tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7961696562117712382012-01-27T17:37:53.955-08:00A weblog of perplexing questions and debatable answers at the intersection of history and philosophy -- in an Objectivist context.Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.comBlogger561100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-32929687293019035712012-01-26T05:16:00.000-08:002012-01-26T07:10:39.240-08:00

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Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-39650927424573267092012-01-18T07:34:00.000-08:002012-01-18T11:03:27.794-08:00

In Vol. 3, No. 3 (March, 1964) of The Objectivist Newsletter, Ayn Rand published "Check Your Premises," an essay that offers "a few basic considerations, as guidelines in deciding what one can properly expect of a political candidate, particularly of a presidential candidate" (p. 9, col. 1). What were those guidelines?(Caution: My notes below are not comprehensive. The following quotations are

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-48706407032929011372012-01-16T06:29:00.000-08:002012-01-24T06:17:16.913-08:00

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Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-27891629629049121172011-10-02T06:33:00.000-07:002011-10-06T14:20:22.538-07:00

At 67, I am beginning the last phase of my life. I am looking back, and one pattern I see is the role of books in my development. They awakened in me the possibility of a life worth living; they helped me solve personal problems that threatened my progress; and they provided the particular information I needed to achieve my four highest personal values: my work, my free-range lifestyle, my

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-58817367884085491252011-05-08T04:06:00.000-07:002011-09-26T05:30:58.259-07:00

This is the last in a series of three posts sketching my preliminary understanding of democratic, sacred, and profane culture.In an online column, Dennis Prager, a tireless advocate of Judaism, discusses a song, "Fuck You," nominated in 2010 to be the Grammy Awards' Record of the Year. Prager says:[T]he music industry, from producers to artists, is largely populated by people who regard social

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-42086027395572100522011-04-30T06:52:00.000-07:002011-05-06T07:26:21.362-07:00

This is the second in a series of three posts sketching my preliminary understanding of democratic, sacred, and profane culture.RELIGIOUS MEANING. Normally I see the term/concept "sacred" used by religious individuals, for example, Biblical writers writing about the prescribed construction of the sacred Ark of the Covenant, at Exodus 25, and the penalty of death for touching the sacred ark, at 1

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-34850065776623626062011-04-24T14:12:00.000-07:002011-05-06T07:25:35.837-07:00

This is the first in a series of three posts sketching my preliminary understanding of democratic, sacred, and profane culture.Understanding a culture in a particular period involves identifying not only the elements of that culture, but their interrelationships too. Are there patterns among the cultural elements? Which of the elements are causes and which are the effects?[1] This post is a

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-74107662349228110892011-02-23T14:09:00.000-08:002011-02-23T14:21:24.990-08:00

I recommend David Allen's book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, New York, Penguin, 2001, 267 pages.Amy Peikoff has fully reviewed the book in The Objective Standard, here. The special point I am focusing on in this post is that the Getting Things Done system is a tool of integration, at multiple levels. "Teaching you how to be maximally efficient and relaxed, whenever

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-65078921192707259322010-10-06T03:48:00.000-07:002011-02-26T06:46:20.125-08:00

UPDATED Oct. 9 through Jan. 30 in the seven postscripts.INTRODUCTION. A chronology is a statement, usually in the form of a list, of the temporal order of a series of events. Ideally, a chronology identifies: a particular time, the nature of the event, and the place. A chronology ought also to identify the source of the information for each item, thus answering the question, "How do you know this

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-38078356629717292512010-10-04T16:56:00.000-07:002010-10-05T14:23:11.801-07:00

If I had another lifetime to live, I would like to study social movements -- for example, how they form, how they expand without losing their original purpose, and how individuals respond to the inevitable disputes among members. Intriguing movements of the past were the anti-slavery movement in the 1700-1800s, the movement to break down trade barriers in the 1800s, the movement to abolish the

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-27459326314967510102010-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:002010-08-29T06:25:22.890-07:00

From the American Conservative Union Foundation's newsletter, Issue 162, August 25, 2010, at conservative.org . . . "Neoconservatives today dominate conservative think tanks and foundations; they have a major presence in the media; and they are entrenched in America’s universities. Well-known neoconservative intellectuals such as Michael Ledeen, William Kristol, and David Brooks are regular

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-683963309781192482010-07-22T06:35:00.001-07:002010-07-23T05:02:11.290-07:00

For beginning and intermediate writers, I recommend The Writing Process, an audio recording of two lectures by writer and editor, Peter Schwartz.[1] In a quiet, understated style, Schwartz first identifies false ideas some writers -- and would-be writers -- hold about the nature of writing. These false ideas make the writing process more difficult than it needs to be. An example false idea is

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-70610261202920514172010-06-14T09:56:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:21:45.441-07:00

In late August and September, Study Groups for Objectivists will examine selected chapters of C. Bradley Thompson's new book, Neoconservatism: An Obituary for an Idea, available from The Ayn Rand Bookstore. The book, which I hope to review next month, spans 2400 years of history as part of the author's plan to characterize the sixty-year-old neoconservatism movement and uncover its tangled roots.

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-47762996434306777752010-04-08T05:25:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:23:58.878-07:00

THE STUDY GROUPFor June 14 to July 25, Study Groups for Objectivists has scheduled a five-week study group examining the historical roots of capitalism. The study group leader will be prolific author, lecturer, and philosophy teacher Andrew Bernstein, PhD ( http://www.andrewbernstein.net ). The study text will be four chapters from his book, The Capitalist Manifesto: The Historic, Economic and

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-54427376112665470222010-02-16T14:07:00.000-08:002010-02-16T15:14:25.733-08:00

On March 15, the six-week "Concepts of Consciousness" study group will begin working through Chapter 4 of Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, Ayn Rand's revolutionary treatise on epistemology. Our rate of study will average two to three pages per week, and a final "Summary" week will allow for a re-reading and overview. Chapter 4 is one of the most difficult in the book, because the subject

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-71955873734294498312010-02-10T06:17:00.000-08:002010-09-29T17:25:01.051-07:00

A carpenter needs tools. A surgeon needs tools. What tools does a writer need? Among others, he needs books as resources. My purpose here is to identify the kinds of books a frequent or full-time writer might accumulate. I offer examples from my bookshelves; I have not performed a systematic survey of the books available today in each category. First, a general-purpose, unabridged dictionary is

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-79927671774726161672010-01-06T14:10:00.000-08:002010-09-28T05:24:19.623-07:00

To a novice student of Objectivism, who had read two nonfiction works by Ayn Rand and wanted to know more, I suggested reading her novels The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. They show Ayn Rand's philosophy in action. Intentionally or not, a work of fiction demonstrates a fiction writer's philosophy in its fundamental branches (metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics). As Ayn Rand has noted, all

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-25377757391018590562009-11-22T04:40:00.000-08:002010-09-28T05:23:32.327-07:00

Personal Value for Me. Dr. Edwin Locke's Study Methods & Motivation: A Practical Guide to Effective Study has been one of the most important books in my life. When I was a child, I saw my parents performing the usual household skills—from cooking to simple carpentry. I asked a child's equivalent of, "How do you know how to do this?" In my family, the answer was always the same: First a shrug, and

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-91573420170409878032009-09-09T15:02:00.000-07:002010-02-20T07:31:05.307-08:00

The following list shows the activism of individuals who are members of Northwest Objectivists. It is a social organization whose primary purpose is enjoying the company of like-minded individuals and whose secondary purpose is assisting members in starting other, specialized groups (for example, for activism or study). By providing a meeting ground, NWO has facilitated activities for change. As

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-84507055659700378332009-08-12T06:44:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:22:44.472-07:00

A culture (and the society that produces it) is akin to a broad fabric emerging from a loom. It is composed of numerous threads of various textures and colors. Following is a narrow historical example of the sort of spread of fundamental ideas that can change a culture, thread by thread:1. In 1957, novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand published her greatest work, Atlas Shrugged. It presented the

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-80243531419462995732009-06-22T06:03:00.000-07:002009-06-22T14:59:16.479-07:00

Stephen Plafker, guest writerUnder Objectivist political theory, the purpose of government is to eliminate the initiation of physical force from human relationships.If physical force is to be barred from social relationships, men need an institution charged with the task of protecting their rights under an objective code of rules.This is the task of government—of a proper government—its basic

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-90823250613049142602009-05-22T12:44:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:21:45.134-07:00

Earlier posts examined the meaning of exaltation and its opposite, humility. Two topics remain. The first is distinguishing two feelings often mistakenly conflated; and the second is deciding whether an individual should strive for either of the two feelings as a life-structuring goal.1. COMPARING EXALTATION AND GLORY. If a rancher wages a courtroom battle to save his own particular piece of

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-9141487633919732832009-05-15T18:33:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:21:14.273-07:00

Besides (1) examining one's own experiences as referents for a puzzling term/concept, (2) reading a dictionary for its list of conventional usages of the term/concept, and (3) investigating the etymology of a term, there is still another approach to better understanding a problematic term/concept: Consider its opposite.What is the opposite of the meaning of "exaltation"? My unabridged dictionary

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-70972957359531589362009-05-10T04:52:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:20:31.117-07:00

IMPORTANCE. In his first post (on April 11), "Introduction to 'Exalted Moments'," the anonymous author of the new Exalted Moments weblog quotes Ayn Rand's correspondence. In a letter she wrote in 1960, she said:You [an admirer of Atlas Shrugged] ask me about the meaning of the dialogue on page 702 of Atlas Shrugged:"'We never had to take any of it seriously, did we?' [Dagny Taggart] whispered. .

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-3507534617414227202009-05-07T20:29:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:19:52.852-07:00

Updated: Sept. 9, 2009The following list shows the activism of individuals who are members of Northwest Objectivists. It is a social organization whose primary purpose is enjoying the company of like-minded individuals and whose secondary purpose is assisting members in starting other, specialized groups (for example, for activism or study). By providing a meeting ground, NWO has facilitated

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-75271329658547551772009-04-24T08:30:00.000-07:002009-04-24T09:15:55.389-07:00

Dr. Robert Garmong, guest writerWhat if the greatest economist in history, Ludwig von Mises, could directly comment on the current financial crisis and tell you how to deal with it? Well, unfortunately that's not possible -- Mises died in 1973. However, his "Monetary Reconstruction" essay, the work we will be studying in a September study group, comes close.In it, Mises analyzes the reasons why

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-75913417216758633972009-03-03T18:58:00.000-08:002010-09-29T17:18:23.957-07:00

For many individuals, properly defining a central purpose in life is a difficult process of abstraction. Even with that accomplished, there is another hurdle: designing a path that makes that abstract purpose concrete. For those individuals who want to be scholars, either in the humanities or in one of the sciences, but do not want to be professors in a university, Ronald Gross has written The

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-10702366281951819092009-02-26T04:26:00.000-08:002009-02-26T04:39:50.570-08:00

Welcome to the February 26, 2009 Objectivist Roundup!Objectivism is the philosophy created by Ayn Rand (1905-1982). She described it as a "philosophy for living on earth." For the five branches of that philosophy, the foundational ideas are: objective reality (metaphysics); reason (epistemology); self-interest (ethics); capitalism (politics); and romantic-realism in art (esthetics).For the events

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-74996447415733795262009-02-07T11:00:00.000-08:002011-11-05T05:12:23.322-07:00

"In 1969," editor Robert Mayhew says, "Ayn Rand gave a course on nonfiction writing to . . . friends and associates" who might become writers for her magazine, The Objectivist.[1] The course, edited, now appears in book form as The Art of Nonfiction. One small part of her course focuses on writing book reviews, an important element of her magazine dedicated to applying philosophy to contemporary

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-50318108688512930842009-01-29T06:04:00.001-08:002009-01-29T13:13:41.999-08:00

Welcome to the January 29, 2009 Objectivist Roundup!Objectivism is the philosophy created by Ayn Rand (1905-1982). She described it as a "philosophy for living on earth." For the five branches of that philosophy, the foundational ideas are: objective reality (metaphysics); reason (epistemology); self-interest (ethics); capitalism (politics); and romantic-realism in art (esthetics).For the events

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-83662944310817380402008-12-26T07:56:00.000-08:002010-09-18T18:29:11.577-07:00

Example 1: "Judge Sandra Olson recused herself from presiding at the trial of her niece, Ms. Bernice Smith, who had been charged with embezzling from the Tri-County Children's Fund. Judge Olson said she wanted to avoid even an appearance of bias."What does "bias" mean here? Does the term name a valid concept? If the concept is invalid, should I keep the term, but use it to label a valid concept

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-39479795980573296422008-11-30T08:06:00.000-08:002010-09-29T17:15:40.970-07:00

INITIAL DEFINITION. As an accusation, the term "rationalization" appears in casual conversations, weblog posts, and formal essays. Examples I have heard are: "Her explanation sounds like a rationalization to me." "Is what he said really true, or is it just a rationalization?" "His whole theory is a rationalization!"A mundane but classic example of rationalization, is: "'I bought the matzo bread

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-33991498746021641472008-11-09T03:48:00.000-08:002010-09-29T17:14:21.639-07:00

[This question arose on Study Groups for Objectivists in discussions of Yaron Brook's and Onkar Ghate's insightful "Cultural Movements: Creating Change" lectures (available on the website of the Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights, under the headings Participate/Activism).]Here is a problem for students of the history of ideas, intellectual history, or cultural history: Reason is difficult and

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-15248375451166067712008-10-24T06:36:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:13:46.307-07:00

Study Groups for Objectivists (SGO) recently completed its five-week "Cultural Movements: Creating Change" study group. The "text" was the series of three lectures, by the same title, which Drs. Onkar Ghate and Yaron Brook presented at Objectivist Conferences 2008, now available for viewing on The Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights website under PARTICIPATE/Activism (or Search).Lecture 3 drew

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-53553317751559565822008-09-29T13:04:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:12:33.132-07:00

As a long-term student of history, I am fascinated with the many ways one can approach the subject. By "history" here I mean the total of all human events of the past. We can know those events through the historical record: blood-stained flint arrowheads; paintings on cave walls; relief sculpture on marble monuments; "holy scripture" on vellum; the weave of clothing on bodies buried in peat bogs;

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-87667001995781529922008-08-31T08:10:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:11:43.431-07:00

Would you like to improve the world in which you live? The four-week "Cultural Movements: Creating Change" study group (CMCCSG) might be the right place for you to start. Within a few weeks, the CMCCSG will begin in SGO at: http://www.studygroupsforobjectivists.com/Every SGO study group is focused on a particular text, but as an experiment the "text" here consists of videos of the three lectures

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-33489799670642998002008-08-29T12:21:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:10:33.240-07:00

Gene Ligman, a registered member of SGO, says:By participating in the ITOE, Ch. 5 ("Definitions") study group, I have assuredly learned more than I would have through self-study by itself. I would not have broken the subject down into such small sections, which helped immensely, nor would I have known the questions that I should ask myself in order to make sure I had integrated it sufficiently.

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-42021086452047544482008-08-08T11:29:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:18:47.620-07:00

[For this post, I assume my readers have studied Ayn Rand's most important philosophical work, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, especially Chs. 1-5.]As a preliminary step toward clarifying the differences between in-line and off-line activism, consider five imaginary examples of intellectual activists--individuals taking action in society to disseminate philosophical principles as they

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-53974600480967965512008-08-01T19:10:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:19:36.900-07:00

The Summer 2008 issue of The Objective Standard carries an article by Raymond C. Niles, "Property Rights and the Crisis of the Electric Grid." According to his profile under the "Contributors" tab on the TOS website:Mr. Niles manages an investment fund focused on the electric utility and related industries. Prior to initiating his fund, Mr. Niles was a senior electric utility analyst at

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-42160026970277622182008-07-28T06:35:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:08:48.781-07:00

PROBLEM. In the forty-five years that I've known students of Objectivism, I have met about fifty individuals who said their central purpose in life is to write fiction--either historical, philosophical, or other genre. Most of them soon switched to another central purpose in life. (For my views of CPL, see my posts of May 20 and June 5, 2008.) Some of those who switched are still in art, but in a

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-54277553696583290292008-07-21T05:51:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:18:02.710-07:00

In the last few years, I have frequently examined many advocacy websites. One of my purposes was to identify the manner in which the authors made their points; their style in responding to comments, especially critical ones; and their effectiveness as intellectual or political activists.In some weblogs, one element of style stands out: insults to opponents. These writers call their opponents

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-78509639797827217752008-07-14T08:31:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:16:14.074-07:00

Within a few years I hope to look at one or more movements that have contributed to Western Civilization. (For the nature of a movement, see the July 5, 2008 post.) Examples in the USA are movements to abolish slavery; secure property rights for women; spread the theory of evolution; abolish alcohol Prohibition; and repeal "Jim Crow" laws. Following are preliminary notes for this project; the

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-64339906859689485242008-07-05T15:16:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:15:12.147-07:00

In the late 1100s in Paris, various educators were inspired by a new idea, the unity of knowledge: A fully educated man is not only an accomplished specialist in a particular career (the lucrative arts of Law, Medicine, and Theology), but he also has fundamental knowledge applicable to everyone's life (the liberal arts). This idea of the unity of knowledge became an ideal--that is, a goal worthy

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-11207778315797909702008-06-05T14:29:00.000-07:002010-08-29T07:15:25.465-07:00

I began reading Ayn Rand's writings 47 years ago. From the beginning, almost everything I read sounded right. Only one idea didn't fit: the idea of sacrifice. Ayn Rand defines "sacrifice" as "the surrender of the greater value for the sake of the lesser value."[1]At the age of 17, I wondered, "Why would anyone give up a greater value for a lesser value?"As the years rolled by, I saw examples of

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-35321141637260502142008-05-20T06:23:00.000-07:002011-01-31T14:15:36.925-08:00

[Jan. 31, 2011. My latest and final version of this post appears in the "What is a central purpose in life?" section of the Appendix to my latest book, The Power and the Glory, described here: reasonversusmysticism.com]In the first scene of Ayn Rand's novel, The Fountainhead, the protagonist, Howard Roark, stands on the edge of a cliff, preparing to dive into the lake below. As he looks at the

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-87306243185443365262008-05-02T06:37:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:06:49.341-07:00

As a student of history and philosophy, one of the best items of advice that I have received is: "Learn how to essentialize." So, I have been a student of essentializing, and I am still looking for ways to improve. Following is my interim summary.WHAT IS ESSENTIALIZING? As a noun, the term essential is shorthand for the phrase "essential characteristic." Characteristic of what? Of any existent--a

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-48782024930345080042008-04-17T06:31:00.000-07:002010-09-29T17:06:10.344-07:00

Leonard Peikoff notes that Aquinas is "the greatest of all religious thinkers," one who openly champions reason--with faith as a supplement.[1] In this post, my purpose--as a layman, not as a specialist--is to suggest an interpretation of a Biblical passage that underlies Aquinas's view of faith.[2] The passage is Chapter 11, Verse 1 of The Letter to the Hebrews, in the Christian New Testament.

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-60716818728098183992008-04-04T06:50:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:17:18.615-07:00

My purpose in these notes is to summarize my understanding of the general process of spreading a philosophy.TRANSMISSION vs. DISSEMINATIONPhilosophical transmission is the passage of a philosophy from one generation to the next or from one society to another. In the west, a long line of scholars transmitted Aristotle's philosophy from Greek society to Roman society; in the east, Greek writers

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-17906834080517441252008-03-03T06:23:00.000-08:002010-10-15T11:43:49.107-07:00

Having written the Jan. 2 and Jan. 10, 2008 posts as preliminary steps, I can now answer the title question in a straight-forward manner: Historians owe their audiences whatever their contracts require them to provide--and nothing more. If there is no contract, a historian owes his audience nothing. He is free to provide as much information as he chooses to offer.1. OBJECTION: Doesn't a historian

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-87183456573799794122008-01-10T06:56:00.000-08:002010-09-29T17:03:52.434-07:00

PROBLEM: In communicating his ideas to others, how much proof must a historian offer?IMAGINARY EXAMPLE: Let's say historian Dr. A writes an essay whose purpose is to persuade readers to adopt a certain idea. His publisher, the Journal of the Intellectual History of France in the Central Middle Ages, sets a length limit at only 2000 words. Within that limit, the historian must present and prove

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-74973716659936565802008-01-02T11:21:00.000-08:002010-09-29T17:02:51.680-07:00

In Objectivism, the phrase "self-evident" refers to a certain kind of truth, that is, a certain kind of statement that identifies a fact of reality. Example statements about reality are:- This table is brown.- My computer is a Mac-mini.- Most dogs bark.- To survive and flourish, man requires freedom in society.- Existence exists.Which of these statements are self-evident? Ayn Rand observes: "The

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-53450832221231045772007-12-16T07:12:00.000-08:002010-09-28T05:41:15.740-07:00

In her essay "Art and Sense of Life," Ayn Rand differentiates "a real-life news story and a fiction story."[1] Her comments and my own interest in history lead me to wonder about stories in general, regardless of type. Following is my personal--not philosophical--definition. What I seek is (1) improvement on the basic approach of understanding a commonly-used but often ill-defined concept, and (2

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-6759448429800555852007-11-18T05:36:00.000-08:002010-09-28T05:40:35.198-07:00

(Last revised Nov. 21, '07) Making Progress is an experiment. I am trying to create a site strictly for discussion of ideas that intrigue me as a student of history -- a site free of interpersonal struggles.Etiquette is an art. It applies principles and rules of individual behavior to social situations in order to facilitate trade. This Etiquette section has two purposes: (1) Facilitate the trade

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-87904011529014363702007-11-16T13:51:00.000-08:002010-09-28T05:40:02.961-07:00

"Western Civilization" is a term used often in Objectivist writings as well as elsewhere, both by professional historians and laymen. What is Western Civilization? What idea does the term symbolize; and to what facts of reality does the idea refer? TERMS AND IDEAS. Anyone is free to employ any term for a given idea, and anyone is free to form and then define an idea in any way he wants. For

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-36194039326550368482007-10-27T12:00:00.000-07:002010-09-28T05:39:00.507-07:00

My purpose here is to test my understanding of one element of Ayn Rand's epistemology. AYN RAND'S IDEA OF IMPLICIT KNOWLEDGE. In her 1966-1967 treatise Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, Ayn Rand defines "implicit knowledge" as "passively held material which, to be grasped, requires a special focus and process of consciousness ..." (2nd ed., p. 57).In her 1969-1971 epistemology workshops,

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-796169656211771238.post-10038261510947498012007-10-20T20:05:00.000-07:002010-08-25T06:37:38.240-07:00

I frequently encounter and occasionally use the terms "worldview," "philosophy," and "ideology." The problems I have wrestled with are: - What idea does each term name? - How are the ideas--and the facts they subsume--related? My answer is that a worldview is a comprehensive set of ideas that, taken together, explain at least: (1) the basic nature of the world in which one lives; (2) one's own

Burgess Laughlinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13865479709475171678noreply@blogger.com7