 The final face-up
by Manfred F. Schieder
Ours is the time of the final face-up, for after the extended time from when our species separated from our irrational ancestors to where civilization was built, we are now facing religious as well as secular groups determined to move mankind away from civilization and back to an era of pre-language, as Ayn Rand stated in her opus magnun "Atlas Shrugged". (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (0 messages)
Wednesday
January 23, 2013 |
The Pleasures of Humiliation?
by Tibor R. Machan
The cynicism and misanthropy of the two installments of Suits that I have seen are for me very unpleasant. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (0 messages)
Cities from Space
by Michael E. Marotta
... "city lights present the space observer spectacular evidence of our existence, our distribution, and our ability to change our environment..." (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (4 messages)
Grandpa’s Ghost
by James Erwin Poling
But possibly my fate is worse, or more insane, for I willingly choke my own life; straining against my collar at the very edge of my run, I refuse to acquiesce to my proscription. It is my own fault, I could submit, and lead a peaceful life barking on command with my neighbors--as the minions of Pavlov would have of me. I don’t think they deserve the satisfaction, and I cannot bring myself to allow it to them. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (2 messages)
Wednesday
February 10, 2010 |
A baseball prodigy in an Outcome Based world
by Scott Webster Wood
A young boy with a talent and a passion for baseball learns a valuable lesson about altruism. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (2 messages)
Untying the Gordian Knot
by W Chase
Sitting in my room on a sunny summer day, surrounded by vertiginous stacks of Casper the Friendly Ghost, Archie, and Richie Rich comic books, and still more books, I read with an intense fascination, as if I'm on the verge of discovering the secrets of reality, the hacks of existence, the Cheat Codes of Life. One may wonder how such a feat could possibly be gleaned off of children's comics, but I'm not entertaining myself with Casper, Archie, or Richie. No, I'm immersing myself in something much less pedestrian and much more dangerous. Drowning my intellect in a miasma of fallacies, I instead satiate my naiveté-stricken appetite for knowledge with encyclopedias of superstitions, stories of the supernatural, and what would otherwise be the peddling of a snake oil salesman in lesser civilized countries. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (2 messages)
Wednesday
December 30, 2009 |
Avatar and the Prog-Rock Revival
by Joseph C. Maurone
Avatar is not only a hash of new-age ideas in a technicolor dreamcoat, it's a rehash of new-age ideas in said dreamcoat. The progressive rock bands of the seventies beat Cameron to the punch, and it shows; not only are the visual designs digital animations of a Yes album, the philosophical themes are co-opted as well...including the contradictions. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (79 messages)
The Legacy Lives: Embracing the Year Three Thousand in Philosophy and Art
by Alexandra York
“Happiness,” then, is not “I feel good” but “I feel good because I am good,” meaning “I am the best I can be.” Epicurus concurred with Aristotle’s moral ideal as the definition of enduring happiness. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (1 message)
Society as an End and Society as a Means
by Manfred F. Schieder
Which of both is the type of society corresponding to the rational, free, peaceful and productive individual? This article presents the analysis in favor of the correct foundation of coexistence. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (5 messages)
Tag Days: Bailouts for America's Youth
by Jake Moore
The work ethic in America has suffered erosion on an epic scale in the last ten or fifteen years, and the best way to re-establish the mindset our nation was built upon is to instill it in our children. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (13 messages)
RELIGULOUS: Mankind, a rational Species? Ha!
by Manfred F. Schieder
"Religulous", the movie that inspired this article, points out the fact that mankind is moving at top-speed to the abyss of its destruction due to the malevolent spirit of faith and force, the corollaries that Ayn Rand clearly described in her essay "Faith and Force: The Destroyers of the Modern World." This is a call to action to avoid this dark prospect. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (16 messages)
Gustave Courbet and "The Origin of the World"
by Manfred F. Schieder
Gustave Courbet pointed out the exact moment at which the world begins to exist for each of us human beings. The knowledge of this one and only existence is a stern call to fill our life with peaceful, productive efforts that allow us to seek and reach personal happiness. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (12 messages)
The Young Sparrow
by Ed Thompson
A short story. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (6 messages)
Arthur C. Clarke Was Wrong, So Progress Must Have Stopped
by Warren Meyer
Despite the pessimistic title, this is a wonderfully optimistic piece in response to an Erlich-esque view by Paul Krugman, who has been less than impressed by the past 50 years of Western technology. Julian Simon and Paul Pilzer would enjoy this piece immensely.
Sometimes, we all need a reminder of just how fortunate we are to be living in the time and place that we do. This piece is just such a reminder. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (6 messages)
Five Words That Spell Liberation
by Luke Setzer
Many speakers invite you to "make the connection" -- whatever that means. I invite you -- yes, I do mean you -- to make the disconnection. Disconnect yourself from the obstructionists, the life drainers, the destroyers. Set yourself free from the Gordian knots of troublemakers so that you can live your life your way. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (14 messages)
Human Evil: The Only Kind There Is
by Ed Thompson
Author's note:
This is the first in a series subtitled: "The only kind there is." This specific subtitle is meant to call attention to the unique dynamics of living as a human being -- as opposed to living as another type of creature, or existing as a non-living entity. For example, rocks or stones aren't ever considered evil, and there is a good reason for that. Much of the past failure to adequately delineate such basic concepts as good, evil, happiness, virtue, beauty, and love stems from an inadequate conception of the unique nature of man. I am of the opinion that much of the philosophical indecisiveness regarding these basics concepts would be removed upon a prior and adequate understanding of man's nature. This series is my attempt to forward such an understanding of what it means to be human.
(Read more...)
Discuss this Article (21 messages)
Tough Storge
by Luke Setzer
Parents have a moral obligation to do their best to raise their offspring into fully functioning adults. This obligation comes as close to "duty" as one would ever come in the Objectivist ethics, but it still arises from causality, i.e. from the parents causing the effects of their children's very existence in the first place. The task of nurturing incapable infants into capable adults must include conditioning children to deal with the best and worst aspects of both the metaphysical and the man-made. Helping them to confront the very nature of self-responsibility and its difficult values choices becomes a necessary aspect of sound parenting. These three stories offer concrete, real life instances of such instruction. Objectivists would serve themselves well by learning from them. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (51 messages)
Apotheosis: The Virtue of Perfectionism
by W Chase
Perfectionism means living, and acting at 100% all the time – not merely here and there, wherever or whenever one feels like it. Perfectionism is not impractical – to the contrary. Striving towards perfection is the only practical guide to action – anything less is impractical and therefore, evil; read: anti-life. Let us see why, using a simple example, supposing you are about to take a test in any given class. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (22 messages)
Kids and the "Pre-moral" Choice to Live
by Ed Thompson
In a quip, Ronald Reagan once said that he noticed that everyone who was for abortion rights had already been born, and while his line of reasoning was illegitimate -- I thought to apply it to the "pre-moral choice to live" debate. Apparently, everyone arguing about the "pre-moral" choice to live has already "chosen" to live. Is this inconsequential? Heck, apparently, everyone currently existing -- has "chosen" to live! More to the point, everyone ever known -- has "chosen" to live! (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (12 messages)
Melissa's Confession
by T. A. Sylvester
How do you start? How do you say it? She did not even think she could begin it. She wasn't pregnant. She wasn't on drugs. She didn't drink, and she never intended to start smoking. It would, she thought, be easier to do this if it was any of those things. What had happened to her was this: As Mrs. Lutz at Antwerp Junior High began her presentation on ancient mythology, she had explained exactly what a myth was. Then, she had spoken these words: Maybe we are believing in myths. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (20 messages)
I Wish He'd Beat Me
by JJ Tuan
Relationships are beneficial to our lives. It's great to have someone who resonates with you to share your joys and sorrows with, to have interesting conversations with at all times of day, to go to dinner and movies with, to take care of you when you are feeling sick, or just to lift heavy things and reach tall place... (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (11 messages)
Objectivist Heroes
by JJ Tuan
Objectivist heroes thrive in peace time. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (100 messages)
Pride of Place
by Stephen Boydstun
"It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and the judgment of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth." Those are the words of the hero in Rand's Anthem (194... (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (4 messages)
The Rebirth
by Joseph Rowlands
Welcome to the Rebirth of Reason website. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (49 messages)
My Journey to Atheism
by Eric J. Tower
When I chose to live my life as an atheist I did so not because I wanted to be different, but because I lived through the real dangers of theistic life both psychologically and physically. Theistic belief hindered my growth as an individual. When I finally chose to shrug these chains I found I was able to live my life freely. No longer impeded by unearned guilt or baseless faith, I was finally able to grow as an individual. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (44 messages)
|
