Volume 9, Number 10, October 2003 New Fellowship in Objectivism at University of Pittsburgh A new Fellowship for the Study of Objectivism has been established at one of America’s most influential seats of learning, the University of Pittsburgh. The beneficiary of the fellowship is Dr. Allan Gotthelf, who has been appointed a Visiting Professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. He has also joined the faculty in the Graduate Program in Classics, Philosophy and Ancient Science. The three-year fellowship was established with the financial support of the Anthem Founda- tion for Objectivist Scholarship and the generous support of a number of ARI donors. The fellow- ship is renewable after the three-year term. Dr. Gotthelf, a widely respected scholar of Aristotle and Ayn Rand, recently retired from The College of New Jersey, where for many years he chaired the philosophy department and coordi- nated the interdisciplinary classical studies program. (Upon his retirement the college created the Allan Gotthelf Prize in Classical Studies.) Under the fellowship, he will teach courses that include substantial coverage of Objectivist epistemology and metaphysics, and will write for publication in academic journals essays on the Objectivist theory of concepts and objectivity. He will organize occasional workshops on Objec- tivism for students and professors at Pittsburgh and elsewhere. Also, he will write on Aristotle and will contribute in various ways to the univer- sity’s interdisciplinary graduate program in ancient philosophy. Dr. Gotthelf said: “The Anthem Foundation Current beneficiaries of the Anthem Foundation fellowships. Top: Dr. Gotthelf entering his new office at the University of Pittsburgh. and its donors have created an exciting opportu- Bottom, left to right: Dr. John Lewis, Dr. Amy Peikoff, Dr. Tara Smith and Dr. C. Bradley Thompson nity for me to bring the study of the Objectivist 2002: As visiting faculty members in the philos- John P. McCaskey, president of the Anthem epistemology to a major university. I’ve been ophy department, Dr. Harry Binswanger and Dr. Foundation, said that academic interest in very well received so far by students, faculty and Darryl Wright taught undergraduate and gradu- Objectivism is growing. “Many university administrators, and look forward eagerly to my ate courses. professors would like to bring Ayn Rand’s ideas work under the Fellowship.” 2002: A scholarly gathering was held for profes- into their schools but do not have the resources In a national survey of philosophy profes- sors and graduate students. or qualifications to do so. Anthem fellowships sors, the philosophy program at the University of 2003: Dr. Allan Gotthelf was a Visiting Professor help solve that problem. And the fellowships Pittsburgh is ranked fifth, a ranking higher than in the philosophy department. serve another, larger role: they help the next that of MIT and Harvard. 2003–04: Dr. Amy Peikoff, an instructor at ARI’s generation of professors get high-quality training ARI executive director Yaron Brook said: Objectivist Academic Center, is a visiting instruc- in Ayn Rand’s ideas. Eventually these new “With the addition of Dr. Gotthelf’s appointment tor in the philosophy department at the university. professors will be in classrooms across America, at Pittsburgh, there are now three university and all interested students will have a chance to fellowships for the study of Ayn Rand’s ideas. At Ashland University in Ohio learn about Objectivism.” Just a few years ago, there were none. That’s 2002: The beneficiaries of the new fellowship are what I consider a significant step forward for Dr. C. Bradley Thompson and Dr. John Lewis, Objectivism.” The Anthem Foundation has both professors in the Department of History and helped to establish fellowships at the University Political Science. Dr. Lewis was the subject of an Inside this Issue interview in the August 2002 issue of Impact. of Texas at Austin and Ashland University in ! The New Intellectuals: Q & A With The second part of the interview with Dr. Ohio. Since these fellowships were established, Dr. C. Bradley Thompson (Part II) page 2 they have blossomed. Thompson appears in the current issue. The fellowship has enabled both professors to reduce ! Discovering Ayn Rand’s Philosophy: At the University of Texas at Austin their heavy teaching load and devote more time On the Culture and the Intellectuals page 2 2001: Under the newly established fellowship, to writing books and articles. ! Classes Begin at OAC page 3 Dr. Tara Smith, an assistant professor of philos- 2003: Dr. Lewis arranged a weekend scholarly ! Guest Commentary page 3 ophy at the university, was able to reduce the conference on American business and ethics in number of courses she taught, in order to work the marketplace. Among the speakers at that event ! New From the Ayn Rand Bookstore page 4 on her writing projects. were Dr. Edwin A. Locke and Dr. John Ridpath. ! Message to ARI Bequest Donors page 4 Binswanger Lectures at Scholarly Conference Dr. Harry Binswanger, a member of ARI’s board of directors, delivered a paper, “Consciousness— An Objectivist Approach,” at the Third Annual Symposium on the Foundations of the Behav- ioral Sciences. The conference took place July 18–20 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, under the sponsorship of the American Institute for commander-in-chief is the philosopher. The Economic Research. On the Culture and intellectual carries the application of philosophi- Among the invited speakers at the confer- the Intellectuals cal principles to every field of human endeavor. ence were several prominent contemporary He sets a society’s course by transmitting ideas philosophers, scholars of jurisprudence, two Each month Impact suggests readings for fans of from the ‘ivory tower’ of the philosopher to the Nobel-prize-winning economists and a Nobel- Ayn Rand’s fiction who wish to learn more about university professor—to the writer—to the prize-winning neuroscientist. Dr. Binswanger her philosophy, Objectivism. artist—to the newspaperman—to the politi- presented a 20-minute summary of his paper, cian—to the movie maker—to the nightclub which is drawn from his book-in-progress on Ayn Rand held that “history is not an unintelli- singer—to the man in the street.” consciousness. During the question period, he gible chaos ruled by chance and whim— It is philosophic ideas, espoused and elaborated on this topic and contrasted the basic historical trends can be predicted, and transmitted by intellectuals, that ultimately set philosophy of Ayn Rand with that of philoso- changed—men are not helpless, blind, doomed the direction of a culture. Objectivism holds pher John Dewey. (The title of this year’s creatures carried to destruction by incompre- that philosophy is the motor of history. That is conference was “Dewey, Hayek and Embodied hensible forces beyond their control.” On her why ARI invests in the training and develop- Cognition: Experience, Beliefs and Rules.”) view, to understand today’s culture—and to ment of future Objectivist intellectuals, who Dr. Binswanger, who is on the faculty of change its direction—one must understand can go on to careers as advocates for reason, ARI’s Objectivist Academic Center, was a what influences the course of history. egoism and capitalism. Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at Ayn Rand wrote: “Just as man’s actions are Here are some readings on this topic. The Austin in 2002. The visiting appointment was preceded and determined by some form of idea title essay in Ayn Rand’s book For the New made possible thanks to the Anthem Foundation in his mind, so a society’s existential condi- Intellectual discusses the role of philosophy in a Fellowship for the Study of Objectivism at the tions are preceded and determined by the culture and in understanding history. In “Faith University of Texas. ascendancy of a certain philosophy among those whose job it is to deal with ideas. The and Force: The Destroyers of the Modern events of any given period of history are the World” (published in Philosophy: Who Needs *** result of the thinking of the preceding period. It), Ayn Rand looks at the development of In the Media: Briefly Noted The nineteenth century—with its political Western civilization and observes how reason freedom, science, industry, business, trade, all and political freedom are corollaries, noting that On Labor Day, September 1, Dr. Harry Binswanger the necessary conditions of material “when men are rational, freedom wins; when was interviewed by Wisconsin Public Radio, an progress—was the result and the last achieve- men are free, reason wins.” NPR affiliate. He discussed the meaning of Labor ment of the intellectual power released by the The theme of Dr. Leonard Peikoff’s book Day and argued that the source of productivity and Renaissance. The men engaged in those The Ominous Parallels demonstrates the role wealth was not physical labor, but man’s mind. In activities were still riding on the remnants of philosophy in history by explaining how late August the Institute rereleased an editorial by of an Aristotelian influence in philosophy, certain philosophical views—altruism and Fred Hamber, a writer for ARI, on the same particularly on an Aristotelian epistemology collectivism—made Nazi Germany possible. theme. That article was published in 15 newspapers (more implicitly than explicitly).” Dr. Peikoff returns to this issue in his taped and Web sites, including the Indianapolis Star, the Those whose job it is to deal with ideas are lecture “The Role of Philosophy and Psychol- Nashville Business Journal and the Bangkok Post. the professional intellectuals. It is the intellec- ogy in History” and in the epilogue of his book It reached a circulation of more than 500,000. tual who is the field agent “of the army whose Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.