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GENERAL SESSIONS the METAPHYSICS of CONSCIOUSNESS: the What and the How of Cognition (3 Lectures) Harry Binswanger
- ' SECOND I RENAISSANCE CONFERENCES H PRESENTS I ~IDEAS FOR THE RATIONAL MIND Ill" I A PHILOSOPHICAL CONFERENCE I JUNE 28 TO JULY 11, 1998 THE NASHUA MARRIOTT NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE Dear Reader: there is no charge for parking. SECOND RENAISSANCE CONFERENCES is New Hampshire is noted for its tax-free shopping, proud to announce a philosophical conference featur and there are several large shopping malls within a ing new and exciting lectures on epistemology by Dr. ten-minute drive of the hotel. The proximity to his Harry Binswanger. Detailed descriptions of these and toric Boston will allow conferees to attend the city's other lectures, courses, and faculty follow, so let me renowned Independence Day celebrations (with the tell you something about the conference venue. Boston Pops concert and traditional fireworks) and The Nashua Marriott is a first-class hotel situated enjoy the city's many historic, cultural, and culinary in the rolling hills of southern New Hampshire, about attractions. 44 miles northwest of Boston. The scenic White Moun I'm sure you will appreciate the intellectual content tains and New Hampshire's Atlantic coast are both of the conference and enjoy the accommodations of about an hour's drive away. the hotel. Come and experience the joy of meeting The hotel offers numerous amenities, including an people who share your values. I hope you will attend, indoor pool, outdoor sundeck, fitness center, wooded and I look forward to seeing you. jogging trail, and volleyball and basketball courts. In room amenities include hair dryer, iron/ironing board, ~s~ voice-mail, PC dataport, and on-command movies (for a small charge). -
Analytics on the Mind an Objectivist Survey of Analytic Philosophy of Mind Diana Mertz Hsieh ([email protected]) 1 June 2003
Analytics on the Mind An Objectivist Survey of Analytic Philosophy of Mind Diana Mertz Hsieh ([email protected]) 1 June 2003 Abstract: Although debates over the nature of the mind have raged in analytic philosophy of mind in recent decades, Objectivism largely lacks not only a theory of mind, but also an active discussion of the subject. The common strategy of adopting views from analytic philosophy of mind is perilous, given the significant differences between the principles and methods of Objectivism and those of analytic philosophy. Nonetheless, Objectivists can and ought to learn from the failures and successes of analytic theories of mind. This paper examines the commonalities and conflicts between analytic philosophy and Objectivism in order to sketch a plausible philosophy of mind consistent with Objectivism. Mind and Body In recent decades, debates have raged in analytic philosophy over the nature of the mind and its relationship to the body. In a quest for a viable account of the metaphysics of the mind— for an understanding of the existence, specific character, and causal efficacy of consciousness in a physical world—theories have cycled in and out of fashion with remarkable rapidity. In contrast, a philosophy of mind well-integrated with Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism has yet to be developed. A survey of the Objectivist literature reveals only scattered critiques of common analytic positions and some (occasionally conflicting) elements of a positive theory (Hsieh 2003). As such, the debate is only just beginning for Objectivism. The absence of a well-defined Objectivist ontology of mind is surprising not only in light of the vigorous debates in analytic philosophy, but also given the central role of mind-body integration in Rand’s philosophical system. -
Ayn Rand Film to Premiere in Hollyrwood Prestigious Telluride Film Festival in Colorado
lmrract -f October'1996, Volume 2, Number'lO Tickets for the benefit are priced at two levels: $75 per person for the film and post-film reception, and $250 for those events plus a private reception with Michael Per-xtonand Leonard Peikoff prior to the screening, preferred seating at the screening, an autographed movie poster, and, if it can be arranged, a brief tour to special "Ap Rand sites" on the lot. Although this is his first feature film, Michael Pa"rton brought considerable experience to the project. He received hls M.F.R. in {ihn production from New York University's prestigious Graduate Institute of Fihn & Television and has worked as a r,vriterfor Disney's Feature Anirnation Dept. alld as an assistantdirector at Turner Entertainment on features such as The Pagemaster.He also directed the world premieres of ldeal (i9Sg) and Anthem (1991) for the stage,in Hollpvood. He began the documentary on A;m Rand in the summer of 1994, setting up the production company, writing the script, and filming archival rnaterial. He also shot interviews with people who knerv Ayn Rand, including Mike Wallace, Leor.rard Photo by Sorenson James Peikoff, and Harry Binswanger. Ayn Rand: A Senseof Lift was recently screened at the Ayn Rand Film to Premiere in Hollyrwood prestigious Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. Paxton'sfiln-r Earlier Screening at Telluride Draws Acclaim was one of only 27 films selected from more than 700 appli- cants worldwide for the 23rd annual event. Less than an hour "How does one reduce the achievements of a lifetirne of from Ouray, Colorado (the "setting" for Galt's Gulch), the filnr genius into 110 rninutes?" asks filmmaker Michael Paxton (pic- was shown on opening night, August 30. -
Ayn Rand and Youth During the 1960S
UC Berkeley The Charles H. Percy Undergraduate Grant for Public Affairs Research Papers Title Radicals for Capitalism: Ayn Rand and Youth during the 1960s Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4tb298wq Author Tran, Andrina Publication Date 2011-05-31 Undergraduate eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California ““RRAADDIICCAALLSS FFOORR CCAAPPIITTAALLIISSMM”” Ayn Rand and Youth During the 1960s ANDRINA TRAN DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY 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. In one’s youth that conviction is experienced as a self-evident absolute, and one is unable fully to believe that there are people who do not share it. That ideas matter means that knowledge matters, that truth matters, that one’s mind matters. And the radiance of that certainty, in the process of growing up, is the best aspect of youth. –Ayn Rand CONTENTS Acknowledgements 2 INTRODUCTION 2 I THE QUIETEST REVOLUTION IN HISTORY 11 II MARKETING OBJECTIVISM 24 III THE THRILL OF TREASON 32 IV LIFE, LIBERTY, PROPERTY: Persuasion and the Draft 38 V LIBERTARIANS RISING 46 EPILOGUE: MEMORY & HISTORY 52 Bibliography 55 Appendix 61 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Even a paper pertaining to egoism could not have come into existence without the generous support of so many others. I would like to thank the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program, the Center for the Study of Representation at the Institute of Governmental Studies, and the Center for the Comparative Study of Right-Wing Movements for funding the various stages of my research. -
From the Instructor
From the Instructor Nicholas wrote this paper for my WR 150 course that surveys debates surrounding the free market. The second major paper in the course challenges students to contend with two uncompromising visions of the market’s virtues and evils: Karl Marx’s narrative of exploitation and estranged labor in The Communist Manifesto vs. John Galt’s forceful speech at the end of Atlas Shrugged, through which Ayn Rand asserts that competition alone can engender individual autonomy and national pros- perity. As a writer, the young Marx exemplifies many of the lessons that I teach my students. He provides an insightful and consistent framework for analysis—class relations—but does so through an elegant story with clear protagonists, antagonists, and a compelling narrative of historical struggle. Rand consciously inverts aspects of Marx’s narrative, contrasting “men of ability,” personified by Galt himself, with the weaker strata of society who seek shelter from the vicissitudes of struggle. Nicholas demonstrates in this paper his capacity to grasp the core points of contention between Rand and Marx, but also to elucidate the relevance of their grand visions for contemporary political debates in clear, insightful, and often clever prose. Nicholas frequently settled on a theme and argument from the first draft of his papers, and spent subsequent drafts developing those ideas further. He made good use of scholarly sources to substantiate his argument in this paper, especially when demon- strating that Rand, far from being a marginal twentieth-century thinker, has attained a mythical status for the contemporary American Right that is nearly on a par with the cult of Marxism in the scholarly and political movements of the past century. -
The Fallacy of a Priori Statism
THE FALLACY OF A PRIORI STATISM Alan G. Futerman* & Walter E. Block** I. INTRODUCTION In this Article, we attempt to undermine the intellectual case for statism and defend anarchism. Part II addresses the fallacy of a priori statism, and Part III presents the justification for anarchism. The burden of Part IV is to deal with objections. We conclude in Part V. II. A PRIORI STATISM In the field of epistemology, the a priori, in Kant’s view,1 corresponds to that knowledge which is independent of experience2 and, according to John Stuart Mill, before experience.3 Statism may be defined as the doctrine holding the government as a solution to virtually every problem.4 Statists place the government * © Alan G. Futerman, University of the Latin American Educational Center, Rosario, Argentina, [email protected]. ** © Walter E. Block, Harold E. Wirth Endowed Chair and Professor of Economics, College of Business, Loyola University New Orleans, and senior fellow at the Mises Institute. Columbia University (Ph.D., Economics, 1972). 1. IMMANUEL KANT, CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON 127 (Paul Guyer & Allen W. Wood trans., Cambridge University Press 1998) (1781). 2. The a priori is knowledge that is absolutely “independent of all experience.” Id. at 136, quoted in Bruce Russell, A Priori Justification and Knowledge, STAN. ENCYCLOPEDIA PHIL. (May 19, 2014), https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2017/entries/apriori/. 3. John Stuart Mill explains: We cannot acquire any genuine knowledge a priori, then. Mill holds that knowledge can be obtained only by empirical observation, and by reasoning which takes place on the ground of such observations. -
Ayn Rand and the Possibilities of an Objectivist Aesthetics of Cinema
Screen of Vision: Ayn Rand and the Possibilities of an Objectivist Aesthetics of Cinema Kyle Barrowman School of Journalism, Media, and Culture Cardiff University This thesis is submitted to Cardiff University in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2018 Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgments iv Preface ix Introduction – Towards an Objectivist Aesthetics of Cinema 1 1. Poststructuralism and the History of Film Studies 39 2. Objectivism and the Future of Film Studies 100 Conclusion – Approaching Atlantis 154 References 166 Abstract This thesis is my attempt to establish a foundation, based on the philosophy of Objectivism as it was developed and elaborated by the Russian-American novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, for the construction of an Objectivist aesthetics of cinema. After con textualizing and explicating Rand’s philosophy, I make the case that, propaedeutic to the construction of a new aesthetics of cinema, it is incumbent upon film scholars to refute the irrational and immoral philosophical premises that have long been destroying the philosophy of art in general and the discipline of film studies in particular. Due to the troubling combination of its contemporaneity, extremism, and considerable influence, I focus initially on the philosophical school of poststructuralism – which I contend has, since the 1960s, served as the default philosophical foundation for film scholars – before ultimately moving on to refute what I call the Kantian aesthetic tradition, of which I demonstrate poststructuralism is a deadly symptom. Upon clearing away this philosophical debris, I set about arguing for the probative value of an Objectivist aesthetics of cinema by reigniting long-dormant debates about the validity of interpretation and the role of evaluation in film criticism. -
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Leonard Peikoff, the Pre-Eminent Ob Complimentary Bicycles
SECOND RENAISSANCE HCONFE RENCES ANNOUNCES ~1DEA S FOR THE RATIONAL Ml ND,. A PHIL.OSOPHICAL. CONFERENCE JUNE 29 TO JULY 14, 1996 THE MCLEAN HILTON AT TYSONS CORNER MCLEAN, VIRGINIA / ~ L;.;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;.;;;.;;;;.;;.;;;.;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;____ .;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;;.;;;;;;;;;;;; ________________ .;;;;,1 _, Dear Reader: ----- The hotel offers numerous amenities, including in SECOND RENAISSANCE CONFERENCES is door pool, outdoor sundeck, state-of-the-art fitness cen proud to announce a philosophical conference featur ter, sauna, wooded jogging trails around a pond, and ing lectures by Leonard Peikoff, the pre-eminent Ob complimentary bicycles. In-room extras include hair jectivist philosopher, and classes by Harry Binswanger. dryer, coffee maker, iron/ ironing board, voice mail, PC Detailed descriptions of the lectures, courses, and fac dataport(!), mini-bar, and a large selection of current ulty follow, so let me tell you something about the con videos. Guest services include free parking and shuttle ference site. I really think this is the best hotel ever se service to the subway and the nearby malls-which lected for an Objectivist conference. offer restaurants, movie theaters, and some of the best The McLean Hilton at Tysons Comer, in McLean, shopping on the East Coast. This is a marvelous hotel! Virginia, is a superb facility. It is centrally located be I'm sure you will appreciate the intellectual content tween National and Dulles International Airports, and of the conference and luxuriate in the accommodations just 25 minutes by shuttle and subway from downtown of the hotel. I hope you will attend and I look forward Washington, D.C. Its striking architecture features an to seeing you. -
Carlin Romano on Ayn Rand
Reason Papers Vol. 34, no. 2 Afterwords America the Philosophical: Carlin Romano on Ayn Rand Stephen Hicks Rockford College Over the years I’ve enjoyed and learned from many of Carlin Romano’s articles in The Chronicle of Higher Education. He can do good philosophical reporting. So I picked up his latest book, America the Philosophical, and I was disappointed.1 Romano’s thesis is that the United States is a nation of vigorous philosophical activity and—contrary to the critics who portray it as an intellectual wasteland of complacency and platitudes—a culture that takes philosophy seriously. It’s a great topic, and I agree with Romano’s thesis. First impressions matter, however, and the first section of America the Philosophical I read was the eight pages on philosopher-novelist Ayn Rand, a case study in how not to write about other philosophers (pp. 359-66). Here’s how to write a book about other philosophers: (1) Present their positions. (2) At least sketch the arguments for the positions they take. (3) Criticize those positions when necessary by making counter- arguments. Here’s how not to write about other philosophers: (4) Ignore the academic literature about the philosopher and use only critical remarks gleaned from amateurs or non-philosopher professionals. (5) Focus more on gossip about the philosopher’s person rather than the person’s philosophy. (6) Identify the philosopher’s views in passing with those of contemporary politicians whom you despise. 1 Carlin Romano, America the Philosophical (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2012). Reason Papers 34, no. 2 (October 2012): 245-247. -
A Companion to Ayn Rand
Blackwell Companions to Philosophy A COMPANION TO AYN RAND Edited by ALLAN GOTTHELF AND GREGORY SALMIERI A Companion to Ayn Rand Blackwell Companions to Philosophy This outstanding student reference series offers a comprehensive and authoritative survey of philosophy as a whole. Written by today’s leading philosophers, each volume provides lucid and engaging coverage of the key figures, terms, topics, and problems of the field. Taken together, the volumes provide the ideal basis for course use, representing an unparalleled work of reference for students and specialists alike. Already published in the series: 1. The Blackwell Companion to Philosophy, Second Edition 31. A Companion to Pragmatism Edited by Nicholas Bunnin and Eric Tsui-James Edited by John R. Shook and Joseph Margolis 2. A Companion to Ethics 32. A Companion to Ancient Philosophy Edited by Peter Singer Edited by Mary Louise Gill and Pierre Pellegrin 3. A Companion to Aesthetics, Second Edition 33. A Companion to Nietzsche Edited by Stephen Davies, Kathleen Marie Higgins, Robert Edited by Keith Ansell Pearson Hopkins, Robert Stecker, and David E. Cooper 34. A Companion to Socrates 4. A Companion to Epistemology, Second Edition Edited by Sara Ahbel-Rappe and Rachana Kamtekar Edited by Jonathan Dancy, Ernest Sosa, and Matthias Steup 35. A Companion to Phenomenology and Existentialism 5. A Companion to Contemporary Political Philosophy (two- Edited by Hubert L. Dreyfus and Mark A. Wrathall volume set), Second Edition 36. A Companion to Kant Edited by Robert E. Goodin and Philip Pettit Edited by Graham Bird 6. A Companion to Philosophy of Mind 37. A Companion to Plato Edited by Samuel Guttenplan Edited by Hugh H. -
The, Ayi\ Rand Institute
THE,AYI\ RAND INSTITUTE f,l/ewsletter- Vol. 6, No. 1 o The Center for the Advancement of Objectivism o Februarv 1991 Fund-raisingGala Institute in Review Sef for September Unexpected successesand dramatic Library (NAL) last April, over 900 The Ayn Rand Institute is pleased to opporhrnities to reach new audiences professional philosophers-far more announce 'An Evening of Celebration," mark the Ayn Rand Institute's projects than expected-have requested and re- to take place September 28, 1991, at the over the past year. ceived complimentary copies from ARI. Vista Lrternational Hotel in New York As ARI begins its seventh year of In addition, 1990saw the publication by City. This special evening, the third of its operation, its two major projects aimed ARI Press of The Biological Basb of Tele- kind since ARI was established in 1985, at reaching high-school and college ological Concepts, Harry Binswanger's will include a banquet and fund-raising students are flourishing. The Institute work in philosophy of science. A major auction of items from Avn Rand's estate. continues to provide camPus Objectivist project for ARI in 1991 and 19P2will be Following dinner, jo(n Ridpath will clubs with valuable materials and sup- the promotion to the academic commun- preside over the auction of various port (for details on the club project, see ity of Leonard Peikoff's definitive book manuscripts, books, and memorabilia- page three of this newsletter). And 1990 on Ayn Rand's philosophy, Objectiaism: in all, twenty-seven items created, was the best year yet for the Fountainhead ThePhilosophy of Ayn Rand,scheduled for purchased, or collected by Ayn Rand.