 Introverts, Extroverts, and Howard Roark
by Joseph Rowlands
[Editor's note, in his capacity as Founder & Principal - one of the chief values of SOLO was always going to be, & has been, its smashing of false dichotomies over & above those identified by Ayn Rand. I believe I have identified a couple of these myself, but I confess the extrovert-introvert one, so comprehensively busted in this article, is one that never occurred to me. Joe, I'm proud of you! Again! - Linz]
The introvert and extrovert concepts are supposed to deal with motivations and character traits. That's why shy people are considered to be introverts, while the party animals are considered extroverts. But there's one person who screws up this whole view of introvert vs. extrovert. His name is Howard Roark. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (69 messages)
 Are You Saying That You Don't Love Me?
by Joseph Rowlands
Love is something seen as getting in the way of one's self-interest, instead of as an embodiment of that self-interest. It's seen as an end in itself, with no apparent cause, and certainly not one that's tied to the achievement of value. This is what makes it possible for people to be reassured when someone makes a huge sacrifice on their behalf. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (23 messages)
 Sacred Sex, Animalistic Sex, and Other Seductive Theories
by Joseph Rowlands
The opposite of a bad idea is not always a good idea, and there's no substitute for thinking. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (8 messages)
 The Thousand Faces of Altruism
by Joseph Rowlands
Altruism doesn't have a goal. There is no good reason behind this "other people" principle. Any particular variety of altruism is as good as any other. They're all equally pointless. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (71 messages)
Philosophy Gone Wrong
by Joseph Rowlands
Having a conversation with someone I know, the discussion went to philosophy as it often does. We quickly came to disagreements because we had very different views on what the purpose of philosophy is. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (20 messages)
The Idealism-Pragmatism Dichotomy
by Joseph Rowlands
By rejecting the crazy notion of living by 'principles' that just get in the way of living, pragmatism jumps down the opposite sewer. It says that principles are impractical, and you should just do what's practical. How do you know what's practical? Just do it, and see if it works! (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (5 messages)
Creating Political Pressure Groups
by Joseph Rowlands
When you make your choice on which candidate will do the most damage, keep in mind the wider context provided by this principle. A bad law that’s temporary is one thing. A bad law that’s permanent is quite another. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (10 messages)
 SOLO: Past, Present and Future
by Joseph Rowlands
I just got back from a few weeks visiting Mr. Perigo in NZ. Aside from relaxation, good food, and good company, we spent a bit of time discussing SOLO. Periodically we try to go through what we've accomplished, and what we should be doing in the foreseeable future. We went through our old lists, and created some new lists in the process. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (36 messages)
Barriers to Tyranny
by Joseph Rowlands
Government has slowly crept towards tyranny. More and more of the government functions go beyond the enumerated powers, and encroach on our lives. They tell us how to have sex. They tell us how much water we can flush a toilet with. They make us pay for things that we don’t want. But the government has not grown unchecked. There are at least a few areas where the government hasn’t been able to completely take over. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (24 messages)
Rallying to the Underdog
by Joseph Rowlands
By treating the weakest or least able as the highest moral end to which you can put your resources, you learn to favor the weak over the strong. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (10 messages)
Two Sides of Libertarianism
by Joseph Rowlands
The distinguishing feature of libertarianism is not just that you can't be the first to use force, but that if you do, force will be used against you in return. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (5 messages)
An Objectivist World
by Joseph Rowlands
What kind of world are you fighting for? (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (69 messages)
 Contentment: The Enemy
by Joseph Rowlands
Ask yourself a question. What is it you live for? What gets you out of bed in the morning? What is it that you look forward to? What excites your soul and makes you feel "This is living!"? (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (15 messages)
Intellectual Property: Have Your Cake Or Eat It
by Joseph Rowlands
There are plenty of interesting arguments on both sides of the intellectual property debate, and this article isn't written to end it. Instead, I want to up the stakes of the debate. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (78 messages)
White-Collar Crime
by Joseph Rowlands
Those who attack property rights are opening the door for thievery by obscuring its identity. Only a philosophy consistent with property rights can argue effectively against white-collar crime, since the right to property is the only defense against theft. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (9 messages)
 Fraud
by Joseph Rowlands
Fraud does not involve putting a gun to someone's head and demanding money. It's a soft, quiet form of theft. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (1 message)
Complicated Concepts
by Joseph Rowlands
What concepts should be formed in the first place? There are an infinite number of potential concepts we could choose to create and retain, so we have to have a way of selecting. What kind of criteria do we use? How do we filter out bad candidates? Or do we need to at all? (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (2 messages)
Honesty and the Arbitrary
by Joseph Rowlands
The more lies you try to maintain, the bigger the mental burden is. You'd eventually get crushed by the weight of the lies. It's not surprising that when the truth comes out, often the liar is relieved. He no longer has to live in a state of constant anxiety, spending every ounce of energy he's got on keeping his lies straight. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (65 messages)
Marriage
by Joseph Rowlands
If you see divorce as the cure to a bad marriage, the divorce rate can only be seen in a positive light. It's the divorce that's setting people free, and allowing them to refocus their energies on living their own lives and acquiring their own happiness. Sure, it's pathetic that so many marriages end in divorce, but it's not the divorces that are the problem. It's the marriages! (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (89 messages)
Value Judgments vs. Emotions
by Joseph Rowlands
Objectivist epistemology rejects emotions as a form of cognition. In other words, you may feel something, but that doesn’t provide you with any knowledge except that you feel it. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (0 messages)
 Customize your Rebirth of Reason experience
by Joseph Rowlands
Information on how you can improve your Rebirth of Reason experience. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (7 messages)
Preposterous Ideas
by Joseph Rowlands
"That's so unbelievable, it must be the truth!" You've probably heard that line before. Probably on television. (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (5 messages)
Magical Words
by Joseph Rowlands
The purpose of philosophy determines the means by which it should be expressed. If you think philosophy is to win arguments and crush your opponent, then emotionally-driven statements and a barrage of arguments are the standard formula. If you believe that philosophy is just a kind of mental game you play to show off... (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (11 messages)
Human Needs
by Joseph Rowlands
If you ask people what they need to live, they might say something like "Well, we only need food and water". (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (4 messages)
Socializing and Privatizing
by Joseph Rowlands
I went to a lecture the other day and one of the speakers called himself an "egalitarian libertarian." That's a very interesting mix, so he described what it means. He's an egalitarian, so he believes that too much inequality is bad, and he generally supports a "safety net." Which means he accepts the principle of the ... (Read more...)
Discuss this Article (16 messages)
|
