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truths-seeker

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  1. See my concern isn't that he's right. I can spot his misrepresentations, as can most of the people on this forum. We all can read it and know right away that he is making false statements about what Ayn Rand believed. The problem is that he is making these claims somewhat unchallenged. Others who might be on the fence about Rand will read this and think, oh she was wrong. Or people who read this now and later come across Rand will just remember that she was disproved, so why bother listening to her ideas... etc. The lay-people who read these articles will come away with one message: "Ayn Rand was wrong." The author of these articles is working very hard toward that end. However if the vast majority of comments under these articles are pointing out the dishonesty, then just maybe some of these lay-people will have second thoughts.
  2. There is an attack on Ayn Rand and Objectivism right now that is gaining popularity. It's full of misrepresentations of her ideas, but to the lay-people it is proof that she was wrong. Lots of media out-lets are jumping on this too saying "Ah ha! We were always right, she was wrong!" It's all centered around articles written by Eric Michael Johnson, an Evolutionary Anthropologist. Here are some links: http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_evolution/2012/10/groups_and_gossip_drove_the_evolution_of_human_nature.single.html http://healthland.time.com/2012/10/08/is-human-nature-fundamentally-selfish-or-altruistic/ http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/primate-diaries/2012/10/05/ayn-rand-on-human-nature/ http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/crux/2012/10/05/yes-ayn-there-is-a-social-instinct/ http://io9.com/5950256/evolutionary-anthropology-to-ayn-rand-you-fail His Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/primatediaries/ & https://www.facebook.com/eric.michael.johnson I'm seeing links to these articles posted all over the place. Anyway, I'm hoping this will stir an overwhelming number of comments from members of this forum posted on those sites defending Rand, and pointing out Mr. Johnson's misrepresentations.
  3. Hi all, just wanted to let you know that there is a new Terry Goodkind novel coming out on July 2nd. "The First Confessor, The Legend of Magda Searus". This novel is self published by Mr. Goodkind and will be released almost exclusively in ebook format, with a limited run of 300 Collector Edition hard bound books (although sadly these have already been sold out). Anyway, thought you guys might be interested in this info as it is not widely known. Also, for those who don't know, the heroes in Mr. Goodkind's series are objectivists. It was these novels that lead me to Ayn Rand and Objectivism. I can't wait to read this new book! You can checkout Terry Goodkind's Facebook page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/terrygoodkind
  4. A few other books that might be worthwhile, but I have not read: - On Ayn Rand, by Allan Gotthelf - The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism, by Nathaniel Branden - Understanding Objectivism: A Guide to Learning Ayn Rand's Philosophy, by Leonard Peikoff (Author), Michael S. Berliner (Editor) - Not released yet
  5. Cool I will have to check that out! Penn Jillette (the taller more vocal member of the Penn & Teller magician duo) has a new podcast show that just started: http://pennsundayschool.com/ I used to listen to his old radio show, it's a pretty big mix of things, but his views are fairly Objectivist I would say. He has mentioned from time to time that Atlas Shrugged is one of his favorite books.
  6. Has anyone read both Andrew Bernstein's Capitalism Unbound and his Capitalist Manifesto? How to they compare and differ?
  7. Wow, thanks for the info guys! That's bloody amazing Brunno, the reality behind these issues is always so much more complicated than these "sign now" petitions let on. It is funny you mentioned Avatar, when that came out it was another 'example' my friends would use of the evils of capitalism. Not even joking.
  8. Yeah, it is just frustrating, I spend so much time 'debating' with friends about capitalism, then they throw this in my face. This is the type of thing people jump on as an example of the evils of capitalism. How can I explain in a simple straight-forward way how they are wrong, how this is not a representation of capitalism?
  9. Not sure if this is specifically an Environmentalism topic. This has been popping up on facebook lately: 5b8cb96695b18e5482181f49069e0758 How do you even begin on an issue like this?
  10. I am looking for any fiction books that have Objectivist heroes or Objectivist overtones (Non-Rand books). Doesn't necessarily need to portray Objectivism in a good light or bad. Some examples of what I mean: - Troy Rising Series, by John Ringo – The main character, Tyler Vernon, is pretty much an Objectivist hero I would say, libertarian anyway. - Bioshock: Rapture, by John Shirley – Prequel novel to the video game. It is about an Objectivist utopia that goes bad. Andrew Ryan, the creator of the underwater city is supposed to be an Objectivist hero type, though he strays pretty far off an Objectivist path pretty quick. Casts Objectivism in a negative light. - Watchmen, by Alan Moore – A graphic novel. The character Rorschach is a tribute/spoof of what Alan Moore thinks of Objectivism. Based on another comic book character, the Question (also Objectivist). - The Sword of Truth Series, by Terry Goodkind – A great fantasy series with true Objectivist heroes. Love this series.
  11. I liked it a lot. Visually it was stunning. Only thing I didn't like was the appeals to faith. And the Greek king, who explicitly stated he was a man of reason and logic and skepticism, how he was so inept. Like they were saying, "Look how pathetic reason is when compared to faith". But I could just be over-analyzing.
  12. Yeah, I know - you guys are right. That quote kainscalia posted sums it up nicely. Still, it is hard not to want to see these guys put in their place. If only for the sake of others who read the thread. I guess I should not let myself get frustrated by stuff like this.
  13. (Maybe this is the wrong place to post this request, if it is I apologize.) I’m not the best at defending/arguing Objectivism and Ayn Rand, but it frustrates the hell out of me when I come across something like this: http://www.linkswarm.com/viewlinkcomments-52522-.html I realize that most of the people commenting in that thread aren’t worth the bother. But it is still hard for me to ignore. And I also think of people new to the ideas of Ayn Rand being swayed by crap like this. So anyone feel like signing-up on that site and defending Ayn Rand? I would try, but I know myself, I’m not good at these sorts of things and would probably come off making her look worse.
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