 Objectivism, "Contextual Knowledge" and the Correspondence Theory of Truth: Part 2
by William Scott Dwyer
This is the second part of a three-part article. Here, I evaluate Schwartz's view of truth as well as Rand's definition. I find both to be unsatisfactory and at odds with the traditional correspondence theory. (Read more...)
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It Begins with the Poor and Sick
by Tibor R. Machan
The story about the plastic saxophone illustrates very nicely, though, just how readily those in government abandon a commitment to confining their activism to helping those in dire straits. (Read more...)
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 Praise the Rich
by Michael E. Marotta
The rich pay more than their fair share of taxes. When they give to charity, they eclipse government contributions, Yet, we heap abuse on them, easily, and without fear of retribution. The reason why is specifically that they, too, have accepted the morality of altruism. They ought to reject it -- as should every honest person. (Read more...)
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 Objectivity
by Joseph Rowlands
With a name like Objectivism, you knew we had to talk about objectivity eventually. (Read more...)
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 Unanswered Questions about Monopoly Government
by Raymond Raad
This is a challenge to objectivists to examine and support their theory of government. (Read more...)
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Hazards of Ethnicity
by Tibor R. Machan
One favorite way of attempting to understand people is by reference to their ethnicity—"Oh, well, now I understand—she comes from Italy (or India, Kentucky, New York or Rumania, you name the place)." Many books address this issue and one Nobel Laureate in literature, the Indian novelist V. S. Naipaul, is famous for dealing with it in nearly all of his works—see, for example, his recent novel Magic Seeds. Another Nobel Laureate, this time in economics, namely Amartya Sen—also of Indian origins—has also addressed the issue in several works, including his short book, Reason Before Identity. (Read more...)
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Semantic Sneak-Attacks
by Laure Chipman
Objectivists and non-Objectivists sometimes have difficulty communicating because of differences in word usage. Sometimes, the problem is more sinister -- the non-Objectivist is not just misunderstanding us, but is trying to use blurry concepts as a kind of "sneak attack" againt Objectivist principles. In thinking ab... (Read more...)
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Mind and Representation
by Merlin Jetton
Is the mind representational? Yes and no; it depends on what is meant. Some people claim that perception is representational without defining or clarifying what a “representation” is. So that will be my first task. An act of representation requires three components: 1. The referent that is represented. 2.... (Read more...)
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Fighting Both Enemies to an Actual Victory
by Kyrel Zantonavitch
Some radical thoughts on the current war between Israel and Lebanon. (Read more...)
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Emotions
by Joseph Rowlands
It's time to talk about emotions, and how they fit into the Objectivist theory of knowledge. Where do they come from? How reliable are they? What can you do with them? What should you do with them? Are some good and some bad? (Read more...)
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 It Can Be Done
by Marty Lewinter
Some of the most triumphant people have fought a hell of a battle. The title of this poem says a mouthful. (Read more...)
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Another Blunder at "Public" Schools
by Tibor R. Machan
This is another wonderful—or, actually, horrible—case where the true culprit is not being identified in the major media or even by the interested parties. (Read more...)
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Profit is Moral
by G. Stolyarov II
Mr. Stolyarov argues that the profit motive is one of the noblest forces that can impel a man to act. Profits are necessary for an individual to flourish and improve his own life. Mr. Stolyarov further refutes the idea that the pursuit of profit can ever harm other people; he shows how the profit motive always either benefits or at least does not harm others. (Read more...)
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Objectivism, "Contextual Knowledge" and the Correspondence Theory of Truth
by William Scott Dwyer
In a lecture entitled "Contextual Knowledge," available from the Ayn Rand Bookstore, Peter Schwartz argues that the concept of contextual knowledge implies that a conclusion validly derived from false premises is a false conclusion, because the context of the premises conditions the conclusion, so that if the premises are false, the conclusion must, therefore, be false. Since according to Schwartz, false premises can never yield a true conclusion, it follows that non-Objectivist libertarians cannot be regarded as true advocates of liberty. Since their conclusion that liberty is good is based on false premises, it must, therefore be a false conclusion.
Schwartz's view of contextual knowledge or, more accurately, of contextual truth, is untenable and implies a theory of truth that is at odds with the traditional correspondence theory. His view also has subjectivist implications, because it implies that an idea which corresponds to reality can be false for someone who holds it for the wrong reasons but true for someone who holds it for the right reasons. Schwartz also applies his view of contextual truth selectively and inconsistently, crediting Ludwig von Mises for being an advocate of liberty, while denying that title to other libertarians who are non-Objectivist. (Read more...)
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Standards of Evaluation
by Joseph Rowlands
What's the difference between fact and opinion? A standard of evaluation. When someone says "Sports team X scored the most points", it is a fact that everyone can go and verify. When someone says "Sports team X is the best", it is opinion because it's unclear what the standard is. Other people can't verify the results because there is no explicit method by which you came up with the result. (Read more...)
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Aristotle and Aquinas: Intrinsic Morality versus God's Morality
by Melissa S. Atkinson
Throughout history, there have been many different philosophies regarding the way in which one should live his life. Many of these philosophers have agreed that there is a greater being, God, who causes us to want to act virtuously. How one should live this virtuous life is the subject to which many philosophers disp... (Read more...)
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A Letter to the American Association of Blood Banks
by Steven Thomas Druckenmiller
A small attempt, a cry in the dark, to try to have just one mind think about free markets and drop the altruistic attitude. (Read more...)
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True Liberal Democracy
by Tibor R. Machan
When one objects to government’s meddling in people’s lives, often one gets the response that, after all, so long as government’s decisions are reached democratically, there’s nothing wrong with such meddling. This assumes that democracy is a benign way to arrive at policies that go contrary to what individuals want, even violate their unalienable rights. Why would such an assumption be accepted with little resistance. (Read more...)
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A Cool Capitalist: The Centenary of the Air Conditioner
by Ed Hudgins
If you're sitting inside your house, office or car in cool comfort as the summer weather scorches all outside, give thanks to Willis Carrier, the American capitalist who, a century ago, invented and commercialized the air conditioner! (Read more...)
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Integration
by Joseph Rowlands
Integration is the method by which you take new ideas or facts and fit them in with the rest of your knowledge. It means more than just accepting something as true. You actually have to tie it in with the rest of your knowledge. The more you do so, the better integrated it is. (Read more...)
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Turgot on Progress and Political Economy
by Edward W. Younkins
Anne-Robert-Jacques Turgot (1727-1781) was a major political and intellectual figure in pre- revolutionary France. He was a man of wide-ranging intellectual interests and is considered to be a symbol or exemplar of the Enlightenment. A.R.J. Turgot was a well-respected social philosopher and political economist despite... (Read more...)
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 Honesty versus Brutal Frankness
by G. Stolyarov II
A popular misconception of honesty equates the virtue with always “telling it like it is” and not holding back any of one’s thoughts about a person, idea, or situation—no matter what the consequences of those thoughts. This view and its real-world applications are antithetical to genuine honesty. Mr. Stolyarov describes genuine honesty as being true to oneself above all and always striving to act on one’s best understanding of reality and one’s genuine self-interest. (Read more...)
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Our Government thinks EA Games is a terrorist organization
by John Armaos
[Editor's Note: This is more properly a news item than an article, but I'm sending it through anyways as it's interesting.]
... (Read more...)
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Karl Marx versus Adam Smith
by Lauren M. Twigg
Karl Marx is one of the most controversial figures of the twentieth century, though he lived in the 19th, his legacy has lived on as one of controversy.. As one of the original minds behind communism and a fundamental revolutionary, he is renowned as a radical and somewhat dangerous political philosopher. Adam Smith is... (Read more...)
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Induction and Deduction
by Joseph Rowlands
Induction is a process of taking specific data and generalizing it. It something we do all the time, and you use the product of it constantly. For instance, if you see that the first car you drive has turn signals, and you see another car, and it has turn signals, you can extrapolate and guess that all of them do. If you see the sun rises in the morning, and falls in the evening, you guess that it will continue to do that. You may later supplement this knowledge with a reason behind it, but you start of seeing the results and you generalize the event. (Read more...)
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