Thursday
September 5, 2002 |
  Why SOLO?
by Lindsay Perigo
Linday Perigo's description of SOLO, given at the inaugural SOLO conference in NZ. (Read more...)
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Wednesday
September 4, 2002 |
 We Happy Few
by Sam Pierson
Look, it's war. It's not nice. It has to be done properly. Complete what you start. No half measures. (Read more...)
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 Objectivism as an Intuitive System
by Francois Tremblay
Objectivism is often seen, even by intellectually inclined individuals, as a philosophy that is intellectually backwards or counter-intuitive. I always find such judgments bizarre. (Read more...)
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Theft At the Speed of Light!
by Barry Kayton
We're living in a fantastic age of invention. Gadgets that were the stuff of science fiction only two decades ago -- such as cell phones and handheld computers -- are now commonplace. These technologies, like all those that preceded them, bring fantastic benefits that tend to change not only our behaviour but the structure of economic relationships within and between countries. However, the arrival of digital media poses unprecedented challenges. (Read more...)
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 Philosophy Lessons -- Courtesy of Opie and Anthony
by Arthur Silber
While it is certainly true that ideas underlie all events, sometimes philosophical instruction comes to us from unexpected directions. Consider the recent case of two radio "shock" jocks, Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia. The New York-based radio hosts, whose show was nationally syndicated and carried in 17 additional markets, had their show canceled by station WNEW-FM on August 22, 2002. An uproar had ensued when Opie and Anthony, as part of a "stunt" on their show, had offered their listeners a live broadcast of a man and a woman apparently having sex in St. Patrick's Cathedral. (Read more...)
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Theft? You be the Judge.
by Malcolm MacKenzie
In 1966 I was posted to Sharjah in the Trucial States of Oman. I was in the Royal Air Force at the time and this was where 'someone in authority' had decided to send me. I was posted to a vast expanse of sand in the middle of nowhere. I didn't deserve it! (Read more...)
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 Management of, by, and for the Numbers
by Kernon Gibes
It's been a long and frustrating day. The plant is waiting on your analysis to troubleshoot a manufacturing problem. The delay will impact product supply, but you're having problems with your computer. The software keeps crashing. You call, Hal, the only computer person assigned to your site. But he can't help you unless he has an authorization number. (Read more...)
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 What is Happiness?
by Joseph Rowlands
The quest for happiness can take a number of detours. Part of the problem is a lack of clarity in what exactly is the goal. (Read more...)
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Altruist Guilt
by Francois Tremblay
Altruism is considered a noble, humane alternative to egoism, which is perceived as a necessary evil at best. Yet Objectivists propose the exact contrary: that egoism is the only life-affirming ethical viewpoint, and that altruism is an unnecessary evil, a mindset held by people who are too ignorant to know better. (Read more...)
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The Revolution Begins at Home
by Andrew Bates
Self-improvement by teaching good ideas. (Read more...)
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Weaving the World's Dreams
by Matthew Graybosch
The world needs a hero. Not a hero to save the world from itself, but one who can inspire man to rise up, take responsibility for his fate, and create his own salvation. (Read more...)
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 Is Humanity Progressing?
by Francois Tremblay
As time goes by, is society getting better or worse? Are we gaining or losing freedom? Are we progressing? Is the environment cleaner or more polluted? (Read more...)
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Irresponsible Bar-Stewards!
by Malcolm MacKenzie
Earlier this evening I watched the news on TV, the first 35 minutes on TV3 then switched to TV1. I normally only watch the first ten to fifteen minutes of news then, who cares, there's nothing of any interest after that. (Read more...)
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The Turd Way
by Marcus Bachler
About a year and a half ago I noticed a book prominently displayed in a bookshop in Oxford, UK. It was called "The Third Way" by Anthony Giddens. (Read more...)
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A Friend... To Values
by Arthur Silber
Certain stories, almost mythic in nature, connect to our deepest values. For this reason, our response to them reveals our sense of life in a manner that most other events do not. I know that many people who identify themselves as Objectivists, to one degree or another, may not understand why I view the following story -- a true one -- as inspiring, and profoundly moving. (Read more...)
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The Only Possible Premise
by Kernon Gibes
Ayn Rand admonished people to check their premises. And it has been said that she would have a visceral reaction to a statement because she could uncoil the chain of logic suspending the conclusion, finding the loose link in a lightening fast fashion. (Read more...)
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Transparency In Government
by Jeff Landauer
After recent business scandals in the US, critics have called for more transparency in business. With better transparency, we can hold people accountable for their misdeeds and better direct our investment dollars. Meanwhile, civil libertarians are complaining about President Bush's nontransparent military tribunals for our enemies in the War Against Terror. (Read more...)
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The Good Old Past, Present and Future
by Elizabeth Kanabe
At a recent meeting that I was sent to for my job, we got to talk with the others at our table during breaks. At lunchtime, an all too familiar conversation started up about the new versus the old days. What used to be "we didn’t have T.V. back then" and "I used to walk three miles to school, each way, uphill…" now became "we didn’t need the yearly trips to exotic islands" and "we didn’t need three cars per household" back then. "Children were content back then playing baseball around the corner and going camping for vacation without the Internet and video games." (Read more...)
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Rockets Red Tape
by Kernon Gibes
It's a magnificent sight. For some, nothing else comes close. Even the most ardent anti-government program free market radical often has a soft spot for it. Ayn Rand did. What is it? (Read more...)
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Triptych on September 11th
by Jane Yoder
The starkest of contrasts, black and white, distinguishes Ansel Adams' art and color codes the natural by technologic device. So too did Miles Ertman color morality in his New York skyline panorama while the World Trade Center still stood tall and proud. I have coupled Adams September photo of Colorado aspens straight but fragile with the Erman poster entitled Morality Made Visible on a simple, white, student display board. (Read more...)
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PI Editorial: Live, Damn You!
by Lindsay Perigo
"The purpose of morality," said Ayn Rand, "is to teach you, not to suffer & die, but to enjoy yourself & live."
Conventional morality enjoins a hideous third alternative: suffer & live. (Read more...)
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Regulating Humanism
by Elizabeth Kanabe
Do you want to add a bed on the third floor? You must ask for permission from the state in what can be a several-hundred page application process. Seem a little extreme? It is how the hospital industry operates. Health care is extremely regulated, especially in New Jersey where I work. A hospital must ask for permission for every bed that it wants to add or take out of service. (Read more...)
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 "The Don" is gone
by Robert Winefield
More than just a batsman, he was something like a tide
More than just one man, he was the whole damn side
They always came for Bradman because fortune used to hide
In the palm of his hand
Paul Kelly (Read more...)
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Of Heretics and Pagans
by Kernon Gibes
It's a curious thing. You might think that if you were, say, running a discussion group or choosing places to speak at, that you'd be more interested in people at least somewhat sympathetic to your positions than those diametrically opposed. For example, if you were going to have people "sign" a loyalty oath, would you -- as an avowed Objectivist -- be more concerned about closet communists or lurking libertarians? Is it naïve to think it would be the former? (Read more...)
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Identifying Values
by Joseph Rowlands
Often in life, we fail to recognize the values we do have until attention is drawn to them. (Read more...)
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