Spring 2019 • Vol. 14, No. 1
From the Editor, Spring 2019
The Spring 2019 issue of TOS: heroes, intelligent disobedience, liberty, justice, conceptual corrections, free-will poetry, and more! Continue »
Cover Article
Arts & Culture
Heroes of Great Literature
What are the characteristics of heroes? And who are the heroes of great literature? This essay examines five exceptional protagonists.
Features
Education & Parenting
Intelligent Disobedience for Children: A Handbook for Parents and Caregivers
Here’s a powerful tool and mnemonic for teaching children to think for themselves and to disobey adults when that’s the right thing to do.
Education & Parenting, History, Philosophy
Marva Collins, Her Method, and Her ‘Philosophy for Living’
Thousands of students who had been written off as “unteachable” were able to lead meaningful, productive lives because one woman refused to give up on them.
History
Robert Morris: America’s Financial Atlas
This self-made immigrant helped make the Revolution possible, then laid the foundation for America’s essentially capitalist financial policies.
Ayn Rand & Objectivism, Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Liberty: What Is It? Why Is It Good? On What Does It Depend?
Here's a brief introduction to Ayn Rand’s views on liberty and how they differ from conventional views.
Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Four Fallacies Regarding the Political Spectrum
As long as people conceive of the spectrum in terms of package deals, false alternatives, frozen abstractions, or stolen concepts, their thinking will be discombobulated.
Biographies, History, Politics & Rights
The Moral Courage of Rosa Parks
By refusing to give in to injustice, Parks sparked not only the Montgomery bus boycott but the American Civil Rights movement as such, which would go on to topple the legal support of racial discrimination in the United States.
Ayn Rand & Objectivism
Tal Tsfany on the State and Future of the Ayn Rand Institute
Tal Tsfany, president and CEO of ARI, reports on his first eight months at the helm and his plans for the future of the organization.
Arts & Culture
Seven Poems Celebrating Free Will
Enjoy these poems celebrating free will—including works by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Berton Braley, and Walter Wintle.
Shorts
Arts & Culture
John Singer Sargent: Master of Elevated Grace
Sargent's legacy will forever be cherished by those who long for an art that expresses life as it could and ought to be.
Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Why Conservatives Are Defenseless against Ocasio-Cortez’s Lethal Moral Code
Unlike most who oppose her, Ocasio-Cortez does not promote contradictory political/economic and moral principles.
Arts & Culture
A New Window on Scriabin
The romantic composers were an eccentric lot, but even so, Alexander Scriabin is in a world of his own.
Politics & Rights
Why a “Right” to Health Care is a Moral Travesty
Many commentators have pointed out the practical failings of "universal health care." But its proponents regard it as a moral ideal. Why?
Arts & Culture, History, Politics & Rights
Joseph Conrad: No Faltering, No Shame, No Regret
For all his pessimism, Conrad held that a life of unfaltering conviction is a meaningful one.
Philosophy
Environmentalists’ Marching Orders for Human Extinction
The environmentalist movement has long been fueled by anti-human vitriol and calls for human destruction; now their marching orders have been issued afresh.
Arts & Culture
Millard Sheets and the Art of Banking
Sheets created a contemporary art appropriate for a lender proud of its part in transforming the California desert into a land of innovation and plenty.
Good Living, Science & Technology
Minding Your Time: Three Ideas
Here are a few things that have helped me to schedule work, measure time, and leverage its scarcity.
Arts & Culture
Celebrating Slack Key and the Sweetness of Life
At a time when popular culture too often celebrates life’s negatives, it’s refreshing to witness the flourishing of a musical form that focuses on joy, fun, beauty, and nahenahe.
Book Reviews
Politics & Rights, Reviews
John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty by C. Bradley Thompson
At a time when politicians are unwilling to admit and unable to defend the fact that America is not a democracy, John Adams and the Spirit of Liberty provides much needed clarity.
Arts & Culture, Reviews
A Saturnalia of Bunk: Selections from The Free Lance 1911–1915 by H. L. Mencken
Pro-reason, pro-liberty readers likely will find A Saturnalia of Bunk enlightening and entertaining.
Good Living, Reviews, Science & Technology
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear
After reading Clear’s blog for years, I expected Atomic Habits to be quite useful. But, I was astonished by how useful it is.
Politics & Rights, Reviews
In Order to Live: A North Korean Girl's Journey to Freedom by Yeonmi Park with Maryanne Vollers
Anyone interested in the the nature of dictatorship, the virtue of justice, or the power of persistence will find this book an extraordinary value.
Ayn Rand & Objectivism, Philosophy, Reviews
The Illusion of Determinism: Why Free Will Is Real and Causal by Edwin A. Locke
This book shows that determinists are free to go on questioning the reality of human volition but not free to escape the contradiction inherent in that act.
Letter to the Editor
Politics & Rights
Letter to the Editor: A Strategy for Saving America
Although barbarians are at the gate, all is not lost, argues TOS reader Rich Batey. We can retake the moral high ground and ultimately win.
