Dr. Tara Smith, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, was interviewed on Free Thoughts, a Cato Institute podcast, and discussed the importance of objectivity in legal systems.
Today’s leading critics of economic inequality tell us that, unless we’re “privileged,” success is impossible, that the “have-nots” cannot rise through their own productive efforts, and that the desire for extraordinary success is greedy and immoral. In this talk, Don Watkins argues that these ideas are false and pernicious.
In case you haven’t noticed, the Ayn Rand Institute has a YouTube channel that we are regularly updating with talks, lectures, debates, interviews, Q&As and seminars.
Did you catch those breaking news reports, right after the San Bernardino shooting, suggesting that the attack was work-place violence? You might chalk that up to off the cuff speculation. Yet there was a kind of desperation behind the insistence on finding some generic, non-ideological motive. Yet it turned out to be what many expected from the outset, a jihadist attack; one of the murderers had pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Don’t miss an all-new episode of The Yaron Brook show this Saturday, in which Yaron will take up the myriad attacks against the financial industry. Among other topics, he will explain why bankers are reviled in today’s culture, describe the enormous value they create and argue why we should ardently defend the business of finance.
Don’t miss an all new episode of The Yaron Brook show tomorrow, in which Yaron will discuss Silicon Valley and why many working in it lean to the Left when it comes to cultural and political issues.
On January 12 and 13, Tara Smith, professor of philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin, will discuss her new book, Judicial Review in an Objective Legal System, which seeks to identify the pillars of proper review.
One year ago today, Islamic terrorists entered the offices of the French publication Charlie Hebdo and fired sixty shots inside of three minutes. When the smoke cleared, eleven employees of the magazine and one building maintenance worker had been killed and eleven other people in the building had been injured. The “crime” for which these individuals were being punished was blasphemy.
In his terrific book The Tyranny of Silence, Flemming Rose, who was at the center of the Danish cartoon crisis in 2006, quotes Saudi cleric and TV preacher Muhammad Al-Munajid’s reaction to the controversy: “The problem is that they want to open a debate on whether Islam is true or not . . . . they want to open up everything for a debate. That’s it. It begins with freedom of thought, it continues with freedom of speech, and it ends up with freedom of belief.”
