cliveandrews

would you say that objectivism = fundamentalist atheism?

Since large cities offer the biggest and best of everything that civilization has to offer both technological and economic terms, and because human competition is so much stronger in urban areas, can it not be said that large cities are actually morally superior to small towns? Or at least superior in the sense that the major league baseball is superior to the minor leagues? Also, if one finds himself emotionally attached to his small hometown even though bigger and better things exist elsewhere, is he irrational to stay put?

I'm exploring my current options, as well as my past mistakes, in extreme depth and attempting to use philosophy to determine the best way to proceed, as well as how I should have acted in the past.

Maybe I phrased my question poorly, but I certainly didn't mean imply that anybody "owes" me anything. I was simply asking whether one qualifes as depraved by Objectivist standards under the circumstances I discussed.

*** Mod's note: merged with an earlier thread. - sN *** So I cannot claim to have discovered a purpose as of yet. Does this mean I am depraved, or does it count for something that I rigorously seek a purpose? In other words, if my current purpose is to find a purpose, am I spared the condition of utter depravity?

I would say it starts with realistic assessment of your abilities. Of the things you are interesting in, what do you have the least and most aptitude at?

This is hypothetical: Suppose a grown man of 23 just finished community college and wants to attend a four year university and will require 2-3 years to finish. Also suppose he needs financial support from his parents and/or relatives to pay for tuition and living expenses, and that he does not feel capable of working full time while undergoing a rigorous course of study in something very difficult like engineering or premed, etc. His family is fully willing to help him and they want him to succeed. However, the family is corrupt, he has had a strained relationship with them in recent years, and doesn't really respect them very much. He wants to finish school to achieve his desired career, but loathes the idea of being dependent on his dicked up family for any length of time. Partly because he finds it emasculating at his age and partly because, as they say, you can't bite the hand that feeds. What should he do? A) Place his independence above all else and forfeit college. Settle on a less difficult course of study that is not his first choice, but allows him to work his own way through. C) Bite the bullet, take the money, finsh school, deal with all the shit that comes with it, and be glad when it's over. D) Something else.

*** Mod's note: merged with an earlier thread. -sN *** I'd like to know what members of the Objectivist community think about the practice of involuntary psychiatric commitment. If you are in favor of it, does your support extend to forced medication, or merely to confinement in a mental institution?