 Selfish Altruism
by Joseph Rowlands
There is an inconsistency among people who support altruism. They can't quite decide whether altruism should be practiced because it benefits them or in spite of the fact that it benefits them. (Read more...)
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More Environmentalist Confusions
by Tibor R. Machan
The New York Observer reported in its April 15, 2013, issue (B 1) that Leonardo DiCaprio is teaming up with Christie’s in New York City, to hold a “major philanthropic auction.” I am not interested in the details, which appear to me a kind of kiss up to fellow celebrities on the political/cultural Left. But the following statement from the actor is quite instructive: (Read more...)
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Economic Power and Intervention
by Joseph Rowlands
A common view of economic relationships is that a person isn't really free if they have no real choice in a decision. When the stakes are high and the options are limited, a person will have to take the most attractive option. He has no choice. And if he has no choice, it really isn't freedom. Even though no coerci... (Read more...)
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Variants of Consequentialism
by Joseph Rowlands
Consequentialism describes moral systems that focus judgment on the consequences of actions. (Read more...)
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Capitalism Is Moral
by Barry A. Liebling
Steven Pearlstein, a Washington Post columnist, recently published "Is Capitalism Moral?" where he answers, "not so much." His argument depends upon altruist-collectivist assumptions. An understanding of rational egoism reveals that Mr Pearlstein is mistaken, and capitalism is the only moral system. (Read more...)
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Different Views of Integrity
by Joseph Rowlands
A person shows integrity when they stick with their judgment even under pressure. As a virtue, this is a useful and admirable quality. It's useful because it's not enough to be rational, to be thoroughly honest, to weigh your choices careful and to determine your best course of action. None of that matters if you do... (Read more...)
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Objectivism as a Strong Undercurrent
by Michael E. Marotta
According to the Ayn Rand Institute April 7, 2008, total sales of Ayn Rand’s works was “over 25 million.” I believe that actual sales are much greater. Message boards for Objectivists and fans of Ayn Rand often carry debates, recommendations, and condemnations about new works such as Lord of the Rings and The Watchmen. That, too, suggests more missing numbers. (Read more...)
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Disconfirming Evidence
by Joseph Rowlands
Years ago in school I learned about an important method in science. Since then, I've mentioned it to a few people and they told me that they were never actually taught it in school. The lesson went something like this: A guy is given a set of numbers. The numbers given are 4, 6, 8, 12, and 14. He is told that... (Read more...)
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A Prècis on Libertarianism and Capitalism
by Tibor R. Machan
What is primarily prohibited in a libertarian society is involuntary servitude. (Read more...)
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Towards a Moral Science
by Joseph Rowlands
Philosophy, properly understood, does not lend itself to the methods of science. It deals with fundamental assumptions and understandings about the world. It provides a mental framework for understanding and evaluating. Philosophical premises are not as easily refuted as a scientific theory. Science can make predic... (Read more...)
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Theism, Atheism, and Communication -- From the perspective of an "atheist."
by Ed Thompson
Some analysis of my attempt to communicate a personal position to someone who displayed curiosity about it. Possible lessons here. (Read more...)
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Sad State of the Union
by Tibor R. Machan
President Obama delivered a state of the union address that made no secret of his essentially statist political-economic philosophy. Apart from the details, the major message was that Americans must become part of a herd whether they actually want to involuntarily serving the country. Even the conservative commentator, Charles Krauthammer, characterized Mr. Obama's viewpoint without reference to its coercive nature. That is how ingrained statism is in America now. (Read more...)
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Qualitative Predictions
by Joseph Rowlands
All too often people think about predictions as being quantitative. A physics problem might ask you to predict how far a bullet will fly given an initial velocity and position. Economic forecasters will try to predict the change in inflation, or unemployment, or the trade surplus. Engineers will make predictions abo... (Read more...)
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Reflections on Victor Hugo's Les Miserables
by Edward W. Younkins
This essay is not a review of Tom Hooper’s recently released film of the tremendously popular 1980s stage musical. However, the release of this film has given me the occasion to read and to reflect upon the original text of Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic, Les Misérables, a mosaic of social indictment, history, social philo... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
February 20, 2013 |
The Republicans’ Achilles Heel
by Tibor R. Machan
In a recent Wall Street Journal essay, “Generational Theft Needs to be Arrested,” three men advanced some suggestions to Republicans. Their main focus was the need for Republicans to address what they, following others who have chimed in on the topic, have criticized as current members of the public robbing future members of their resources by means of various welfare statist policies, specifically accumulating massive debts that those in the future have no opportunity to vote on, to argue against, and to oppose. (Read more...)
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Saturday
February 16, 2013 |
The Boundary of Philosophy and Science
by Joseph Rowlands
The history of science begins with a new way of thinking about knowledge. Before the development of science, it was viewed as appropriate for philosophers to make statements about the nature of the world. They might speculate that everything is made of fire, earth, water and air. They might claim that heavier object... (Read more...)
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False Freedom
by Joseph Rowlands
One common criticism of free markets is that they aren't really free. When an employer and an employee negotiate terms, the employer has an unfair advantage. The employee needs a job in order to make a living. It is said that his choice isn't really free because he really don't have much of a choice at all. He has ... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
January 30, 2013 |
"It is STILL a sin to write this..."
by Joseph C. Maurone
Reaction to the recent graphic novel of Ayn Rand's Anthem reminds us that “it is still a sin to write this.” (Read more...)
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Secular Altruism
by Joseph Rowlands
Atheists are often on the defensive when it comes to morality. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
January 23, 2013 |
In Honor of Jack Keworkian
by Tibor R. Machan
No sophistry can obscure the fact that by the lights of the American founders everyone has a natural right to his or her life. This means that what one does about one’s life--cultivate it, wastes it, sacrifices it for a cause, develops it, etc.--must be one’s own choice. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
January 23, 2013 |
MLK’s Public Philosophy of Freedom
by Tibor R. Machan
As I flew home across the country from NYC on January 16th, the holiday this year in honor of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I had the opportunity to watch several programs on television devoted to his legacy. I was especially struck by the fact that commentators -- for example Amy Goodman, the host and executive producer of Democracy Now!," a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program" -- keep imputing to him a welfare statism that seems not to have been part of his thinking. (I have no idea what Democracy Now! is independent of since all the programs on it evidence a distinct perspective, no less so than those on Fox TV.) (Read more...)
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Wednesday
January 23, 2013 |
Obama’s Immigration Machinations
by Tibor R. Machan
Not for a moment do I buy that President Obama has suddenly grasped the plight of illegal immigrant children. For one, he is on record declaring that the law ties his hands about the matter--that he cannot act unilaterally, or so he said in a widely available video from just a year or so ago. (Read more...)
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Induction and Identity
by Joseph Rowlands
One of the famous problems of induction is how to go from some number of specific occurrences to a generalization. The classic example is someone seeing white swans and concluding that all swans are white. When the first black swan is discovered, it proves the original generalization false. It also raises the questi... (Read more...)
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Wednesday
January 16, 2013 |
My Recent Kafkaesque Experience
by Tibor R. Machan
It may not be the kind of experience many others have had other than at the Department of Motor Vehicles but I recently went through one that brought to mind Franz Kafka. (Read more...)
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On Kant's Ethical Theory
by Merlin Jetton
The purpose of this essay is to give a brief overview of Kant's ethics, including some comparisons to Ayn Rand's ethical theory and references she made to Kant. (Read more...)
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