 America's Lawless Executive Branch
by Andre Zantonavitch
Spying on American bank transactions -- some thoughts. (Read more...)
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 The Abdication of Volition
by Michael F Dickey
On the Autodidactic list I am a member of I came across this article:
... (Read more...)
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Aquinas and Locke on Politics
by Sara A. Gasser
Among the great political philosophers of Medieval and Modern times are Thomas Aquinas and John Locke. They set the stage for many Contemporary thinkers of the day. Their teachings can be similar but also vary from point to point. Among there great works are their thoughts on the civil society. Each places emphasis... (Read more...)
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 Sense Perception
by Joseph Rowlands
The reason we start with perception is that it's the source of all of our knowledge about reality. It is our link to the real world. It's what keeps us honest. And because of that, it's also been attacked viciously by the opponents of reason. If you can invalidate the senses, you throw everyone into an imaginary world where anyone's thoughts or ideas are just as good as anyone else's. (Read more...)
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Ideas Require Application
by G. Stolyarov II
Mr. Stolyarov refutes the prevalent mindset among intellectuals that truth must be pursued solely for its own sake. Rather, he contends that the purpose of truth is to enable the individual to survive and flourish. Mr. Stolyarov presents a theory of the three vital components of truth and an imperative for intellectuals to turn their minds outward toward benefiting themselves by means of the external reality. (Read more...)
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 The Moon Lake Romance
by Lorie Sjogren
She tonight in full bonnet blue,
... (Read more...)
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Hail to the Fourth
by Tibor R. Machan
One reason I consider the Declaration of Independence such a marvelous document is that it states better than anything else the fundamental principles of a free society. (Read more...)
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The Themes of Epistemology
by Joseph Rowlands
I call this thread The Themes of Epistemology because there are some broad patterns to Epistemology you need to be aware of before going into more detailed analaysis. You need to understand what are the goals of Epistemology, and the kinds of topics it covers. (Read more...)
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 Kids and the "Pre-moral" Choice to Live
by Ed Thompson
In a quip, Ronald Reagan once said that he noticed that everyone who was for abortion rights had already been born, and while his line of reasoning was illegitimate -- I thought to apply it to the "pre-moral choice to live" debate. Apparently, everyone arguing about the "pre-moral" choice to live has already "chosen" to live. Is this inconsequential? Heck, apparently, everyone currently existing -- has "chosen" to live! More to the point, everyone ever known -- has "chosen" to live! (Read more...)
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James M. Buchanan: Constitutional and Post-Constitutional Political Economy
by Edward W. Younkins
In 1986, James M. Buchanan was awarded the Nobel Prize for economics for his efforts to study the public sector within the same microeconomic analytical framework that is used to study private economy. Buchanan applies economics to understanding how individuals interact in the public square to formulate collective deci... (Read more...)
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Another Assault on Liberty
by Tibor R. Machan
Back when Robert Nozick wrote his path breaking libertarian academic treatise, Anarchy, State, and Utopia (Basic Books, 1974), the philosopher Thomas Nagel wrote a review essays highly critical of Nozick’s work. In an essay, "Libertarianism Without Foundations," Nagel had a lot to say about how Nozick allegedly failed to provide adequate support for his libertarian position. But one point Nagel made quite apart from whether Nozick’s position had adequate foundations stood out for me. Here is the passage that stuck in my mind: (Read more...)
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Capitalism
by Jack Woodward
All my life, I have heard it said that capitalism is a system which rewards greed and exploitation. This is to misunderstand the nature of the system. Capitalism rewards men's hard work and uninhibited ability to produce. The fact that it is more open to greed and exploitation is indicative of it's optimistic disp... (Read more...)
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The Themes of Epistemology
by Joseph Rowlands
I call this thread The Themes of Epistemology because there are some broad patterns to Epistemology you need to be aware of before going into more detailed analaysis. You need to understand what are the goals of Epistemology, and the kinds of topics it covers. (Read more...)
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Yet Another Muslim Atrocity
by Andre Zantonavitch
What a way to go. Thoughts on the almost hopeless situation in Iraq. (Read more...)
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Trade is Mutually Beneficial
by G. Stolyarov II
Mr. Stolyarov discusses the benefits conferred by trade to all parties involved. Trade is superior to the alternative systems of coercion and sacrifice in that—under trade—everybody wins and nobody loses. Trade is fundamental to the capitalist system and encourages productivity, prudence, and virtue. Furthermore, trade in itself is productive. (Read more...)
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You are a Troublemaker
by JJ Tuan
There is a common but disturbing mentality which equivocates between a troublemaker and someone who points out existing trouble. The former is he who caused the trouble to begin with, whereas the latter is simply a messenger of the bad news. The confusion of the two is usually introduced by the troublemaker in an eff... (Read more...)
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How to Go Green
by Tibor R. Machan
Some influential, even powerful, public policy pundits, like former VP Al Gore and columnist Thomas L. Friedman (of The World is Flat fame), have gone on a crusade to champion what they vaguely call "green." Among the measures they promote is high taxes on gasoline, so as to wean drivers from fossil fuel and encourage some alternatives like solar energy and wind. (Read more...)
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Adam Smith and Carl Menger: Value Additives with a Hint of Objectivity
by Scott W. Hitchens
Economics has been concerned throughout most of its history with the determination of the motivation of mankind. Economists argue that man is motivated by the promise of an incentive. Key to this incentive is the valuation of the gain that is expected. In order to properly explain how man values items, and thus expl... (Read more...)
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Structure of Philosophy
by Joseph Rowlands
The second in a series of lectures from the Objectivism 101 site. (Read more...)
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Bill Gates, Please Shut up Already
by Tibor R. Machan
No doubt he is a genius when it comes to software and innumerable gadgets and such; I am really pleased he got into computers big time. I certainly got a lot from that in my own line of work.
But Bill Gates really needs to shut about some other things he is confused about. Like his claim the other day, when he announced his impending retirement and turn to full time philanthropy, that he "needs to give back to the community." Why? Did he steal something from people? Did they lend him something he needs to return? What on earth was he talking about?
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Scope of Volition
by Merlin Jetton
This article is about different aspects of volition. (Read more...)
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Communism and Moral Ambiguity
by Michael F Dickey
It’s always good to be vigilantly skeptical of any kind of dichotomous us vs. them thinking. The vast majority of it is baseless and arbitrary. But just because right and wrong / good and evil / and us vs. them has been hijacked by every ethnicity, nationality, special interest group, and collectivist ideal, does not mean that the concepts of right and wrong and us vs. them are invalid. There are certain fundamentals of human standards by which every culture and individual action must be judged against, and that is the respect of life and individuality. Non judgment is the height of moral relativism and means anything goes, whether it is simply a disingenuous white lie or an attempted genocide (Read more...)
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MSNBC’s Propaganda News
by Tibor R. Machan
Here is what the "news" story on MSNBC’s Web site said on Monday morning, June 12th: (Read more...)
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Objectivism 101: What is philosophy?
by Joseph Rowlands
The first in a series of lectures from the Objectivism 101 site. (Read more...)
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Altruism's Bad Influence
by Tibor R. Machan
Putting it plainly, altruism is very popular, at least as far as what people verbally champion. It’s not so popular in action because, well, it is impossible to practice consistently. As the poet W. H. Auden put it, "We are here on earth to do good for others. What the others are here for, I don't know." (Read more...)
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