This talk by Steve Simpson, director of Legal Studies at the Ayn Rand Institute, explores how today's widespread acceptance of determinism has made many people suspicious of free speech. In contrast, the controversial positions that ARI takes on free speech reflect its philosophical understanding of free will.
“To put it bluntly, free speech is under attack. . .” says Steve Simpson, director of Legal Studies at the Ayn Rand Institute. In this talk and Q&A given at the Heartland Institute in Chicago, Simpson argues that if we want to fight for free speech, we have to fight for the ideals on which it is based. He also discusses topics such as the Danish cartoon crisis, the recent Berkeley riots in response to provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, free speech on college campuses and the government investigation into Exxon.
Many educated people today dismiss free will as an illusion and instead view themselves and other people as determined by their environment and their genetics. Objectivism offers a very different view.
In this video, Amesh Adalja, M.D., discusses the history of vaccination with special attention to the heroic figures who developed this technology. Particular consideration is given to the chain of reasoning leading to the first vaccine, as well as how the germ theory of disease led to a plethora of vaccines that allowed humans to experience a rapid improvement in lifespan and quality of life.
"Islamophobia," "meritocracy" and "extremism." These three anti-concepts obliterate clear thinking and shut down thoughtful discussion. Have you unwittingly accepted them into your thinking?
“. . . it’s true that malaria, for example, has killed probably, by some estimates, half of all humans that have ever lived . . .” (Amesh Adalja, M.D.) The recent outbreak of Zika (a mosquito-borne virus) in the United States brings mankind’s battle against mosquitoes and the diseases they carry to the forefront. We have many tools we can use to fight mosquitoes, like DDT and GMOs (genetically modified organisms), so why aren’t we using them?
The Iranian Hostage Crisis, the Salman Rushdie Affair, September 11th and the Charlie Hebdo Massacre. Are we in the Western world doomed to more and more attacks by Islamic totalitarians? And what can anyone do about it? The answer might surprise you.
In the most recent episode of The Rubin Report, Don Watkins explains why a proper government is a necessary good, how government controls destroy progress and opportunity, why egalitarianism is a rationalization for envy, why the morality of need is incompatible with freedom and justice and why art is important in life.
In the most recent episode of The Rubin Report, Don Watkins explains why Ayn Rand is such a controversial philosopher, what makes Watkins tick as an intellectual activist, the demonization of businessmen, the moral meaning of life, Objectivism and libertarianism, the unselfishness of Donald Trump and more.
In this extensive Q&A on Objectivism, Gregory Salmieri, Anthem Foundation Fellow in philosophy, philosophy lecturer at Rutgers University and co-editor with Allan Gotthelf of A Companion to Ayn Rand, answers questions such as: Is love and sex more than just hormones and self-interest? What’s the justification for limiting the term of intellectual property rights? Is Objectivism compatible with “liberalism” and “conservatism”? Why must retaliatory force be put under objective control? Why is living as a parasite worse than as a creator? Isn’t the choice to live arbitrary?
