Zoso
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Posts posted by Zoso
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I am a graduate student working on a Master's degree in criminal justice from Sam Houston State University...I know, it's a crappy school, but it's also the best in the nation for criminal justice. In August, I graduated from Texas A&M with a BS in psychology. After I get my Master's, I'm hoping to move to Ohio to be with my future wife and work on a PhD in political philosophy at Bowling Green State University.
I should probably say, as some of you know, I am not an Objectivist. However, I think I have potential to be. One of the reasons I can't call myself an Objectivist is because I do not understand a lot of it. I've read Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, We the Living, Philosophy: Who Needs It?, and The Virtue of Selfishness. Most of what I don't understand is the epistemology, and I'd like to read ITOE at some point in the near future. I seem to disagree with a lot of the epistemology but, like I said, that may be due to the fact that I don't have a good understanding of it yet. I agree almost entirely with the politics, ethics, and metaphysics. Although, the metaphysics is another area where I could stand to learn a bit more before taking a definite stance. As for the aesthetics...I'm not really interested in aesthetic theory and do not plan to read The Romantic Manifesto. So, I'm here to learn. Be patient with me, because I'm trying to understand Objectivism, but I'll probably say stuff that doesn't quite fit, from time to time. If you think I'm wrong, tell me why and don't just attack me for being "irrational," because it will be an honest mistake.
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As I mentioned in another thread, I read Atlas Shrugged at age 9...
Everytime I start to think I'm smart, someone says something like this. I thought it was a big deal that my 16-year old cousin is reading The Fountainhead. Did you actually understand it?
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I think it would be very hard for somebody who doesn't have at least some of the Objectivist values already to become an Objectivist. For instance, I know a person who I know will never become an Objectivist. Why? He lacks the virtues of rationality, self-esteem, and independence of thought. There are many corrolaries to these virtues but, if you are lacking in those three, it is nearly impossible to reach the person with reason.
That's sort of a pessimistic view. Before somewhere either my freshman or sophomore year of college, I was a hopelessly fundamentalist Christian. I wasn't all that devout, but I had a habit of burying my head in the sand whenever someone challenged my faith. I am no longer a Christian and have strong Objectivist leanings.
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Well, if you're a true Objectivist, then you would believe that we are born tabula rasa, meaning that you have no ideas, Objectivist or otherwise. I think it's all about how you're raised and socialized. Conscious choice enters at the appropriate level of maturity. While I'm not an Objectivist, I have strong leanings in that direction, yet I was raised as a Christian. However, my parents, despite being Christian, are very individualistic. My first words, and no I am no making this up, were "I need money." My parents gave me a few coins and I went and put them in my room. My next words were "I need mo money."
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Got this off of Neal Boortz's website. The last part actually made me laugh out loud.
HOW DO WE ELECT DANGEROUS IDIOTS LIKE THIS?The brain-dead, idiotic, disgusting, anti-American, childish, can't-get-over-it politician of the day is one Nelson Polite, a member of the Lancaster, Pennsylvania city council. Thankfully this jerk will rise no further up the political ladder. Even Democrats think he's a fool.
Polite is upset because of David Stoltzfus who runs a baked goods stand at the local city market. Stoltzfus has a picture of President Bush hanging in the stand. Polite is a Democrat. Polite made a trip to visit Stoltzfus to tell him that he and other Lancaster Democrats are "offended" by the picture of President Bush, and he wants it taken down immediately. Stoltzfus told him no. Now Polite says he is going to ask for a new city ordinance that would make the posting of any political material, including a picture of the President of the United States on city property illegal. Polite says "there should be rules."
Yeah ... in America there should be rules which prevent an American citizen from posting a picture of the President of the United States in his place of business.
Where do people like Nelson Polite come from?
Just in case you are someone who collects addresses of city council members from around the country, here's one you may be interested in.
Mr. Nelson M. Polite
Lancaster City Council
540 North Street
Lancaster, PA 17602
(717) 392-4655
(717) 392-3434 (Fax)
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Whoa...I'm not gonna respond to all of these individually. I will, however, say that I do not believe in subjectivity. I believe we can be certain about a great many things. I'm just not willing to say that I know for certain that something does not exist, until I have simultaneously seen all of the spatial locations that it might be able to exist. I have read quite a bit of Ayn Rand's writings. I've read Atlas Shrugged, Anthem, We the Living, Philosophy: Who Needs It, and The Virtue of Selfishness. I think I'm ready to read ITOE, if I ever buy it.
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I agree with the last two posts. However, no doubt, all agencies do things that are against Objectivist philosophy. As a student of Objectivism, would it be wrong to follow the immoral orders of a superior. It seems to me that, much like paying taxes, that sort of situation would fall under the category of duress, in which the government is holding an invisible gun to your head.
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No, but I would like to do it for a little while. You're dodging the question. If I am placed in that situation, is it acceptable to go against my beliefs.
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Okay, but we have to have law enforcement.
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I still think it's pointless. And I think it is equally pointless for you to call yours better than mine. Neither of us gives it any religious significance.
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Well, I hope you're right. But I really don't think the rest of the world would just sit there and watch us obliterate an entire region of the globe. And I think that's the only reason we haven't done that in Iraq.
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I have not read his book, but I hear a lot of Objectivists denouncing it. Can someone just tell me the basic tenets of his philosophy, and the differences between it and Peikoff's Objectivism?
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What does Objectivism have to say about law-enforcement officers having to enforce non-Objectivist laws? For instance, I am considering going into the US Marshalls for a while, in order to make some money to pay for my PhD. What if I am forced to take actions that are contrary to my beliefs?
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The concept is arbitrary as Objectivists typically define it. I'm not certain that people who actually believe in God define it in the same way.
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I don't understand. You say you do not believe in the existence of a god -- but you are going to tell the Masons that you do?
Would you be telling them the truth or a lie?
If the latter, would you be exercising the virtue of honesty?
Meh...I was mostly hoping to just dodge the issue altogether, but I realize that they probably wouldn't let me do that. I still maintain that, even though I do not currenly believe that there is a God, I am open to the possibility, if someone presents me with evidence. I don't think that will ever happen, but I won't rule it out. So, does that disqualify me from calling myself an Objectivist, even though I do not believe in God?
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I have not yet read ITOE, but it's on my list. I do not currently have reason to state that I know conclusively that there is no God. So, if I can't call myself an Objectivist because of that, then I guess I'm not.
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I agree with AisA's take on Iran, but I still think it would be begging for the rest of the world to unite against the United States. Yeah, the individual countries may be weak, but if they joined forces against us, we wouldn't stand a snowball's chance in hell.
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You can have your own holiday. And I can have mine and I call it Christmas, because that's how I grew up hearing it. As long as I'm not celebrating the birth of Christ, there's nothing wrong with it.
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I'm trying not to take this thread seriously but here goes:
Easy? Changing the name requires an extraordinary effort, including making new postcards, decorations, books, songs, and merchandise of all sorts, with absolutely NO reward. I am perfectly capable of practicing and enjoying Christmas as a celebration of capitalism, even though many aspects of my culture and my language are rooted in a mystic past. Is your mind so vulnerable that you need to purge the English language from any subtle roots pointing to religion?
That's what I'm thinking. It would be impossible to purge American culture of all things related to Christianity.
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He's better than Kerry but, personally, I would favor isolationism over the total destruction of the Islamic world. The reason is that the rest of the world will start to view us as the next Nazi Germany. Don't get me wrong, I don't give a shit about world opinion. But, if the rest of the world decides to do something about it, we're pretty fucked.
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Yeah, I figured it had been done. Damn, don't get all pissed b/c I said I demanded it. I just want to see if anyone else on here agrees with me.
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I demand that someone respond to this.
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I did read it, and I still say you're being inconsistent. Yeah, it'd be hard, but do you not consider it wrong to be based off of the birth of Christ? It seems to me that, if something is wrong, it should be fixed no matter how difficult it might be. And what do you mean by "change the name." Do you mean the government should eliminate Christmas as a national holiday and call it the "winter holiday?" If that's what you mean, I agree. Because Christmas is, largely, considered a religious holiday, I do not think the government should differentiate between Christmas, Channukah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, etc, and just call them all by the same "winter holiday" label. If you mean that I, as a non-Christian, should start calling it something else, I disagree. It's just a name and I am not endorsing anything by using it.
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Okay, so what are the requirements? I'm trying to figure out if it's an appropriate title for me. I know I said I'm a Deist, but that's mostly b/c I want to join the Masons and you have to believe in God. I do not believe in any kind of God, but only because I have no evidence to see that he exists. If someone could provide me with evidence, I could call myself a Deist.
Objectivists: Made or Born?
in Miscellaneous Topics
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I used to have serious problems with the way my fellow Christians would argue too. I have an essay (that's actually the first chapter in a book that I'd like to write at some point) about my journey through Christianity that I've considered posting in the member's essays sections...I just don't know if it's good enough to post it yet.