Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

sklein

Regulars
  • Posts

    4
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Previous Fields

  • State (US/Canadian)
    Not Specified
  • Country
    Not Specified

sklein's Achievements

Newbie

Newbie (1/7)

0

Reputation

  1. Normally, I do not respond to ad hominem attacks--what's the point? However, I thought it important to make clear that I have never hid or in any way denied the fact that I work for The Objectivist Center. In fact, I thought it so obvious from the initial post, that there was no reason to mention it. And of course, as a few posters have mentioned--it is irrelevant to the misuse and context dropping quotes used to unfairly attack Kelley.
  2. It is sad to see the loose reasoning and ad hominem attacks on David Kelley and TOC. As is the case in many of these type of attacks, nothing specific is cited (or its taken out of context) or claimed, just insults hurled like subjectivist or postmodernist. It was good to see a few who though they disagree with Kelley's thought, were unwilling to engage in these silly attacks. This attack is new, though, that Kelley worked with Rorty at Princeton as graduate student he must somehow share the same philosophy. David Kelley is quite clear and explicit that he takes Rorty's philosophy to be wrong at the base of it and most of his work has been defending and explaining Rand's theory. Kelley's comments about Rorty were taken complete out of context, showing a kind of intellectual dishonesty by intentionally trying to portrary Kelley's comment as an approval of Rorty. Here is the sentence in more complete context, from his introduction to "Evidence of the Senses" "I owe a great deal to my teacher and advisor at Princeton, Richard Rorty. My analysis of the idealist strain in contemporary philosophy was inspired by his seminar on the subject, though our evaluations of idealism differ radically." Earlier in the introduction, Kelley writes: "The philosopher who had the greatest influence on my thinking about perception was the late Ayn Rand." And he continues by saying that her epistemology "represents a profound, and profoundly important, alternative to traditional theories" Many of the claims against Kelley made by "WGD" are equally ridiculous--they too are take out of context and meant to portrary something very different from what Kelley is writing about. Either WGD is being intentionally dishonest or he can't understand what he reads. The notion that Kelley is a "weasel" is absurd and contradicted by anyone who has met him or read any of his work. He always comes across as professional, intelligent, and straightforward. The claim that Kelley splits reason from reality or ever claimed "who am I to know" (or anything remotely similar) is even more absurd. What is the basis for such a remark? Clearly these claims are made by someone who hasn't seriously read Kelley's work. An honest reading of Kelley's writing shows a deep commitment to reality, reason, objectivity, and indeed Objectivism. One doesn't have to agree with Kelley--but this name calling and ridiculous, out of context, unsubstantiated attacks are beyond the bounds of decency and objectivity. For those interested, here are some links from the TOC website: The Objectivist Center: for Objectivity and Independence: http://www.objectivistcenter.org/obj-studi...mas_toc-ari.asp Introduction to Truth and Toleration: http://www.objectivistcenter.org/articles/...sted-legacy.asp Shawn Klein
  3. The 15th annual TOC Summer Seminar: Objectivism in Theory and Practice will be held July 3-10, 2004 at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. The week-long program is filled with the best known names in Objectivism: David Kelley, Nathaniel Branden, Robert Bidinotto, Lindsay Perigo, Tibor Machan, Ed Hudgins, Douglas Rasmussen, Robert Poole, Stephen Hicks, Eric Mack, Mimi Gladstein, Michael Newberry, and many, many more. Topics include: "Analyzing the Harmony of Interests"; "Philosophy and the Origins of Art"; "Objectivism and Libertarianism"; "Islamic Philosophy"; "Bioethics and Human Cloning"; "Business Ethics and Atlas Shrugged"; and much more! Full program information and secure, online registration is available at The Objectivist Center: www.objectivistcenter.org Shawn Klein [email protected]
  4. Film Company to Bring "Atlas Shrugged" to the Screen A new project to film Atlas Shrugged has just been launched. Crusader Entertainment, LLC, a Beverly Hills-based production company, announced on May 12 that it had acquired the film rights to Ayn Rand's great novel. The company also announced that it has signed veteran screenwriter James V. Hart, whose film credits include the ambitious adaptation of Carl Sagan's science fiction novel Contact, to write the screenplay. For more information: http://www.atlassociety.org/news_atlas-shr...rugged-film.asp Shawn Klein
×
×
  • Create New...