Fred Seddon
My work on Kant is not an attack on Objectivism qua philosophy. Everything I say could be true or not without in the least impacting the philosophy. It has to do with Kantian scholarship, not with Rand’s philosophy, which I accept. (Read more...)
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Kant And The New Tactics To Destroy Objectivism
by Manfred F. Schieder
Under the pretense of “bettering and correcting"(!) Objectivism, a new breed of attacks against it has been launched by academics, commentators and sundry intellectuals. Some do it aiming at accommodating Objectivism to Kant and all of them, whether declared or implicitly, follow the Kantian guide of destructiveness. By doing so they unwittingly confirm that Ayn Rand perfectly recognized Kant as the paramount of nowaday's evilness, following the path whose philosophical originator was Plato.
(Read more...)
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Principles Of An Objectivist Forum
by Joseph Rowlands
The benefits of moderation quickly became clear. A group of fascists decided to try to impress us with their intellectual abilities by shouting obscenities and death threats. Foreshadowing a theme made by most of the later insane people, they tried to win arguments by posting as often as they could. That's easy to do when you're not stymied by trying to be intelligent or holding down a job. (Read more...)
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SOLO In Review, Part 1: In The Beginning
by Joseph Rowlands
What is it that we hope to accomplish? How successful have we been? What lessons have we learned along the way? And where do we see it all going? (Read more...)
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Transitioning to Self-Interest
by Joseph Rowlands
A worldview is not like a political party, where you can just join another by signing a piece of paper. It is fundamentally the way you view the world and how your life fits in it, and that's not something that changes overnight. In this article, I just want to touch on some of the issues that can be problems for people who are trying to adopt the Objectivist morality. (Read more...)
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Ayn Rand's Metaphysics and Epistemology
by Edward W. Younkins
When a correct cognitive process has been followed it can be said that the output of that process is objective. In turn, when the mind conforms to mind-independent reality, the theory of conceptual functioning being followed can be termed objective. The term objective thus applies to both method and to content. (Read more...)
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Ayn Rand and Apriorism
by Neil Parille
[Editor's note: it was a marginal decision whether to post this as an article or as a contribution to the Dissent board. In the end I opted for the former, even though the second sentence below could scarcely be more wrong. I suggest readers take the article as a totality & "chew" it in the scholarly spirit in which it is offered. Linz]
Ayn Rand sought to preserve the best elements of empiricism and rationalism. Nonetheless, her commitment to empiricism and rejection of a priori insight make it difficult to justify any knowledge at all. A reflectionist view of the apriori is compatible with her metaphysics and should be considered. (Read more...)
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Thursday
November 11, 2004 |
Ayn Rand's Ethics
by Edward W. Younkins
Ethics, a code of values to rationally guide man’s choices and actions, is an objective, metaphysical necessity for a man’s survival. (Read more...)
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Kant the All-Destroyer
by Fred Seddon
If you don’t have the data, you shouldn’t make claims.
(Read more...)
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Miller on Kant
by Fred Seddon
In this article, I respond to Fred Miller's reply to George Walsh's famous paper on Kant. (Read more...)
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 (Im)Pertinent Post-Script!
by Lindsay Perigo
The imminent arrival of The Free Radical 64 has prompted its editor to reflect, in his usual helpful way, on the manner in which an allied publication could be - and desperately needs to be - improved, by the injection of KASS. See the Post-Script to the following related, context-providing review from The Free Radical, April, 2002. (Read more...)
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Thursday
September 16, 2004 |
Uncle Kant: Enlightenment Hero and Proto-Objectivist
by Fred Seddon
Fred Seddon's reply to Peter Cresswell's "Kant Couldn't," SOLOHQ, September 9. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
September 15, 2004 |
A Common Thread: Anti-Egalitarianism in Objectivism, Conservatism, and Libertarianism
by Neil Parille
There is a common thread of anti-egalitarianism in Objectivism, Conservatism, and Libertarianism. This is illustrated by an examination of certain writings of Russell Kirk, Ayn Rand, and Murray Rothbard. (Read more...)
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Homo Hijackers? (2): Sciabarra's Rejoinder to Firehammer
by Chris Matthew Sciabarra
The debate over Ayn Rand, Objectivism, and homosexuality continues in Sciabarra's rejoinder to Firehammer's reply. (Read more...)
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Response to Regi Firehammer's Response to Chris Sciabarra's "In Praise of Hijacking"
by Barbara Branden
Regi, I hardly know where to start to specify my disagreements with you. To go into detail about all of them is impossible here, but I'll indicate a few. (Read more...)
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Final Reply To A Wannabe Freedom-Denier
by Manfred F. Schieder
"I am sick of having to deal with powermongers and supporters of present or future dictators of all kind who want to impose their views against personal liberty and personal choice. I am sick of force and violence. I am sick of those who either will not or cannot think rationally. Hence, this is the last communication exchange with you. A reply from your side will not merit any reply." (Read more...)
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Saturday
September 11, 2004 |
Homo Hijackers? (1): Response to Chris Sciabarra's "In Praise of Hijacking"
by Reginald Firehammer
A response to Chris Matthew Sciabarra's essay "In Praise of Hijacking," his recent well-crafted criticism of my book, The Hijacking of a Philosophy: Homosexuals vs. Ayn Rand's Objectivism.
Note: Dr. Sciabarra's reply will be posted tomorrow. (Read more...)
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Ayn Rand: Optimist or Pessimist?
by Neil Parille
Although Ayn Rand has an optimistic view of man and human reason, there are pessimistic elements to her thought as well. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
September 1, 2004 |
Objectivists, Libertarians, and the Political Right
by Matthew Humphreys
A few thoughts on why many Objectivists seem to favour the Right much more than the Left, and why in general that is probably ok. (Read more...)
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Objectivism - A Thumbnail Sketch
by Lindsay Perigo
Ayn Rand herself, relative to other philosophers, didn't write "volumes." In terms of quality & import, however, she out-wrote most of them combined & multiplied. Some philosophers (not many) had argued discretely for one or more of the above; she integrated ALL of it & brought esthetics into the mix as well. (Read more...)
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