Love, in the Objectivist ethics, is a response to values. It is the emotional price paid by one person for the joy they receive from the virtues of another. It’s not a payment for services rendered nor a compensation for disvalues, but a celebration of all that is good in another person and oneself. Love…
Category: Objectivism
This section of my blog is for Objectivists and those interested in Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. You may repost and/or translate anything found here, provided you do so a) without editing the content in any way and b) link back to the original source.
Power
(Intended for Objectivists) I recently came across a scene from the TV series Yellowstone where there was an amusing exchange between a student and his teacher. You can watch it here: She says power is “the ability to direct or influence another’s behavior or course of events…. That’s power. And you don’t have any.” This…
Leonard Peikoff, Kira, and Grace
I’ve resisted writing this for months. Since “The Grace Affair” has developed into an unseemly circus, I feel I need to speak up after reading Kira Peikoff’s Facebook post and comments: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/15L8GERexJ/. I have facts. I hired Grace for Leonard. I’ve had hundreds of teachers, but none compare to the masterful Professor Leonard Peikoff. He…
The LevelUp Conference in Atlanta
I recently had the pleasure of speaking at the LevelUp conference in Atlanta, an event filled with inspiring speakers, engaging presentations, and a benevolent atmosphere. I focused my presentation on the themes from my book, The Happiness Experiment. I spoke about the importance of happiness planning and about how being deliberate in creating happiness can…
Corrupt California Community Colleges
California is perpetuating racism in its community colleges—by redefining words. Particularly disturbing is their redefinition of “merit,” a concept that is so important for the advancement and improvement of our world. The meritorious are those outstanding men and women who discover, innovate, and produce wealth, and whose actions thereby benefit all of us. Yet California’s…
Don’t Cry for Argentina, Celebrate It!
Something positive is happening in politics from, of all places, Argentina—the socialist utopia that has experienced systematic poverty for decades because of its socialism. But no more. Argentine President Javier Milei’s speech at Davos is one of the most important given by a politician that I’ve ever read. If his ideas can catch on, they…
Mayhem, Murderers, and Martyrs
Ideas have consequences. The idea that motivates Hamas and other terrorists is: achieving “divine” justice—other-worldly justice—via earthly retribution, using any means necessary. Their strategy: dehumanize, destroy, and dominate. Their means of implementation: Jihad, murder, mayhem, and martyrdom. From the horse’s mouth: “The day of judgment will not come until Muslims fight the Jews (killing them…
Who Represents Objectivism?
There have been many alleged spokespersons for Objectivism—Mike Berliner, Harry Binswanger, John Ridpath, Peter Schwartz, Yaron Brook—and we’re now told of a “Chief Philosophy Officer,” Onkar Ghate. There’s something we should not forget. The philosopher of Objectivism, the Chief Philosophy Officer of her philosophy, is Ayn Rand (although Ms. Rand would never accept such a…
Reality
(This post is for Objectivists only.) I had partied too much the night before, and I woke up feeling sluggish and a little hungover. As I opened my eyes, I said “Ugh! Reality… where the hell did that come from?” My romantic partner looked at me and said, “Ayn Rand invented it!” I laughed out…
Movie: We the Living
(This post is only for Objectivists.) I received an email from the producer of We the Living, Duncan Scott. He is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who, along with associate producer, Barbara Scott, spent two years meticulously restoring and rejuvenating the 80-year-old movie, frame-by-frame. The result, We the Living: The 80th Anniversary Restoration, was premiered at…