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ARI Receives Record Donation at Summer Conference Volume 14, Number 8, August 2008 ARI Receives Record Donation at Summer Conference he Ayn Rand Institute received the largest program; the annual high school essay contests; University of Pittsburgh under its Fellowship for Tsingle donation in its history at this year’s campus activities and selected OAC programs; and the Study of Objectivism; John McCaskey, chair- summer conference. An anonymous donor grants and mentorship to support the careers of man of the board of the Anthem Foundation for contributed $1,000,001—surpassing the previous both new and established Objectivist academics. Objectivism Scholarship; and Tara Smith, professor record of $1,000,000. The news was the highlight of a conference of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. “This contribution will be an adrenaline shot overflowing with highlights. The event was moderated by Debi Ghate, ARI vice for cultural change,” said Yaron Brook, ARI’s exec- Outstanding Attendance. For years Objectiv- president of Academic programs. utive director. “We are at a crucial point in history ist conferences have attracted about three hundred The panelists commented on Objectivism’s —the next twenty years will decide what effect Objectivism has on this country’s direction. If we are to have a real impact, we need the resources necessary to spread rational ideas. This contribution is a huge step in that direction.” The contribution will be dedicated to support- ing the programs within the “education funnel” (ARI’s strategy for developing New Intellectuals) in most need of funding. The contribution will be distributed to support the Free Books to Teachers Academic panel featuring (left to right): Debi Ghate, John McCaskey, Yaron Brook, Allan Gotthelf, John Allison and Tara Smith attendees. But for the past two years that number has progress over the last year within academia, and greatly increased. This year the total was 469, the discussed strategies to extend that progress in the second largest number of conference attendees ever. years ahead. Academic Panel. A regular feature of the sum- Dr. McCaskey announced the reorganization mer conference is the academic panel ARI assem- of the Anthem Foundation. As noted in the July bles to discuss the current state of Objectivism in issue of Impact, Dr. McCaskey will no longer academia—and, as in past years, it was one of the oversee day-to-day operations of the Anthem most inspiring presentations of the conference. Foundation; it has hired Ms. Ghate as its new part- Attendees at the opening reception of Objectivist Summer Conference 2008 This year’s panel comprised Dr. Brook; John time senior director. Allison, chairman and CEO of BB&T Corpora- Ms. Ghate announced Anthem’s latest New Book on Ayn Rand tion; Allan Gotthelf, a visiting professor at the continued on page 2 Announced Ayn Rand Center Launches Web Site llan Gotthelf and Greg Salmieri are editing mpact is pleased to announce the launch of a listing of local community groups A a multi-author volume on Ayn Rand, to be Inew Web site, www.aynrandcenter.org, dedi- • three complete essays by Ayn Rand published by Blackwell Publishing, Oxford (UK). cated to the work of its new public outreach and never before available online: “Man’s Ayn Rand: A Companion to Her Works and media center. The Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights,” “Collectivized ‘Rights’” and Thought (forthcoming) will cover Ayn Rand’s Rights, which recently opened in Washington, “The Nature of Government” body of work, including her novels, her non- D.C., promotes the philosophical case for individ- • two new statements from ARI writers, fiction, and her thought from metaphysics and ual rights and laissez-faire capitalism to the public “Why Individual Rights?” and “What epistemology to her esthetics and her commen- policy and business communities, the media and We Stand For” tary on the political trends of her time. the general public. “The function of this volume,” said Drs. Gott- The Ayn Rand ARI has also helf and Salmieri, in a brief statement, “is to faci- Center’s Web site completed a rede- litate the study of Ayn Rand by the increasing features topical sign of its Web site number of non-Objectivists—many in academia— categories that (www.aynrand.org). who are beginning to take a serious interest in makes it easier The site’s new look understanding her. A typical chapter will address a than ever to locate reflects a reorga- single area of her thought, drawing on her fiction relevant ARI nization designed and nonfiction, to bring out her essential ideas and commentaries to increase ease their relation to her thought as a whole.” and materials by of navigation. The The chapters will be written individually Ayn Rand and site has also been or jointly by sixteen authors: Gotthelf and other authors. supplemented with Salmieri, Michael Berliner, Harry Binswanger, Commentary is many new pages of Tore Boeckmann, Onkar Ghate, Lester Hunt, broken up into five written, audio and James Lennox, Robert Mayhew, Shoshana main categories: Screen capture of the Web site of the new Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights video content. Milgram, Fred Miller, Adam Mossoff, Jason Government & Policy, Business & Economics, For instance, the Books and Ideas section Rheins, Tara Smith, Robert Tarr and Darryl Foreign Policy, Science & Environmentalism and contains newly written descriptions of all of Wright. The editors are working with the Culture. Each of these categories is broken up into Ayn Rand’s works. In the coming months, it will authors to ensure a highly integrated volume. a number of subcategories. also grow to include an expanded description of Dr. Gotthelf is a visiting professor at the The site also features significant new content, Ayn Rand’s philosophy. In addition, there is now a University of Pittsburgh under its Fellowship for including: new series of pages that provide guidance for stu- the Study of Objectivism. Dr. Salmieri, who just dents interested in pursuing careers in academia. completed his PhD at the University of Pittsburgh, • information on how to support ARI’s “The Web is an increasingly important tool for will be a visiting assistant professor this year at the activities through personal activism promoting Objectivism,” said Dr. Brook. “These University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. • information on how to start your own latest developments will help us take advantage of The expected publication date is 2010. Objectivist community group, and a this powerful avenue for changing the culture.” ARI Exhibits at Debate Conference RI recently exhibited at the National Forensic ALeague’s Annual Debating Championship in Las Vegas. The event took place over the course of five days, and gave two thousand students from across the country the opportunity to compete for national debate titles. “This event gave us a unique opportunity to ers, but to sacrifice oneself to them, altruism has a talk face to face with some of the country’s most The Inhumanity of vested interest in making men view others as help- intelligent high school students,” said Marilee less pawns in constant need of saving. Men are led Dragsdahl, manager of ARI’s Education depart- Altruism to believe that the choice is (a) self-sacrificially ment. “Our goal was to show them that Ayn jumping into rivers (or furnaces) for others, or (b) Rand’s unique perspective on intellectual issues Each month Impact suggests readings and other callously watching them drown. This vicious false can help them make compelling arguments—and resources for fans of Ayn Rand’s fiction who wish alternative erases the possibility of benevolent, hopefully get them to think more about her ideas to learn more about her philosophy, Objectivism. non-sacrificial relationships. in the future.” According to Ayn Rand, “[Altruism] has indoc- § Introducing Objectivism nter any Ethics 101 class and one is likely trinated men with the idea that to value another At a sales conference at Random House, By Ayn Rand preceding the publication of one of the book salesmen asked me whether I could present the essenceAtlas of my Shrugged philosophy , If you want this translated into simple language, it would while standing on one foot. I did as follows: read: 1. “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed” or “Wishing won’t make it so.” 2. “You can’t eat your cake and 1. Metaphysics have it, too.” 3. “Man is an end in himself.” 4. “Give me liberty to be bombarded with questions such as, human being is an act of selflessness, thus implying 2. Epistemology: Objective Reality or give me death.” 3. : Reason Ethics: Self-interest If you held these concepts with total consistency, as the base 4. Politics: Capitalism of your convictions, you would have a full philosophical system E to guide the course of your life. But to hold them with total consistency—to understand, to defi ne, to prove and to apply them—requires volumes of thought. Which is why philosophy “Should you help a person trapped in a fire?” that a man can have no personal interest in others— cannot be discussed while standing on one foot—nor while standing on two feet on both sides of every fence. This last is the predominant philosophical position today, particularly in the fi eld of politics. Man’s Rights My philosophy, Objectivism, holds that: 1. Reality exists as an objective absolute—facts are facts, Or, “Should you dive into treacherous waters to that to value another means to sacrifice oneself— independent of man’s feelings, wishes, hopes or fears. 2. Reason (the faculty which identifi es and integrates the material provided by man’s senses) is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action, and his basic means of survival.
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