Philosophy
Ayn Rand & Objectivism, Philosophy, Politics & Rights
Force versus Egoism and Happiness: Response to Will Wilkinson on Ayn Rand
Wendell Hoenir January 25, 2010
Commenting on the recent revival of interest in Ayn Rand, libertarian blogger Will Wilkinson recently asserted that while "Rand's emphasis on the role of individual rights in generating creativity and entrepreneurial effort remains enlightening," her moral justification for individual rights fails. Wilkinson, himself a former Ayn Rand enthusiast who became…
History, Philosophy, Science & Technology
The Missile Gap and the Morality Gap
Wendell Hoenir January 21, 2010
In my post about the contradiction between the technological sophistication of the Burj Dubai and the primitive superstition on display in the mosque at its pinnacle, I argued that this disparity is another example of the general disparity in progress between science and morality. But what accounts for this gap?…
Announcements, Ayn Rand & Objectivism, Philosophy, Politics & Rights
The Source and Nature of Rights, Part IV
TOS Admin January 21, 2010
Part four of Craig Biddle’s six-hour seminar The Source and Nature of Rights has been posted to UFM’s website and is accessible for free. In this section, Mr. Biddle concludes his discussion of Ayn Rand’s ethics and theory of rights.
Philosophy, Science & Technology
The Towering Contradiction
Wendell Hoenir January 18, 2010
[caption id="attachment_33190" align="alignright" width="300"] Image: Petter Palander[/caption] The beginning of the new year and decade bore witness to the opening of the world's newest tallest building: the Burj Dubai in the UAE. Like many other commentators, Landon Thomas of the New York Times noted the dire economic situation Dubai faces…
Announcements, Ayn Rand & Objectivism, Philosophy, Politics & Rights
The Source and Nature of Rights, Part III
TOS Admin January 15, 2010
Part three of Craig Biddle’s six-hour seminar The Source and Nature of Rights has been posted to UFM’s website and is accessible for free. In this section, Mr. Biddle continues his discussion of Ayn Rand’s ethics and theory of rights.
Philosophy, Reviews
Review: Islamic Imperialism: A History, by Efraim Karsh
Andrew Lewis November 20, 2009
Andrew Lewis reviews Islamic Imperialism: A History, by Efraim Karsh.
Philosophy
Objective Moral Values: Basic Human Needs
Craig Biddle November 20, 2009
Zeros in on the nature of objective, life-serving values; demonstrates that man’s most fundamental value is his faculty of reason; and shows that both physical survival and spiritual health require keeping one’s thinking tied to reality (via reason) so that one’s ideas, values, actions, and emotions correspond to reality, too.
Philosophy
Letters and Replies, Winter 2009–2010
Craig Biddle answers a letter regarding “the status of the choice to live.”
History, Philosophy, Politics & Rights
The Berlin Wall and the Meaning of its Fall
Craig Biddle November 10, 2009
Here’s a superb 2-part discussion by Yaron Brook and Onkar Ghate about the history of the Berlin Wall and the significance of its fall. http://www.youtube.com/v/Q1bQg3kk0Yg http://www.youtube.com/v/DofVfn7Dg7U
Philosophy, Politics & Rights, Science & Technology
Praying Won't Make It So
Stella Daily Zawistowski November 5, 2009
I'm a second-year student in the Objectivist Academic Center, and the class is currently working through the difference between the metaphysically given (such as the law of gravity) and the man-made (such as traffic laws). The man-made is the result of choice, and as such is subject to praise or…