Winter 2021 • Vol. 16, No. 4
From the Editor, Winter 2021
Welcome to the Winter 2021 issue of The Objective Standard. The articles in this, the sixty-fourth issue of the journal for people of reason, address a rich tapestry of ideas, values, heroes, and villains. Continue »
Cover Article
Philosophy
Reason vs. Mysticism: Truth and Consequences
Reason or mysticism: These are our basic alternatives. One leads to knowledge, production, trade, prosperity, and social harmony. The other leads to ignorance, destruction, plunder, poverty, and unspeakable cruelty.
Features
Arts & Culture, Biographies
Leroy Anderson’s Joyful American Music
Many Leroy Anderson compositions, written more than half a century ago, have become an enduring part of both American concert and popular music. His works are joyful and have a distinctive American flavor.
Arts & Culture, Ayn Rand & Objectivism, Philosophy
Which Ayn Rand Novel to Read First
Where in Rand’s corpus should a curious reader begin? As someone who’s read it all, I would say that, for most people, there’s no better place to start than with one of Rand’s major works of fiction—Atlas Shrugged, The Fountainhead, We the Living, or Anthem—and I suspect Rand would agree.
Politics & Rights
The Case for Vaccine Mandates—Refuted
The COVID vaccines currently available are marvels of human ingenuity. But the decision to get vaccinated or not is one every individual morally must be left free to make for himself.
Arts & Culture, Biographies
Ray Harryhausen: Giving New Life to Old Legends
Ray Harryhausen was a maverick, path-breaking movie maker. He gave new life to old legends, created legends of his own, and inspired the legends of the next generation. It is in large part thanks to him that we have movies such as Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Indiana Jones today.
Ayn Rand & Objectivism, Politics & Rights
Why Universities Should Teach Ayn Rand Alongside Karl Marx
If college professors want to prepare students for the real world, they should continue teaching The Communist Manifesto, but they should teach it alongside Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.
Education & Parenting, Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Why I Left America’s Failing Universities: An Interview with Carrie-Ann Biondi
Carrie-Ann Biondi, a philosophy PhD and Aristotle scholar, taught in universities for twenty-five years, becoming associate professor of philosophy at Marymount Manhattan College and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies. But in mid-2020, she jumped ship. Here, she shares why.
Arts & Culture, Good Living
Eight Poems Celebrating Travelers and Adventurers
Including works by Berton Braley, Edwin Arlington Robinson, Robert Louis Stephenson, John Gillespie Magee, Li Po, Robert Frost, and John Masefield.
Shorts
Education & Parenting, Politics & Rights
Public School Pandemonium Teaches a Valuable Lesson
When parents are free to vote with their feet and their dollars, they will flock to the schools that best satisfy their standards. Schools that don’t will, instead of teaching, be taught a valuable lesson: Satisfy customers or close your doors.
Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Celebrating the Lives and Values of 9/11 Victims
On 9/11, let’s remember not only the death-worshipping nature of the faith-driven creatures who planned and committed these atrocities but, more important, the life-loving nature of the rational people who lost their lives that day.
Philosophy, Politics & Rights
The Spirit of Flight 93
For anyone who values life and liberty, for anyone who prizes courage and clear thinking under extreme pressure, the spirit and actions of Flight 93’s passengers and crew that day are a fount of inspiration. These heroes forever deserve to be honored—and their courage emulated.
Education & Parenting, Politics & Rights
Peter Boghossian Shrugs
Dr. Peter Boghossian, who held up the importance of rationality and independent thinking while abuse was heaped upon him, has shrugged off academia. Fortunately, he hasn’t shrugged off the role of intellectual.
Education & Parenting, Politics & Rights
Shame on MIT for Bowing to a Twitter Mob
Part of the university administration’s job is to determine who speaks on campus. But to deplatform speakers based on unrelated political views is spineless and contrary to the mission of a university: to seek and share knowledge. Universities ought to stand up to the nonsense of Twitter mobs, not bow to it.
Economics, Politics & Rights, Science & Technology
Seven Reasons Why the Aviation Industry Is a Wonderful Thing
The restrictions on travel imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic devastated the aviation industry. Now, environmental crusaders and governments threaten to deal it a mortal blow. Can you imagine what the future will be like if they succeed and we lose the many benefits of aviation?
Arts & Culture, Science & Technology
Robot 'Artists' Muddy the Meaning of Art
Ai-Da is not the kind of tool that aids an artist in selectively re-creating reality. Rather, it’s a tool for randomizing output and removing value-based selectivity—the essence of art—from the process and the outcome.
History, Politics & Rights
Happy Nonindigenous Peoples' Day!
Indigenous Peoples’ Day celebrates the imagined virtue of staying where you are born. Explorers’ Day would celebrate the very real virtues of investigating the world, discovering new places and possibilities, and taking the bold steps necessary to improve human life.
Politics & Rights
Environmentalists Show Their Disregard for Human Life
During October 2021, environmentalist “protesters” affiliated with the “Insulate Britain” movement twice blocked the M25, Britain’s busiest motorway. These show the anti-human morality that underlies the environmentalist movement.
Reviews
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Law of the Land by Elmer Kelton
One reason critics often ignored Elmer Kelton was that his novels celebrate the virtues of integrity, honor, hard work, and bravery, with none of the nihilism or mournfulness that mark other Western authors. “Critics don’t read a Western unless the book is contemptuous of its subject matter,” Kelton once said.
History, Politics & Rights, Reviews
A Profile of Hong Kong by Bruce Herschensohn
Written in the final days of his life, as Herschensohn learned of the arrests of brave friends, A Profile of Hong Kong was left unfinished, and it ends on a tragic note, with a run-on sentence that reads like a wail of grief.
Economics, History, Reviews
The Financial Programs of Alexander Hamilton, by a Farmer’s Daughter by Dianne L. Durante
Despite some of Hamilton’s surprising errors, such as his support for mercantilism, his programs prevented the new republic from floundering, as Dianne Durante has shown. Hamilton is worthy of our admiration, and so is Dr. Durante for having done such a fine job of bringing Hamilton and his policies to life.
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orland
By explaining how one can create good art via hard work and rational processes, “Art & Fear” dispels myths of inborn talent and mystical inspiration, and it encourages artists to cultivate skills, just as in any other profession.
Arts & Culture, Good Living, Reviews
Touching the Art: A Guide to Enjoying Art at a Museum by Luc Travers
In an easy-to-read, seventy-four-page volume, Travers relays his approach to art appreciation: You don’t connect with an artwork by learning which period it’s from or who painted it. Rather, you connect with an artwork by immersing yourself in it and finding personal connections with its characters and themes.
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Free Guy, Written by Matt Lieberman and Zak Penn
The bulk of Free Guy is propelled by a compelling, original story (a rare thing in today’s movie landscape) with well-written, well-acted characters and a powerful theme, as well as a delightful dose of humor.
Arts & Culture, Reviews
Lucifer, Written by Tom Kapinos and Joe Henderson
If you like a romantic story with heartwarming friendships, thought-provoking questions, and a side of dark comedy, check out Lucifer. You might just become possessed by the devil himself.
