Hazmatac

Thanks guys. I misread the passage I was referring to. It actually says that the conviction that ideas matter (and subsequently that truth, knowledge, and one's mind matters) leads to your inability to believe in the power or triumph of evil. My bad. In this case, what is meant by ideas?

Who is that?

I was reading the lexicon on the benevolent universe premise (http://aynrandlexicon.com/lexicon/benevole...se_premise.html, first entry), and came across a part that said that there is a fundamental conviction that idea's matter. This is what the benevolent universe premise is based on, so a person realizes that ideas are what lead you to success, happiness, and achievement. What does idea mean in this context?

Like the title says, what is the importance of considering yourself a good (moral) person? And, what's wrong with seeing yourself as evil? Rob

Law enforcements natural enemy

Should adults have the right to restrict the freedom of their children, like "be home before 7" or "you can't have a boyfriend" or whatever. Is this right? What should parents have the right to do and not to do, and why?

I doubt it, but is there any logical reason why adults are considered adults at age 18, rather than 17 or lower?

Randroid, who is that?

So basically it comes down to are you neglecting your body or taking care of it, and are you using your mind properly or wrong. True?

Is it wrong to take government healthcare, or any type of government money? Why I think it might be wrong is that you are consenting to the government from taking money from the producers if you do. Thoughts?

"Do you say it is the spirit that such men have renounced? Yes, of course. You cannot have one without the other. You are an indivisible entity of matter and consciousness. Renounce your consciousness and you become a brute. Renounce your body and you become a fake.Renounce the material world and you surrender it to evil." - Galt's Speech Basically, I was wondering if someone could elaborate on the parts in bold. What exactly is "renouncing your consciousness", or "renouncing your body"? Rob

There is no evidence that a chemical imbalance is what causes any "mental illness," and if someone is telling you otherwise I would like to know what your source is. Taking a pill will mask the symptoms to an extent, but won't cure you, and can have some bad side effects. I think depression is caused by circumstances. There is always a factual or believed reason for the depression, whether it's known to the person or not. Rob

Hi, I am just wondering what your opinion would be about doing a crime but not getting caught. Would it be best to confess, and except the punishment? Or just let the past stay in the past and just not do it again? And why? Thank you in advance.

I think that the only way to increase your willpower is to repeatedly use it.

The next picture is supposed to be something that "defeats" the previous one in some way, not necessarily something that's "better"

Mr. T finds it and makes it into jewelry

I think the main element to come out of religion is the ethics of duty, based on blind faith. That is extremely destructive to the individual following this doctrine and to society if the government is set up by the same principles.

ah, ok, I've never seen that person before... nevermind

Sir Andrew, I think you may be missing the point. The idea is to come up with a picture that somehow "beats" Communism, not put a picture of a random person...

Alright, I saw this idea on another forum and thought it would be a fun idea for this forum. So here's what you do: Someone posts a picture, and then the next person posts something that "beats" it in some way. For example: Someone posts a picture of an asteroid, then another person posts a picture of a rocket, and then the next person might post a picture of a bomb-disarming technician. I'll start:

There are only 3 spacial dimensions: it is an impossibility for a 4th line to be perpendicular to the origional 3 intersecting lines at the same time. Dimension means a measurable aspect. For example, a thing can said to have 5 dimensions if one measures its heigth, width, length, mass, and temperature. Dimensions are measures of certain existents in reality.

Hey Erik. What are your sources?

Michael, Hey. I've been meditating for a little over a month steady, and off and on since about 15. I'm now 20. I do Vipassana too. What happens during the sessions vary a lot, but last night I was able to concentrate pretty well, and a lot better than before I started. I don't think meditation counts as being Mystical, in the objectivist sense. Meditation is relaxation, concentration, and observation. You gain knowledge of yourself through examining yourself, which isn't based on belief or trusting or revalation. Philosophy is a world view, and one thing Objectivism advocates is practicality. So if you have the goal to get rid of fear and guilt, then it recommends taking the steps to do that, whether simply reading the philosophy, to seeing a psychologist, to meditating. But it still comes out of the philosophy of Objectivism. Rob

hey AMAI. Space consists of nothing. It is emptyness. If you find something *in* space, what you are looking at is *something*, but not space. Unless there IS something which we now call space, but in that case we're talking about *something*, making it not space. Rob