Dr. Peikoff on Objectivism Versus Applications Thereof

On Monday, Dr. Peikoff released a podcast with the following question:

Do you distinguish official Objectivist doctrine from Ayn Rand's personal views?

His answer was excellent: it's a brief but clear explanation of the meaning and implications of the "closed system" view of Objectivism. That's what I advocate, what I practice, and what I defended in my recent blog post. If you're interested in these matters, I recommend listening to his answer. (It's only 2 minutes, 31 seconds long.)

Here's the transcription, courtesy of D Jason Fleming:

Philosophy is broad principles, about the nature of the universe, the means of knowledge, the nature of man, and then the value doctrines that all that leads to. All this is interconnected. In a proper philosophy, it's one system, as in Objectivism.

Now that does not mean that every specific application of that philosophy is inherent in the philosophy. A philosopher can hold views that do not necessarily follow from the philosophy, but are its application to a realm where facts are established by science, or observation, or some other appropriate means.

Philosophy is wide abstractions. That does not entail specific choices or specific interpretations of how they apply to concretes. For instance, take my theory of history presented in the DIM book. I make a definite distinction between official Objectivst doctrine and Peikoff's theory of history. Now, I believe that my theory is based on Objectivism, but it does not follow from Objectivism, it is not therefore Objectivism as such. It is my application and each person has to decide is this the correct application or not? It is not subjective, but it's still not a question of what is the philosophy, but what is its applications? And in that regard, Ayn Rand and I and others can disagree without anybody contradicting the philosophy.

Remember also that there are personal options in applying broad philosophic principles. You can say that, for instance, "sex is good" is a philosophic principle, but that does not necessitate any special particular position or clothing, et cetera. It does specify that the general principles of morality apply, such as fraud, force, evasion, et cetera. But as apart from that, there are many different interpretations and complete options which would be personal, not official.

So: yes, but without that implying a contradiction or a subjective viewpoint.

Hear, hear!

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On Some Recent Controversies

Yesterday on Facebook, I was alerted to a new web site attacking me: CheckingPremises.org. The web site claims to be "in response to the danger that some, who may seem in agreement with the philosophy, are in fact subverting it." It has pages on "The Brandens," "David Kelley," and "Libertarianism," with a few perfunctory links. Then, under "Current Controversies," you'll find six pages on me, albeit with little of substance. The site claims:

We believe [Diana Hsieh] has revealed herself to not understand and/or to not agree with certain aspects of Objectivism. In addition, we have serious concerns about the nature, frequency, and tone of her public disagreements with Dr. Leonard Peikoff.

The purpose of the web site is clearly to attack me, and I was expecting that something like that might happen. As many of you know, a handful of people have been loudly condemning me on Facebook in recent weeks, demanding that our mutual friends un-friend me, and so on.

The site is not something that I can take too seriously. A handful of people -- none of whom I know, except to barely recognize a few names -- think poorly of me. Mostly, I regard the site as an embarrassment to Objectivism: it deserves to disappear into the ether.

For obvious reasons, the creators and supporters of this web site are not welcome in my life, including online. They are not entitled to post belligerent comments on my Facebook wall or in these NoodleFood comments, as happens periodically. They should have had the good sense to unsubscribe themselves from my OLists, rather than obliging me to remove them. Most of all, they're not entitled to violate my rights, such as by reposting video segments from my webcast without my permission. (Happily, I was able to remove such a video with a DMCA takedown request.)

Here, I'd like to explain my views on some of the controversial topics, so that anyone confused by this brouhaha can know where I stand and judge me accordingly. If you have any further questions, please e-mail me privately.

For me, discussion between thoughtful and friendly Objectivists -- not just on the proper application of our common philosophic principles, but on a wide range of practical topics -- is a huge value. In such discussions, reasonable people will disagree from time to time, particularly on complex topics. Such disagreements can provide an excellent opportunity to question assumptions, consider new facts, understand opposing views, and more. That's a value to me -- and to many others too.

Such friendly discussion doesn't happen automatically: it requires purposeful effort. The people involved in the discussion need to focus on the substantive issues. They need to strive to be rational and benevolent, including in their assumptions about and treatment of others. They need to give others the necessary time to think through the issues on their own. They need to consider the judgments of experts carefully, yet come to their own rational, independent conclusions. By such means, disagreements can be friendly, or at least civil, and even a passionate disagreement need not cause rifts among good people.

I learn lots through such discussions with my fellow Objectivists, and I hope that others do too. That's part of the purpose of the various OLists, and I'm proud of the success of those lists.

If Objectivists don't nourish and protect that kind of rational culture, then a self-destructive culture of suspicion, hostility, and dogmatism will take its place. Then, any disagreement -- even if trivial, even if outside the scope of Objectivism -- will become grounds for denouncing someone else as dishonest and attempting to ostracize them. Any connection with a condemned person will be grounds for your condemnation too. People will fear speaking their minds, and some will even forego thinking for themselves.

That kind of repressive culture actively undermines the virtues of rationality, justice, and independence. It's not compatible with the fundamental principles of Objectivism, nor is it the kind of culture that can revitalize America.

To promote a rationally benevolent Objectivist culture does not mean eschewing moral judgment, nor that every Objectivist will join hands to sing kumbaya. A person may falsely describe himself as an Objectivist, meaning that he rejects core principles of the philosophy in word and deed. Such people, as well as the dishonest critics of Objectivism, should be judged and treated according to their merits (or lack thereof). Moreover, some Objectivists just might not wish to work together due to personal conflicts. That's to be expected -- and while sometimes unfortunate, that's hardly unusual for intellectual movements.

As for me, I occasionally disagree with other Objectivists -- including with scholars and intellectuals who I like and respect -- on various topics. When their publicly-stated views are relevant to my projects or of sufficient interest to me, I might discuss my disagreement publicly. That's been my longstanding policy. People familiar with my history know that I've spoken out on controversial topics before, and that I've sometimes taken heat for doing so. That's nothing new for me.

Of course, I'm always interested in substantive arguments against my views. I'm happy to change my mind when I see that I'm wrong -- or at least to accept that my opponents have a better case than I realized. However, I'll never accept someone else's say-so, nor hide my views because I think they might be unpopular. That's just not the kind of person I am, nor the kind of person that I'd ever want to be.

As it happens, Dr. Peikoff has said some things in recent podcasts that I disagree with, sometimes very strongly. Twice, I've made my disagreement known -- in my webcast discussions of compulsory juries (May 2011) and the transgendered (Oct 2011). (In the debate about the NYC Mosque, I blogged my view before Dr. Peikoff's podcast on the topic, and I continued to disagree with him on that issue.) Given that Dr. Peikoff and I happen to share some similar interests in practical philosophy, such periodic disagreements are hardly surprising.

On the whole, I've tried to be careful in my tone and manner, as is evident from my writings on the NYC Mosque and John McCaskey's Resignation. Alas, I didn't take proper care in my discussion of compulsory juries. Unfortunately, some people wrongly interpreted my enthusiasm for the topic as enthusiasm for criticizing Dr. Peikoff. I didn't intend any disrespect, and I regret that I could be interpreted that way. (I say more on this later.)

Because I expect to disagree with other Objectivists from time to time, particularly on applications of the philosophy, I don't regard my occasional disagreements with Dr. Peikoff as of much significance. I almost always agree with him, so disagreements are a kind of interesting philosophical mystery that I like to unpack. Sometimes, after further reflection, I find that I was wrong, and that Dr. Peikoff is right. But that's not always the case.

Of course, I regard Dr. Peikoff's books and courses as a huge value: I've learned more from him over the past two decades than I can properly express. As I routinely tell people, anyone who wants to deeply understand Objectivism simply must read his books and listen to his major courses. Nonetheless, I've never thought myself duty-bound to agree with Dr. Peikoff, nor to be silent about any disagreements, due to that appreciation for his work. To remain silent would not be respectful: it would be either patronizing or cowardly.

Unfortunately, a few Objectivists seem to regard any disagreement with Dr. Peikoff as some kind of personal attack on him. That's wrong. To criticize a person as wrong -- even very seriously wrong -- on some particular issue is not the same as condemning the person. Good people can be very seriously wrong sometimes. To personalize mere disagreements over ideas by interpreting them as personal attacks is unwarranted, as well as unfair. It's also toxic to the Objectivist movement, as that approach erodes the much-needed culture of independent thinking and rational judgment.

Notably, my occasional disagreements with Dr. Peikoff and other Objectivists are not disagreements about the principles of Objectivism -- like that humans have free will or that integrity is a virtue. At most, they concern the application of Objectivist principles to circumstances and questions not considered by Ayn Rand. As such, they're outside the scope of Objectivism. They are the kinds of peripheral issues about which Objectivists sometimes disagree, and when they do, they should do so civilly, particularly if they wish to succeed in their own lives and change the culture.

Remember, Objectivism does not encompass all philosophic truth. It's the philosophy developed by Ayn Rand, and it's a closed system. Hence, even the best scholarly work done by Objectivists since Ayn Rand's death cannot be regarded as part of Objectivism. As Leonard Peikoff himself explains in Fact and Value:

"Objectivism" is the name of Ayn Rand's achievement. Anyone else's interpretation or development of her ideas, my own work emphatically included, is precisely that: an interpretation or development, which may or may not be logically consistent with what she wrote. In regard to the consistency of any such derivative work, each man must reach his own verdict, by weighing all the relevant evidence. The "official, authorized doctrine," however, remains unchanged and untouched in Ayn Rand's books; it is not affected by any interpreters.

Objectivism doesn't have a theory of induction or a theory of children's rights. It doesn't tell us who to vote for in 2012 or whether Agora was a good movie. Many Objectivists have views on these topics, and those views might be more or less consistent with Objectivist principles. However, there is simply no such thing as "the Objectivist position" on the NYC Mosque or "the Objectivist position" on gun rights or "the Objectivist theory of induction." (People often loosely describe new philosophic works that are consistent with and based on Objectivism as "Objectivist," and that's fine. However, such works are not part of the "official, authorized doctrine" of Objectivism.)

To claim that my few disagreements with Dr. Peikoff on issues outside the scope of Objectivism prove that I don't understand or don't agree with Objectivism is just plain wrong. Although Dr. Peikoff understands Objectivism thoroughly, he's not immune from error, particularly in the application of Objectivist principles to current events or new questions. Everyone must judge for himself the truth of Dr. Peikoff's claims, as well as their consistency with Objectivism.

Personally, I take the closed system view of Objectivism very seriously, particularly because I thought long and hard about it some years ago. (See my essays Ayn Rand on David Kelley and The Open System, One More Time.) I'm an Objectivist because I agree with and practice the principles of Objectivism. I don't claim to speak for Objectivism, nor do I regard my new philosophic work as part of Objectivism. (That's part of the reason why my webcast is "Philosophy in Action," not "Objectivism in Action.") I regard my philosophic work as compatible with Objectivism. But it is my own work, and others can and ought to judge its compatibility for themselves. As always, I welcome substantive comments and criticisms, particularly from an Objectivist perspective.

As for some of the particular objections raised against me, I'd like to explain a few points that might not be apparent from a distance. (I've explained much of what follows to people who inquired with me, usually to their satisfaction. A person's action and motives are often not what others suppose from afar. That's why justice often requires inquiring with a person about the facts in a civil way before judgment.)

NYC Mosque

All of Paul's and my blog posts are collected here, in reverse order: NYC Mosque.

This issue was hugely controversial among Objectivists. It is a complex and difficult subject, partly because the debate concerned what people ought to do given that our government refuses to do the right thing, namely protect us against terrorist threats from Islamists by declaring war against states that sponsor terrorism. With the proper course closed off, our only options were "bad" and "worse," and Objectivists were arguing over which was which. (That's similar to debates about the proper rules for government schools: since government schools ought not exist, plausible arguments can often be made both for and against some proposed rule.)

I stand by the concerns that Paul and I raised in our blog posts, but I understand -- mostly thanks to Amy Peikoff's posts -- why others saw the matter differently. I was, and still am, disturbed by Dr. Peikoff's manner in his podcast discussion, and I found much of his argument unpersuasive on its own.

Mostly though, I think that Objectivists ought to be able to disagree about this kind of topic in a friendly or at least civil way.

John McCaskey's Resignation

Paul and I have already said all that we wish to say about this matter in these posts. We think that our concerns about Dr. Peikoff's letter were warranted, and we think that the dispute between Dr. Peikoff and Dr. McCaskey could and should have been handled better by ARI.

Compulsory Juries

As I said earlier, I should have been more careful in how I expressed my disagreement with Dr. Peikoff in my webcast discussion of compulsory juries. As my regular webcast viewers know, I love wrangling with difficult issues, particularly when I think I can cut through them clearly. I was enthused about this particular topic, and I knew that my arguments on it were solid. I didn't intend any disrespect to Dr. Peikoff: I was too focused on the substantive issues to even think about that. That was a mistake, of course, and I don't intend to repeat it. (It's easy to make such errors in speaking extemporaneously, as everyone who speaks extemporaneously knows.)

My views on the issue have not changed: I do not think that compulsory juries are compatible with individual rights, particularly given Ayn Rand's clear rejection of the draft and compulsory taxation. Moreover, a compulsory jury is an attempt to force men to think, and that's something that Ayn Rand knew to be impossible and dangerous. Also, I think that my summary of Dr. Peikoff's stated views was fair. Mostly, I quoted him at some length. Although he was uncertain whether juries would be used in a free society, he clearly stated that they could be compulsory, if so.

Dr. Peikoff didn't offer any substantive justification for his views in his two podcasts. After my webcast, Amy Peikoff attempted to defend his view in this blog post by appealing to tacit consent to a social contract. Her argument fails for the reasons given in this comment by NS. (When preparing for the webcast, I thought that Dr. Peikoff's remarks perhaps suggested an appeal to social contract. However, I never would have attributed that view to him, not even provisionally, because I've long known that social contract theory is wholly incompatible with individual rights.) Also, for more on the errors of social contract theory, I'd strongly recommend reading Harry Binswanger's April 29th, 2011 post to HBL. (That's only available to subscribers of HBL, but it was sent to me as the "HBL Monthly Enticement" on May 30th, 2011.)

I've not yet seen any plausible defense of Dr. Peikoff's views, and I hope that he reconsiders his position at some point.

Anencephalics

I discussed the rights of the the severely mentally disabled in a May 2011 webcast. My basic view is that normal children, as well as mentally impaired children, have all the usual rights to care from their parents. However, in the rare cases of complete mental incapacity -- such as in the horrifically tragic cases of anencephalic babies, where only the brain stem exists -- rights cannot apply. Rights are not inherent in our DNA; they're based on the role of reason in man's survival. Hence, if a child is proven in court to have zero current or future capacity to reason -- or, as in the case of the anencephalic, not even the potential for consciousness -- then that child could be humanely enthanized by its parents.

On hearing this view, any thinking person will immediately inquire about the logical implications of saying that anencephalic babies have no rights. Consider the extreme cases: Does that mean that they could be treated like any other animal, e.g. used for medical experiments, kept as a pet, or even eaten for food? (UGH!) The thought is repulsive, undoubtedly, but that's not a reason to refuse to think about it. An honest person's thinking is guided by facts, not emotions, and refusing to examine the logical implications of views under consideration is just evasion. (I was asked about this very issue in a discussion over dinner with some Objectivist friends prior to the webcast. It's a natural question.)

In the webcast, I said that using such babies as a food source, even if legally permitted, would be morally horrifying. That feeling would be pretty near universal, however, so I couldn't imagine that any kind of widespread problem with that would ever exist. That wasn't a pleasant thing to say, but I didn't want to evade the question.

Later, someone seemingly determined to misrepresent what I said in the webcast -- as if I was all in favor of eating babies for breakfast -- questioned me about my views. Part of that discussion showed up in these NoodleFood comments. I found the whole discussion pointless and irritating, but I was thinking through my views as I posted comments. Hence, some of what I said earlier in that thread is definitely wrong. My current view can be found in this comment. Basically, I can imagine a few far-fetched scenarios in which consuming human flesh would not be horrifyingly immoral, provided that no rights were violated in doing so. (I'm still uncertain about Case #3: I feel an overwhelming sense of revulsion at the thought of doing that, but I'm uncertain that every rational person would necessarily feel that way. When in doubt, I will not condemn.)

The whole topic is so ridiculously far-fetched that I just can't see any point in further discussion of it. I'd be far more interested to hear a well-reasoned defense of some kind of legal protections for anencephalic babies, even if not rights. (That could have fascinating implications for laws pertaining to the treatment of animals.) Of course, any such attempt would have to be based on the Objectivist theory of rights, as opposed to the intrinsicist view. That intrisicist view says that rights are inherent in human nature, and it leads to granting rights to zygotes.

If anyone wants to assess my understanding of rights, I'd recommend reading my two published writings on the nature and basis of abortion rights, both co-authored with Ari Armstrong:

• The 'Personhood' Movement Is Anti-Life: Why It Matters that Rights Begin at Birth, Not Conception, particularly the section on Individual Rights and Abortion (2010)
  
• The Assault on Abortion Rights Undermines All Our Liberties (2012)

I'd also recommend reading my two graduate papers on the follies of animal rights:

• Animal Wrongs (PDF, 2004)
  
• On the Margins of Humanity (2005, PDF)

The second paper discusses what rights humans without any capacity for rational thought might have, and the implications of that for claims about animal rights.

The Transgendered

I strongly disagree with Dr. Peikoff's moral condemnation of the transgendered and their surgeons. In this December 13th, 2010 podcast, he claims that transgenders are engaged in "a war against reality." He also says that the doctors who perform sexual reassignment surgery are "corrupt without qualification," and he likens them to the doctors who performed experiments in Nazi concentration camps. In this June 20th, 2011 podcast, he claims that a person's sex is immutable, that sexual reassignment surgery does not change it, and that such surgery destroys a person's capacity for sexual enjoyment. In this January 2nd, 2012 podcast, he says that transsexualism is a "metaphysical assault on reality" and "a thorough corruption" that he would "never voluntarily associate with." He thinks that gay groups should be opposed if they welcome transsexuals. (Note: This third podcast was posted after my webcast discussion.)

I briefly registered my strong disagreement in this webcast discussion: Restrooms for the Transgendered in Transition. I regard Dr. Peikoff's views on this subject as terribly ill-informed and his moral condemnations as unjustified. I was particularly disappointed because his moral condemnation of transsexualism seems exactly like the moral arguments against homosexuality that used to be common in Objectivist circles.

Given that I know some transgendered Objectivists -- and that OHomos @ OList.com welcomes transgenders -- I didn't want to remain silent about these repeated public condemnations of the transgendered, particularly not when I was answering a question on the transgendered in my webcast. Others have spoken up too, and I'm glad of that. People -- particularly the transgendered -- should know that Dr. Peikoff doesn't necessarily speak for other Objectivists on this topic. Also, I wanted transgender Objectivists to feel welcome in the forums that I manage.

In the webcast, I said that Dr. Peikoff's comments on this topic are "horribly ignorant" and "armchair philosophizing." I stand by those remarks, strongly-worded as they are. Dr. Peikoff doesn't seem to be aware of the basic claims about the psychology of transgenderism. He would likely disagree with those claims, but a fair judgment of the transgendered and their doctors requires some familiarity with them. His remarks are premised on other critical factual errors, as Trey Givens discusses in this blog post. Moreover, in light of the strength and vehemence of Dr. Peikoff's repeated condemnations of the transgendered, I don't think my language was out-of-proportion. Of course, my criticisms are limited to his comments on this particular topic, which I regard as a striking exception to the keen insight that I've enjoyed in Dr. Peikoff's lecture courses, time and again.

Privacy Lies

For many years -- probably more than a decade -- I've been interested in the question of the morality of lies to protect one's privacy. That's part of my broader interest in the virtue of honesty -- as evidenced by my two published papers on the topic: "Dursley Duplicity: The Morality and Psychology of Self-Deception" in Harry Potter and Philosophy and "False Excuses: Honesty, Wrongdoing, and Moral Growth" in the Journal of Value Inquiry. Privacy lies are of particular interest because Objectivists often disagree about them, and I enjoy sorting through such moral tangles. However, there's more to the story.

For many years, I knew that Nathaniel Branden condemned such lies in very clear terms in his "Basic Principles of Objectivism" course. (That course was originally given at NBI, and it was approved by Ayn Rand.) However, the version of that course available to the public (which I own) was actually re-recorded after his break with Ayn Rand. I worried that, particularly on this issue, Branden might have changed the content. Recently, I was able to get my hands on a rarity: the original lectures recorded at NBI. To my surprise, the discussion of privacy lies was exactly the same as in the publicly available versions. Moreover, Ayn Rand didn't seem to change her view later in life: her remarks in the Q&A of Dr. Peikoff's "Philosophy of Objectivism" course indicate that she still regarded lies for the sake of privacy as wrong in 1976.

However, Leonard Peikoff has claimed that lies for the sake of privacy are justified. He discusses the issue in Understanding Objectivism, and he has a line about it in Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. When I asked him about the issue during an OCON Q&A, he wasn't able to offer a suitable example of what he meant. (I don't mention that to fault him, but rather only to indicate my longstanding interest in this topic, including my attempt to get a better understanding of Dr. Peikoff's views.)

Personally, I'm fascinated by this apparent difference of opinion between Ayn Rand and Leonard Peikoff. I want to consider what each side has to say in depth, and I'd like to see if their views can be reconciled. Mostly though, I want dive into the substantive question, then develop a clear and cogent analysis of these kinds of lies from an Objectivist perspective.

My own view has long been that privacy lies are dangerous (like other kinds of lies) and unnecessary (provided that a person thinks ahead). Ultimately, if Dr. Peikoff disagrees with Ayn Rand on privacy lies, I won't consider that any reason to cast doubt on his understanding of and committment to Objectivism. Given that the topic is so narrow, that would be silly and wrong for anyone to do that.

When I was playing the relevant segments of audio from the tapes of the "Basic Principles of Objectivism" to create MP3s on my computer, I posted a quick status update to Facebook on the topic. I said, "I've been doing some fascinating historical digging on Ayn Rand's view of 'privacy lies' today. Her view, in contrast to that of Leonard Peikoff, was that such lies are wrong, and often downright vicious. And she's right!" In the first comment, I said, "Hopefully I'll have the time to put together a blog post on this topic sometime in the next week or two." Later in that thread, I said more about my sources and my own views.

I thought that people might be curious about the issue, as I was. Naively, I never imagined that people would get upset about the matter. (Alas, I've learned that anything that can be taken out of context via unfavorable assumptions about my motives probably will be. Recently, I posted a simple quote from Ayn Rand on rights. Much to my amazement, some people interpreted that as "quoting Ayn Rand out of context as a weapon against Leonard Peikoff.")

According to my critics, I'm culpable on this issue of privacy lies because I've not yet blogged about it. Of course, if anyone had asked me why, I would have given them a very simple answer: I've been very busy of late, and I have about 20 blog posts that I'd like to write at any given moment. I will blog about it -- although I'm not sure exactly when -- precisely because privacy lies have been such a longstanding topic of interest for me. In the meantime, anyone else can investigate the matter for themselves, as all the sources are public.

Objectivists ought to be able to discuss -- and disagree on -- the morality of privacy lies in way that respects each person's independent judgment and context of knowledge. Ultimately, I suspect that a person cannot coherently advocate for the morality of privacy lies and uphold the virtue of honesty. However, that's far from self-evident, and some might argue that privacy lies don't aim to gain a value but only to keep it. Among Objectivists, any such claims will have to be argued carefully and chewed over thoroughly, as people think through a wide range of cases in light of the virtue of honesty and other relevant principles. Objectivists can foster that kind of discussion by scrupulously respecting each person's independent judgment, rather than demanding deference to experts. I'd like to see that happen, and I hope that my future writings on this topic contributes to that.

* * *

Objectivists will disagree with each other on occasion: that's inevitable. To be happy in our own lives, as well as promote rational ideas in the culture, we must keep those disagreements in perspective. We must take care to practice the virtues and respect them in others. By doing that, we can create a vibrant, healthy, and friendly community of Objectivists. That will attract others to our ideas, and enable us to be better advocates for Objectivist principles in the culture.

I'll continue to promote that kind of Objectivist culture -- and to fight for reason, egoism, and rights in America. I'm proud of what I've accomplished so far, and I'm eager to do even more in the years to come. Surely, I'll err on occasion -- but I'll always strive to correct my errors and do better in the future. I appreciate substantive arguments against my views, but I'll pass on the circular firing squad. I've got too many positive values to pursue and too much statism to fight for that kind of silliness.

Again, if you have any burning questions, please e-mail me privately.

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Two Tidbits on Life from Steve Jobs

In this brief clip from a 1995 interview, Steve Jobs speaks about the importance of living a life that's fully your own, rather than accepting limits imposed by others. Implicitly, he's drawing on the distinction between the metaphysically given and the man-made:



Here's another short clip from the same interview on the importance of being willing to act in pursuit of what you want. I love the benevolence in the initial discussion of asking for and giving help!

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Atlas Shrugged Movie Review, Again

Since the movie Atlas Shrugged: Part 1 is now available on DVD (and on Blu-Ray), I thought that I should repost my video review of the movie:

For detailed analyses of Ayn Rand's epic novel, Atlas Shrugged, see my Explore Atlas Shrugged podcast series.

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Southern California Objectivist Society: Nov 12th Social

Another announcement from the Southern California Objectivist Society. If you're in SoCal, don't miss out!

Jason and I are excited to announce that the SoCal Objectivists November Social will be held next Saturday, November 12, at China Palace Restaurant in Tustin, beginning at 7:00 pm.

The restaurant is located at 13444 Newport Avenue, Tustin, CA 92780.

Click here for their website, which shows their full menu, and here for a Google Map.

We have reserved their private room, which can accommodate up to 60 people, and has a flat screen TV. In addition to dinner and socializing, we plan to screen a video, possibly of Dr. Yaron Brook or Alex Epstein from ARI, followed by what is sure to be a rousing discussion.

We had 13 people at our last event in October, which more than doubled our attendance from the first one in September. Our hope is to continue the trend and have around 25 for November. If you know anyone interested in, or sympathetic to, Ayn Rand's ideas, whether in OC, or anywhere in the wider LA/OC/IE areas, please help us spread the word!

To RSVP for this event, please email me directly via earl(at)socalobjectivists(dot)com. I would like to give the restaurant a better idea of the final number by Thursday the 10th.

See you on the 12th!

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New York Objectivist Society Conference and Scholarships

The New York Objectivist Society will be holding a conference with a fabulous lineup of speakers next weekend -- Friday, November 4th to Sunday, November 6th. It looks like you can still register to attend -- just check out the web site for details.

Also, you can help students attend by providing them with scholarship money. Nathan Fatal of the New England Objectivist Society was kind enough to put together this announcement:

As many of you may be aware, the New York Objectivist Society is hosting a conference on the weekend of November 5th. The conference will include a series of unique lectures by fellow Objectivists, including Andrew Bernstein, Shoshana Milgram, Jean Moroney, Yaron Brooks, Eric Daniels, and Harry Binswanger.

For students with valid photo IDs, NYOS is offering a reduced price of $300. There are many students who would likely love to attend this conference but would have a difficult time affording the expense.

Anyone willing to help a student of Objectivism to attend the conference would be helping fellow renaissance men to learn more about Objectivism and how to apply and promote it (you’ll also be supporting ARI, which supports student groups around the country). By attending this conference, students will gain a better understanding of Objectivism generally, and more specifically as it applies to emotions, history, psycho-epistemology, the nature of evil, the judicial system, and the debate over the role of government. It will also give them the opportunity to meet more people who share their values and live happily and selfishly. The value of meeting people one’s own age, who have embarked on the same journey, cannot be overstated.

It looks like the only method of payment for this event is by check, which can be made payable to New York Objectivist Society, Inc. To sponsor a student completely or in part, mail a check to the following address:

A. Benlian
c/o NYOS
P.O. Box 939
Bronxville, NY 10708

More information on New York Objectivist Society and their 2011 conference, including speakers and lecture topics, can be found here: www.newyorkobjectivistsociety.org...

I've sent $50 for a student to attend, and I recommend that you do the same, if you can!

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Video: Ayn Rand's Alleged Admiration for William Hickman

In Sunday's Rationally Selfish Webcast, I discussed Ayn Rand alleged admiration for William Hickman. The question was:

Did Ayn Rand draw inspiration from the serial-killer William Hickman? I ask due to this article by Mark Ames on Alternet: "Ayn Rand, Hugely Popular Author and Inspiration to Right-Wing Leaders, Was a Big Admirer of Serial Killer." According to the article, Rand idolized the serial killer William Hickman and used him as inspiration for the leads male characters in her books, notably Howard Roark. Also, Rand is said to seek an environment in which sociopaths like Hickman can thrive. Are these claims true or not? If so, would they affect the validity of Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism?

Due to a hiccup in the internet, the beginning of the webcast recording for this question was missing. So I decided to re-record it. After a few painful trials, I was able to do so in one take, and then add some slides with the quotes in them. That took me a few extra hours, so if you think the video worthwhile, I'd be most grateful if you'd throw a bit of extra love in our tip jar.

Without further ado, here's the video:

If you enjoy the video, please "like" it on YouTube and share it with friends in e-mail and social media! Also, all my webcast and other videos can be found on my YouTube channel.

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Ayn Rand on Forbidding Sexual Displays in Public Places

In tomorrow's Rationally Selfish Webcast, I'll answer the following question on public nudity and sex:

Do restrictions on nudity and sex visible to others violate rights? While having a zestful online debate, someone claimed that Ayn Rand contradicts herself in claiming that public nudity should be censored. (See "Thought Control" in The Ayn Rand Letter.) Since sex is a beautiful act, why should people be protected from it? Could a ban on visible pornography or sex be a slippery slope to other intrusions by government?

Of course, I have my own views on the substantive questions about the proper limits of the law, and I'll offer them in the webcast tomorrow.

I'm also interested in the question about Ayn Rand's views on the topic. Hence, I just re-read her essays, "Censorship: Local and Express" and "Thought Control." Both essays were originally published in The Ayn Rand Letter, and the former is also reprinted in Philosophy: Who Needs It. I strongly recommend reading (or re-reading) both essays in full before commenting on my question of interpretation below.

In light of Ayn Rand's strongly principled defense of freedom of speech in those essays, including her rejection of "community standards," I'm rather puzzled by what she says in these controversial paragraphs from "Thought Control." (I added an extra paragraph break for readability.)

Only one aspect of sex is a legitimate field for legislation: the protection of minors and of unconsenting adults. Apart from criminal actions (such as rape), this aspect includes the need to protect people from being confronted with sights they regard as loathsome. (A corollary of the freedom to see and hear, is the freedom not to look or listen.) Legal restraints on certain types of public displays, such as posters or window displays, are proper—but this is an issue of procedure, of etiquette, not of morality.

No one has the rights to do whatever he pleases on a public street (nor would he have such a right on a privately-owned street). The police power to maintain order among pedestrians or to control traffic is a procedural, not a substantive, power. A traffic policeman enforces rules of how to drive (in order to avoid clashes or collisions), but cannot tell you where to go.

Similarly, the rights of those who seek pornography would not be infringed by rules protecting the rights of those who find pornography offensive -- e.g., sexually explicit posters may properly be forbidden in public places; warning signs, such as "For Adults Only," may properly be required of private places which are open to the public. This protects the unconsenting, and has nothing to do with censorship, i.e., with prohibiting thought or speech.

I understand Rand's basic claim just fine. It's her reasoning that puzzles me. She seems to endorse the general principle that the government can and ought to regulate the actions of private property owners, if that property is open to the public, so as to prevent certain people from being offended. That seems like a terribly dangerous precedent to me, particularly because its application would depend on something like "community standards."

Hence, I'm wondering if I've properly understood Rand's argument. Any thoughts on that question of interpretation would be most welcome in the comments. What do you think she's saying -- and why?

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Free Minds Film Festival

The Free Minds Film Festival will be held from Friday, October 7th to Sunday, October 9th in Colorado Springs. I'm pleased to report that they'll be showing the documentary Ayn Rand and the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged on Saturday. I saw it a few weeks ago, and while I don't think it's perfect, it's really quite good. Here's the trailer:



I'll be speaking after the film on Objectivism for about 45 minutes. Also, Ari Armstrong will be part of a panel on education later that day.

If you'd like to attend, the film festival is free, but you need to register here. Here's the full schedule and also the Facebook page.

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Southern California Objectivist Society

I'm pleased to pass on this announcement from Jason Stotts about the new Southern California Objectivist Society:

Earl Parson and I, Jason Stotts, have decided that we're going to be starting an Objectivist Society here in Southern California, home of the Ayn Rand Institute and of probably the highest concentration of objectivists in the country. It's really strange that with so many us living in the area, there are no social groups or reading groups for us to participate in. There is a great value in spending time with fun and intelligent people who share your principles and beliefs, and this is a value we'd like to have in our lives in a bigger way.

The plan is to create one large group with two different chapters: one in LA and one in the IE/OC. Each chapter would meet bi-monthly (more if there is demand for it) and the groups would alternate, such that there was a group meeting every month. We'll probably have both social meetings, reading groups, and discussion sessions. We'll likely also plan social outings, like beach trips, hikes, and shooting range time.

At this point we're very much in the planning stage and we welcome any feedback you have for us. We're having a social get together and planning night for Saturday September 17th, 2011. If you're interested, please sign up for announcements, and details on the event, through our Google Group. You can also "like" our Facebook page or follow us on twitter @SoCalOists.

Kudos to Jason and Earl for starting this new Objectivist group! If you're in SoCal, don't miss out!

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Reminder: Help Fund The Undercurrent's New Programs

Back in August, I posted about the exciting new programs planned by The Undercurrent. Paul and I are enthused about these efforts -- particularly because TU has such a great track record. In our original announcement, Paul and I offered $1000 in matching funds to anyone who donates to them using our links.

Here's the unexpectedly awesome news: as of last Monday, we'd raised $1075! Thank you, thank you to every donor! You rock! We're delighted that you've cost us so much money already!

I never imagined that we'd raise more than $1000 so quickly, and I'm so thrilled that we've done so. Since we want to encourage more donations, Paul and I are pleased to raise our matching funds to $1500.

So if you've not yet donated, please consider doing so. Even just $25 or $50 is money well-spent to promote Ayn Rand's ideas on college campuses.

I'm copying the original post below, so see that for all the relevant details, including how to contribute.

***

As you might have already heard, the fabulous Objectivist student newspaper The Undercurrent is soliciting donations for a series of ambitious new projects to promote Objectivist ideas on campus. As you can see for yourself from the letter below, these projects look fantastic. Paul and I are eager to support them, and we want your help too! So we're offering up to $1000 in matching donations for anyone who donates for this project through the end of September. (We might match more than $1000, if more than that is raised. That would be awesome.)

Over the past few years, I've been nothing but impressed with the professionalism of the slew of volunteers who run The Undercurrent. They're a real asset to the Objectivist movement, and they have the potential to do even more... with our help!

Please check out the letter below from the publisher of The Undercurrent, Jared Seehafer. Then please consider donating, but do so sooner rather than later to take advantage of our matching funds! (Again, the deadline is September 30th.) To receive "matching funds" credit for your donation, you must use this PayPal link or the buttons below.

Dear Potential Supporter,

In his lecture at this summer's Objectivist conference, Yaron Brook, President of the Ayn Rand Institute, reflected on the first 50 years of the Objectivist movement. During that session, Dr. Brook stated that if we are to succeed in changing the culture, "we need more than an Institute: we need a movement."

We at The Undercurrent wholeheartedly agree, and we think a key part of the Objectivist movement needs to be a student movement. For the upcoming academic year, we're planning a number of programs designed to spark an Objectivist student movement on college campuses. To make these programs possible, we're asking for your support.

Foremost among our 2011-2012 programs is an event called "Capitalism Awareness Week." This week-long event will consist of a series of lectures and discussions at different college campuses across the country. Each lecture will be broadcast live via the Internet so students elsewhere may participate.

This event follows in the footsteps of last Spring's virtual campus lecture, "Ideas Matter: Ayn Rand's Message to Today's World", which was broadcast to 20 other campuses live and attained a student audience of just over 600. (If you haven't seen it, that lecture is available to view here.)

For this and other programs, we're seeking to raise $40,000 for the upcoming academic year. I hope you can help us as we fight to change the culture.

For more information on our plans for the year, I invite you to browse through our donor package. And if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Best Regards,

Jared Seehafer
Publisher, The Undercurrent
jared@the-undercurrent.com

To make a one-time donation:

To make a recurring donation, visit our donation page and follow the instructions for "Recurring Monthly Payments".

Again, I urge you to take a look at what The Undercurrent has done already, then consider contributing. You can make a difference!

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Ayn Rand on Dictatorship and Aristotle on Tyranny

Note: I wrote this for Modern Paleo last week, but I thought it might be of interest here.

In her 1964 Playboy interview, Ayn Rand identifies the four core qualities of a dictatorship as follows.

PLAYBOY: What is the dividing line, by your definition, between a mixed economy and a dictatorship?

RAND: A dictatorship has four characteristics: one-party rule, executions without trial for political offenses, expropriation or nationalization of private property, and censorship. Above all, this last. So long as men can speak and write freely, so long as there is no censorship, they still have a chance to reform their society or to put it on a better road. When censorship is imposed, that is the sign that men should go on strike intellectually, by which I mean, should not cooperate with the social system in any way whatever.

In Book 5, Chapter 11 of his Politics, Aristotle discusses the means by which the worst kind of tyrant maintains his power. Aristotle's comments delve into the psychology of tyranny, as opposed to its outer forms. On reading them again, I'm amazed to see how well his observations apply to modern tyrannies. (I've added extra paragraph breaks to make the text more readable.)

There are firstly the prescriptions mentioned some distance back, for the preservation of a tyranny, in so far as this is possible; viz., that the tyrant should lop off those who are too high; he must put to death men of spirit; he must not allow common meals, clubs, education, and the like; he must be upon his guard against anything which is likely to inspire either courage or confidence among his subjects; he must prohibit literary assemblies or other meetings for discussion, and he must take every means to prevent people from knowing one another (for acquaintance begets mutual confidence). Further, he must compel all persons staying in the city to appear in public and live at his gates; then he will know what they are doing: if they are always kept under, they will learn to be humble. In short, he should practice these and the like Persian and barbaric arts, which all have the same object.

A tyrant should also endeavor to know what each of his subjects says or does, and should employ spies, like the 'female detectives' at Syracuse, and the eavesdroppers whom Hiero was in the habit of sending to any place of resort or meeting; for the fear of informers prevents people from speaking their minds, and if they do, they are more easily found out.

Another art of the tyrant is to sow quarrels among the citizens; friends should be embroiled with friends, the people with the notables, and the rich with one another. Also he should impoverish his subjects; he thus provides against the maintenance of a guard by the citizen and the people, having to keep hard at work, are prevented from conspiring. The Pyramids of Egypt afford an example of this policy; also the offerings of the family of Cypselus, and the building of the temple of Olympian Zeus by the Peisistratidae, and the great Polycratean monuments at Samos; all these works were alike intended to occupy the people and keep them poor.

Another practice of tyrants is to multiply taxes, after the manner of Dionysius at Syracuse, who contrived that within five years his subjects should bring into the treasury their whole property. The tyrant is also fond of making war in order that his subjects may have something to do and be always in want of a leader. And whereas the power of a king is preserved by his friends, the characteristic of a tyrant is to distrust his friends, because he knows that all men want to overthrow him, and they above all have the power.

... the tyrant also has those who associate with him in a humble spirit, which is a work of flattery. Hence tyrants are always fond of bad men, because they love to be flattered, but no man who has the spirit of a freeman in him will lower himself by flattery; good men love others, or at any rate do not flatter them. Moreover, the bad are useful for bad purposes; 'nail knocks out nail,' as the proverb says. It is characteristic of a tyrant to dislike every one who has dignity or independence; he wants to be alone in his glory, but any one who claims a like dignity or asserts his independence encroaches upon his prerogative, and is hated by him as an enemy to his power. Another mark of a tyrant is that he likes foreigners better than citizens, and lives with them and invites them to his table; for the one are enemies, but the others enter into no rivalry with him.

Such are the notes of the tyrant and the arts by which he preserves his power; there is no wickedness too great for him. All that we have said may be summed up under three heads, which answer to the three aims of the tyrant. These are, (1) the humiliation of his subjects; he knows that a mean-spirited man will not conspire against anybody; (2) the creation of mistrust among them; for a tyrant is not overthrown until men begin to have confidence in one another; and this is the reason why tyrants are at war with the good; they are under the idea that their power is endangered by them, not only because they would not be ruled despotically but also because they are loyal to one another, and to other men, and do not inform against one another or against other men; (3) the tyrant desires that his subjects shall be incapable of action, for no one attempts what is impossible, and they will not attempt to overthrow a tyranny, if they are powerless.

Under these three heads the whole policy of a tyrant may be summed up, and to one or other of them all his ideas may be referred: (1) he sows distrust among his subjects; (2) he takes away their power; (3) he humbles them.

How much of these qualities do we see in America today? More than I'd like -- particularly in light of the ever-increasing meddling by the government with almost every facet of our lives. (Yes, that includes our food supply and our health!) Still, we have quite a ways to go before we're faced with the prospect of dictatorship. So what must we do to protect freedom in America? Talk, while we still can! Here's Ayn Rand again:

PLAYBOY: Short of such a strike [of refusing to "cooperate with the social system in any way whatever"] , what do you believe ought to be done to bring about the societal changes you deem desirable?

RAND: It is ideas that determine social trends, that create or destroy social systems. Therefore, the right ideas, the right philosophy, should be advocated and spread. The disasters of the modern world, including the destruction of capitalism, were caused by the altruist-collectivist philosophy. It is altruism that men should reject.

PLAYBOY: And how would you define altruism?

RAND: It is a moral system which holds that man has no right to exist for his own sake, that service to others is the sole justification of his existence, and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, value and virtue. This is the moral base of collectivism, of all dictatorships. In order to seek freedom and capitalism, men need a nonmystical, nonaltruistic, rational code of ethics -- a morality which holds that man is not a sacrificial animal, that he has the right to exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others, nor others to himself. In other words, what is desperately needed today is the ethics of Objectivism.

Ayn Rand's essay on the foundations of her ethics is The Objectivist Ethics. That and other essays on her ethics can be found in The Virtue of Selfishness.

I just can't resist quoting this last segment:

PLAYBOY: Do you believe that Objectivism as a philosophy will eventually sweep the world?

RAND: Nobody can answer a question of that kind. Men have free will. There is no guarantee that they will choose to be rational, at any one time or in any one generation. Nor is it necessary for a philosophy to "sweep the world." If you ask the question in a somewhat different form, if you say, do I think that Objectivism will be the philosophy of the future, I would say yes, but with this qualification: If men turn to reason, if they are not destroyed by dictatorship and precipitated into another Dark Ages, if men remain free long enough to have time to think, then Objectivism is the philosophy they will accept.

PLAYBOY: Why?

RAND: In any historical period when men were free, it has always been the most rational philosophy that won. It is from this perspective that I would say, yes, Objectivism will win. But there is no guarantee, no predetermined necessity about it.

PLAYBOY: You are sharply critical of the world as you see it today, and your books offer radical proposals for changing not merely the shape of society, but the very way in which most men work, think and love. Are you optimistic about man's future?

RAND: Yes, I am optimistic. Collectivism, as an intellectual power and a moral ideal, is dead. But freedom and individualism, and their political expression, capitalism, have not yet been discovered. I think men will have time to discover them. It is significant that the dying collectivist philosophy of today has produced nothing but a cult of depravity, impotence and despair. Look at modern art and literature with their image of man as a helpless, mindless creature doomed to failure, frustration and destruction. This may be the collectivists' psychological confession, but it is not an image of man. If it were, we would never have risen from the cave. But we did. Look around you and look at history. You will see the achievements of man's mind. You will see man's unlimited potentiality for greatness, and the faculty that makes it possible. You will see that man is not a helpless monster by nature, but he becomes one when he discards that faculty: his mind. And if you ask me, what is greatness? -- I will answer, it is the capacity to live by the three fundamental values of John Galt: reason, purpose, self esteem.

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Awesome Objectivist Poster from Tori Press

Objectivist graphic designer Tori Press is selling an awesome poster with "Life Lessons from Ayn Rand." She asked me to post the announcement, and I'm happy to oblige!

I'm selling a limited edition run of "Life Lessons from Ayn Rand" posters. These posters are professionally designed and printed, with six quotations from Ayn Rand laid out in beautiful typography. The poster is 11" x 17" and suitable for framing. Quotations featured include:

"A is A."
"Happiness is that state of consciousness which proceeds from the achievement of one's values."
"Man is an end in himself. As man is a being of self-made wealth, so he is a being of self-made soul."
"Productive work is the central purpose of a rational man's life."
"To say 'I love you' one must know first how to say the 'I.'"
"The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live."

The cost of each poster is $15, plus $5 shipping unless you are in the Atlanta area. 20% of the sales price of each poster will be donated to ATLOS, the Atlanta Objectivist Society, to help fund its events and outreach. Please contact me at tori@redqueenstudio.com if you are interested in purchasing a poster or would like more information.

Also, if you're involved with an Objectivist student club or local group, you might consider buying one to use at events for your group.

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Help Fund The Undercurrent's New Programs

As you might have already heard, the fabulous Objectivist student newspaper The Undercurrent is soliciting donations for a series of ambitious new projects to promote Objectivist ideas on campus. As you can see for yourself from the letter below, these projects look fantastic. Paul and I are eager to support them, and we want your help too! So we're offering up to $1000 in matching donations for anyone who donates for this project through the end of September. (We might match more than $1000, if more than that is raised. That would be awesome.)

Over the past few years, I've been nothing but impressed with the professionalism of the slew of volunteers who run The Undercurrent. They're a real asset to the Objectivist movement, and they have the potential to do even more... with our help!

Please check out the letter below from the publisher of The Undercurrent, Jared Seehafer. Then please consider donating, but do so sooner rather than later to take advantage of our matching funds! (Again, the deadline is September 30th.) To receive "matching funds" credit for your donation, you must use this PayPal link or the buttons below.

Dear Potential Supporter,

In his lecture at this summer's Objectivist conference, Yaron Brook, President of the Ayn Rand Institute, reflected on the first 50 years of the Objectivist movement. During that session, Dr. Brook stated that if we are to succeed in changing the culture, "we need more than an Institute: we need a movement."

We at The Undercurrent wholeheartedly agree, and we think a key part of the Objectivist movement needs to be a student movement. For the upcoming academic year, we're planning a number of programs designed to spark an Objectivist student movement on college campuses. To make these programs possible, we're asking for your support.

Foremost among our 2011-2012 programs is an event called "Capitalism Awareness Week." This week-long event will consist of a series of lectures and discussions at different college campuses across the country. Each lecture will be broadcast live via the Internet so students elsewhere may participate.

This event follows in the footsteps of last Spring's virtual campus lecture, "Ideas Matter: Ayn Rand's Message to Today's World", which was broadcast to 20 other campuses live and attained a student audience of just over 600. (If you haven't seen it, that lecture is available to view here.)

For this and other programs, we're seeking to raise $40,000 for the upcoming academic year. I hope you can help us as we fight to change the culture.

For more information on our plans for the year, I invite you to browse through our donor package. And if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Best Regards,

Jared Seehafer
Publisher, The Undercurrent
jared@the-undercurrent.com

To make a one-time donation:

To make a recurring donation, visit our donation page and follow the instructions for "Recurring Monthly Payments".

Again, I urge you to take a look at what The Undercurrent has done already, then consider contributing. You can make a difference!

Read more...

Does the Right to Life Trump Property Rights?

For the past year-and-some, I've been re-reading Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand with a few local Objectivist gals. (We only read about 30 pages per month, so our progress is slow!) A few weeks ago, we read the chapter on "Government" -- and doing so raised a nagging question that I've had related to last summer's heated debate about the NYC Mosque.

On Facebook, I've seen some Objectivists defend Leonard Peikoff's position that the NYC Mosque ought to be forbidden by law by saying "the right to life trumps the right to property." At first, I thought that Peikoff must have said something like that in his podcast on the topic. However, I was pleased to discover that, although I still disagree with aspects of that podcast, that's not true. Here's what Peikoff said, according to Trey Givens' transcription:

Let's start with property rights. Property rights are limited and they are contextual. You cannot do anything you want with property even though it is yours, not if its ramifications objectively entail a threat to the rights of others. You can't build a bomb in your home. You can't even build a big bonfire in your backyard legitimately because the principle of rights is that property rights are a derivative of life as the standard and there can be no right to threaten anyone's life nor indeed to threaten anyone's property.

Second, rights are contextual. In any situation where metaphysical survival is at stake all property rights are out. You have no obligation to respect property rights. The obvious, classic example of this is, which I've been asked a hundred times, you swim to a desert island -- you know, you had a shipwreck -- and when you get to the shore, the guy comes to you and says, "I've got a fence all around this island. I found it. It's legitimately mine. You can't step onto the beach." Now, in that situation you are in a literal position of being metaphysically helpless. Since life is the standard of rights, if you no longer can survive this way, rights are out. And it becomes dog-eat-dog or force-against force.

Now, don't assume that any unsatisfied need therefore puts you in this metaphysical category. For instance, you are very poor and you are hungry. Well, you need feed. But in a capitalist society, even in a mixed economy, that is not a metaphysical deprivation. There's always all sorts of choices and ways in a free society for you to gain food. Always.

I agree with that portion of his podcast, and I think that's consistent with what he says in Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand about rights as as unity:

In content, as the Founding Fathers recognized, there is one fundamental right, which has several major derivatives. The fundamental right is the right to life. Its major derivatives are the right to liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness.

The right to life means the right to sustain and protect one's life. It means the right to take all the actions required by the nature of a rational being for the preservation of his life. To sustain his life, man needs a method of survival—he must use his rational faculty to gain knowledge and choose values, then act to achieve his values. The right to liberty is the right to this method; it is the right to think and choose, then to act in accordance with one's judgment. To sustain his life, man needs to create the material means of his survival. The right to property is the right to this process; in Ayn Rand's definition, it is "the right to gain, to keep, to use and to dispose of material values." To sustain his life, man needs to be governed by a certain motive—his purpose must be his own welfare. The right to the pursuit of happiness is the right to this motive; it is the right to live for one's own sake and fulfillment.

Rights form a logical unity. In the words of Samuel Adams, all are "evident branches of, rather than deductions from, the duty of self-preservation, commonly called the first law of nature." It would be a crude contradiction to tell a man: you have a right to life, but you need the permission of others to think or act. Or: you have a right to life, but you need the permission of others to produce or consume. Or: you have a right to life, but don't dare pursue any personal motive without the approval of the government.

I don't think that Peikoff's views in his podcast or book can be properly summarized as "the right to life trumps the right to property." That implies a false theory of rights, according to which rights can conflict, and when they do, the "lesser" rights must give way to the "greater" rights. That's not just wrong: it's an outright rejection of the demands of logic in politics. That's because the whole point of calling something a "right" is to identify it not just as one value among others to be weighed, but instead to say that it's a "trump." Rights are supposed to settle -- authoritatively -- what people should be permitted to do. If rights can conflict, then rights aren't meaningful any longer. They're just a mush of who-knows-what.

Of all the errors in modern politics, the idea that people's rights routinely conflict is probably the most pernicious of all. It opens the door to any and all rights violations -- from OSHA to Medicare to the ADA to the Drug War -- because when logic is removed from politics, it's deuces wild.

So if you want to summarize Dr. Peikoff's position, I'd think that something along the lines of "property rights are contextual, and in the context of America's war against militant Islam, the property rights of the enemy are null and void" would be more accurate.

As for my own views, I agree with Peikoff's general claims about rights in wartime. I continue to disagree about the proper application of those principles in the context of American's current foreign policy. In particular, I regard voiding anyone's property rights by any means necessary in an undeclared and unfought war as extraordinarily dangerous to the liberties of all dissenting Americans, including Objectivists. However, as is true for all mosques, any terrorist connections should be vigorously investigated -- and prosecuted if confirmed.

Over the last year, the controversy over the project has died down, but I've not heard whether the project has been abandoned, delayed, or continues. I hope that it's deader than Bin Laden, but if not, I'd be interested to hear about its current state.

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The Objectivist Round Up: Emergency Edition

Blair of The Secular Foxhole was supposed to host this week's Objectivist Round Up, but alas, he was plagued by a series of technical troubles. I'm the emergency host!

So...

Welcome to The Objectivist Roundup, a weekly blog carnival featuring the best blog posts on any topic written by Objectivist bloggers.

Since we've been beset by troubles with this edition, I thought a quote by Ayn Rand on the "benevolent universe premise" would be appropriate:

There is a fundamental conviction which some people never acquire, some hold only in their youth, and a few hold to the end of their days--the conviction that ideas matter... That ideas matter means that knowledge matters, that truth matters, that one's mind matters...

Its consequence is the inability to believe in the power or the triumph of evil. No matter what corruption one observes in one's immediate background, one is unable to accept it as normal, permanent or metaphysically right. One feels: "This injustice (or terror or falsehood or frustration or pain or agony) is the exception in life, not the rule." One feels certain that somewhere on earth--even if not anywhere in one's surroundings or within one's reach--a proper, human way of life is possible to human beings, and justice matters. ("The Inexplicable Personal Alchemy," Return of the Primitive)

Now, without further ado, here is this week's edition of The Objectivist Roundup:

Rob Abiera presents Lessons from India posted at The Oklahoma Capitalist, saying, "This NY Times story about Gurgaon, India brought to mind many points made by Ayn Rand in her writings."

Trey Givens presents Leviticus 18:22 -- Bible Inverted posted at Trey Givens, saying, "This is a brief discussion of the primitive origins of Christian hatred of homosexuality and their rather narrow view of human sexuality in general."

Scott Connery presents The EPA is Destroying America: Electricity Rates to Jump by 10-35% posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, "During his campaign, Obama promised to bankrupt the coal industry. Now he is directing the EPA to carry through with his promise. Expect energy rates to climb by 10-35%. Thanks radical environmentalism!"

Alex Hrin presents Solar Energy: A Path to Prosperity? posted at The Undercurrent, saying, "What must it mean if the government has to mandate the use of an energy source?"

Joseph Kellard presents Color Breathes Life Into an Ordinary Painting posted at The American Individualist, saying, "While sitting around watching the Yankees-Indians game, I took the time to finally write about the colorful paining I crossed paths with at the Metropolitan Museum of Art."

Jared Seehafer presents Ayn Rand Contra Jesus? posted at The Undercurrent Blog, saying, "People are starting to notice that a morality of rational selfishness is incompatible with a morality of altruism and mysticism!"

Andy Clarkson presents The United States Of America & The Sermon On The Mount Have Nothing Fundamental In Common posted at The Charlotte Capitalist, saying, "Conservatives regularly claim that the United States of America is based upon Christian values. But I never hear them identify those values. The best source of Christian values is Jesus' Sermon On The Mount. If the conservatives took the time to read the SOTM and compare it to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, they would find nothing in common."

Scott Connery presents Ayn Rand vs. Jesus posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, "I actually agree with a left wing Christian organization called American Values Network. I'm stunned. They are pointing out the fact that the GOP is trying to combine Ayn Rand's defense of Capitalism with Jesus, and it just can't be done."

Rational Jenn presents Parenting Quote of the Moment posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "I'm re-reading one of my favorite parenting books called Kids are Worth It! Giving Your Child the Gift of Inner Discipline, so I share and discuss an interesting quotation from it."

James Hughes presents Humanist Sermon on the Mount posted at Temple of the Human Spirit.

Paul Hsieh presents Dude, Where's My Freedom? posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, "My latest PajamasMedia OpEd covered the similarities between ObamaCare, the TSA, and gun control -- all just versions of "freedom control". (And it got a nice Instapundit link as well!)"

Diana Hsieh presents Moral Mistakes: Acting on Impulse posted at NoodleFood, saying, "What are "impulsive" moral errors and wrongs -- and what should we do about them?"

Benjamin Skipper presents Consistent Spiritual Fuel? posted at Musing Aloud, saying, "As bad as things are getting, I think we should all take more effort to recognize the good in life, especially the aspects of culture that give rise to hope for the future."

Ari Armstrong presents Spending Limits Protect Against Factions posted at Free Colorado, saying, "What is the nature of a republic? This article discusses the matter in the context of Colorado's Taxpayer's Bill of Rights."

Scott Connery presents Islam Says: POWs Make Great Sex Slaves posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, "Remember things like this whenever people tell you Islam is a religion of peace. Remember this when they call you racist for condemning this virulent ideology."

Roberto Sarrionandia presents Generating Revenue posted at Roberto Sarrionandia, saying, "The Labour Party are wrong about the nature of wealth."

You can submit your blog article to the next edition of The Objectivist Roundup using this submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found here. If you're an Objectivist blogger, you can get weekly reminders to submit to the carnival by subscribing to OBloggers @ OList.com.

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The Objectivist Roundup: June 9th Edition

Welcome to The Objectivist Roundup, a weekly blog carnival featuring the best blog posts on any topic written by Objectivist bloggers.

Objectivism is Ayn Rand's philosophy of this-worldly reason, egoism, and capitalism. Ayn Rand is the author of the epic novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. As she explained:

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute. ("About the Author," Atlas Shrugged)

Here is this week's edition of The Objectivist Roundup:

Jared Rhoads presents Morality rising in the healthcare debate posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, "Though not flawless, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky has been saying some awfully good things on healthcare as of late. Can he carry the moral torch on this issue?"

Harsha Vardhan presents Don't let altruism enter the market. posted at Harsha blogs!, saying, "This article discusses on how altruism plays a key role in the market place."

Edward Cline presents Islam’s Viral Stasis posted at The Rule of Reason, saying, "Two recent, contrasting analyses of Islam – or rather, of the Islamic “mindset” that governs the behavior of Muslims – help to identify the problem with the ideology. One is “Why Muslim cultures lag behind,” by “Anti-Jihadist” on Robert Spencer’s Jihad Watch. The second is by Daniel Greenfield on Sultan Knish, “Will Islam Destroy Itself?” Both articles discuss what can be described as Islam’s state of stasis, or moral, political, and cultural stagnation."

C.W. presents Uncle Ben Spoke, and a couple Economics Lessons posted at Krazy Economy, saying, "Bernanke and the Fed for now are drifting. But, there are things to be learned and anticipated. Also, economics is not basically watching the government."

Jonathan Akin presents Self Before Country posted at The Undercurrent, saying, "Do rights impose obligations? What exactly do you owe to your country?"

Scott Connery presents I'd Rather Have Obama Than Romney, And I Despise President Obama posted at Rational Public Radio, saying, "Mitt Romney really represents the worst aspects of the Republican party, and he's polling disappointingly well. I take a look at why he is so distasteful."

Kate Yoak presents Honesty and politeness posted at Parenting is..., saying, ""Say thank you!" "Please apologize!" We hear such statements from parents and teachers all the time as an attempt to teach their kids politeness. One tired morning, I discovered that the problem I have always seen in this approach was simply its lack of honesty."

Noah Stahl presents College, Because They Said So posted at The Undercurrent, saying "How and why is college truly important in the long run?"

Andy Clarkson presents The Cult Of The Unearned posted at The Charlotte Capitalist, saying, "The Sermon on the Mount spawned what I call "The Cult Of The Unearned". Over time this resulted in two branches described by Ayn Rand as the mystics of spirit and the mystics of muscle. The branches share the immoral view that values are not to be earned."

Jim May presents It's a Trap! The Conservative Triangle posted at The New Clarion, saying, "I apply ideological causality to "walk uphill " from one conservative viewpoint back to its philosophical source, and then from there, back "downhill" to another, superficially unrelated conservative viewpoint, thusly tying them together into a "triangle"."

Jim May presents Fighting the Fire, while Feeding the Flames posted at The New Clarion, saying, "Here I point out how the Jose Guerena case demonstrates how ideological causality moves men and society towards their end-of-road -- even as they grow more and more afraid of that end as it's nature becomes clearer and clearer"

Jared Rhoads presents Legal benefits are not the same as rights posted at The Lucidicus Project, saying, "Here's a nice exchange about the alleged right to healthcare, which I found buried in the comments section of a recent Washington Times story."

Kelly Elmore presents Summer of Adventure posted at Reepicheep's Coracle, saying, "I am changing the direction of my blog for the summer, since I am changing the direction of my life. It's all about the adventures. This post starts it off."

Ari Armstrong presents On Making the News posted at Free Colorado, saying, "I review my discussion on media with the Hugh O'Brien Youth Leadership Program. The question: 'Do Media Report the News or Make the News?'"

Benjamin Skipper presents My Coming to Objectivism posted at Musing Aloud, saying, "How did I become an Objectivist? Simple: I suffered throughout most of my life from the ideas Ayn Rand fought again, and found healing in her philosophy."

Joseph Kellard presents The Vine posted at The American Individualist, saying, "A preview on my (future) analysis of "The Vine," a sculpture by Harriet Whitney Frishmuth."

John Drake presents On IT Business Value posted at Try Reason!, saying, "So what is the relationship between Objectivist ethics and business value (in particular IT business value, which is my field of study). In this post I detail my thinking on the issue."

Roberto Sarrionandia presents Abortion: Letter to Simon Hart MP posted at Roberto Sarrionandia, saying, "A letter to my MP regarding the appointment of a pro-life group to the an advisory committee for the British government"

Paul Hsieh presents Accountable Care Organizations and Big Brother Medicine posted at NoodleFood, saying, "The Christian Science Monitor published my latest OpEd on how Obama's proposed new ACOs (accountable care organizations) represent a new level of government control over American health care."

Beth Haynes presents Book Review: In Defiance of Death posted at Black Ribbon Project, saying, "Dr. Fisher has researched the topic of end-of-life care and written a book in order to "understand the driving forces behind [a] significant amount of inappropriate care and then [figure out] what to do to address these forces. " Though I don't agree with all that he has to say, the book offers a great place to start."

Gene Palmisano presents Misnomer of the Day posted at The Metaphysical Lunch, saying, "This one is so conspicuous even the imperial totalitarianist in our midst can't hide from it. Visit me at the Anecdotal Objectivist. Thanks"

Valery Publius presents To Cultivate Civil Discourse, Encourage Intellectual "Polarization" posted at The Undercurrent, saying, "Do we need less political polarization, or BETTER political polarization?"

Rational Jenn presents Time Travel Tuesday posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "I starting a new blog feature: Time Travel Tuesdays. Each Tuesday I'll be revisiting a post (probably about parenting) I wrote in the past. The first Time Travel Tuesday features the very first parenting post I ever wrote, "Parenting with Objectivist Principles," originally posted in July 2007."

Earl Parson presents Happy Birthday Frank Lloyd Wright posted at Creatures of Prometheus, saying, "Yesterday (June 8th) was Frank Lloyd Wright's birthday. I offer a celebratory tribute with a little bit of admiring commentary and several photos from my visit to his masterpiece, Fallingwater."

Rachel Miner presents On the Horizon: Developmental Remediation Center Newsletter posted at The Playful Spirit, saying, "I share some favorite parenting articles from an Autism newsletter. The recommendations are easily generalizable and useful."

Santiago and Kelly Valenzuela presents How's This for Assimilation? posted at Mother of Exiles, saying, "I dedicate my mixed-race pregnancy to white supremacist, John Tanton, and discuss assimilation."

Julia Campbell presents yogurt marinated lamb + cucumber mint salad posted at the crankin' kitchen!, saying, "A Mediterranean dish of garlicky spiced yogurt, tender grilled lamb, and an addictive chopped vegetable salad."

You can submit your blog article to the next edition of The Objectivist Roundup using this submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found here. If you're an Objectivist blogger, you can get weekly reminders to submit to the carnival by subscribing to OBloggers @ OList.com.

Read more...