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eficazpensador

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  1. Hume (and this author) are only focused on deduction. You can't get from an 'is' to an 'ought' deductively, Hume's right. Actually you can't get anything into a deductive conclusion without it appearing in a premise. For example, how does one get knowledge about apples? You can't get a conclusion about apples from premises not containing the word apple. In reality, we don't get knowledge of apples from deductive syllogisms. We gain knowledge via induction. Rand crosses the is/ought gap via induction as well. As for why criminality is anti-life, you should search the boards. It's been discussed many many times.
  2. Yes, the debate will be broadcast from the ARC Facebook page. You'll click LiveStream on the left bar and then check in. You won't need a Facebook to view it.
  3. I guess one can begin by asking the question, 'What facts of reality give rise to the concept of investment?' Rand answers this in the OP's quote (in the lexicon): "nature requires time paid in advance..." That is, production is a linear process where value is continuously added from start to finish. In order to create a high value, one must spend the entire time required to produce it. Or, as Rand puts it: "This means that he is relying on a continuous process of production—which requires an uninterrupted flow of goods saved to fuel further and further production." In order to start producing a value, man must either start from scratch, or if he already has existing value stored in money (gold), he can use the stored value as a starting point in production and start much further ahead. Thus, an investment is the name given to the act of using stored value to create more value. It's the initial "flow" of value that is required in the act of producing a higher value. This is why 'emerging markets' need investment to grow quickly. Notice how the American economy has reached a high level of production compared to other areas of the world, but the so called 'emerging markets' are catching up extremely quickly. This is because they have the advantage of using the capital of the more mature markets- capital that America had to create itself. I hope that makes the concept of 'investment' clearer. It's the use of existing value as a starting point in order to create more value. How this applies to real estate investments is along the lines of what the OP thought in the beginning. The purchase of a house in order to live in it is NOT an investment. It's the consumption of capital because it's not a cash producing asset. At the very best it's a store of value (although I'm not even sure of that). On the other hand, purchasing real estate as a rental property IS an investment. You're committing your capital into a property with the expectation of using that property to receive cash from a renter. Another example is gold. Gold isn't an investment because it's not producing. It's just storing. I now agree with you. Graham's reasoning is wrong, but I still believe that there is a valid differentiation and that the concept of speculation, as opposed to investment, is useful. Since investment is the process of committing stored value to gain a head start in the production of greater value, this rules out certain financial actions from being labeled 'investments.' For instance, buying a stock based on technical analysis is not an investment because it's contributing capital with the hope that, for reasons unrelated to production, the value of the purchased asset will rise. Yes, it's still an investment because you're contributing your capital to the company by proxy. The amount of capital owned by the company hasn't changed, the ownership of it has. Now, instead of the seller's capital, it's your capital that is invested. Once you think about investing the way Rand describes, you can see that buying bread isn't investing. Consider a man opening a business to produce shoes. Buying bread is necessary for his life, so in that sense it's necessary for production. However, once the bread has been purchased, the man is no better off in the creation of the business. The bread has not contributed anything to the flow of value (or 'flow of goods') that Rand describes. If however, the money for bread was used to help purchase the company headquarters, you could say that it was used such that the man was closer to opening the business. That would be an investment. And just a final point on distinguishing investment from saving: Saving is accumulating value. Investing is contributing or arranging the accumulated value such that a higher level of production is possible.
  4. I don't know what you're reading but Objectivism absolutely rejects intrinsic values.
  5. I've always been fond of Benjamin Graham's definition of investing: "An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and an adequate return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative." Of course, this definition's purpose is just to differentiate between investing and speculation. I think 'investing' is the allocation of capital such that it aids the production of more capital. In this fashion, owner-occupied real estate is not an investment. Similarly, as Khaight suggested, government bonds are not 'investments.' Another epistemological investment question I've been grappling with is about the nature of what a 'stock' really is. A stock is commonly known as "fractional ownership of a business." But, the basis or fundamental quality of 'ownership' is 'ability to control.' Yet, owning a stock doesn't mean you can control a fraction of the equity. All you can do is vote. So can it really be called "fractional ownership?" This might seem unimportant, but fractional ownership is a fundamental axiom of value investing.
  6. Please, don't encourage the stache. I'll contact Matt Morgen at ARI too. I'm sure they'd like a copy and maybe they'll pay the royalty fee. I was looking through the home movies and saw the debate. I was like, "Is that Chris Hitchens???." lol.
  7. You should private message the user 'Gags.' He was the president of the Objectivist club that hosted the debate. Actually, I'm pretty sure we have a copy of it on video at home (I'm his son), but it's from C-SPAN so I don't know about the legality of releasing it/giving it away. Plus my dad had a John Stossel-esque mustache when he was in college which makes the debate so much more fun to watch.
  8. Are you seriously suggesting that hitting someone is not physical force? A slap in the face is a way of communicating? This whole thread deserves one big 'LOL.' You guys need to think about the principles involved in what you're saying! Is physical pain a proper way of communication? Of course not. My wish to communicate my disapproval of something doesn't entitle me to smacking someone in the face! Hitting is physical force. End of discussion. I can't believe this crap exists on an Objectivist forum.
  9. Do you understand what principles you're advocating? If you say something that makes someone angry, you ought to expect physical force in retaliation to your words. Are you an Objectivist?
  10. Why would you like a charity that is influential and effective at doing things you disagree with?
  11. Well, it looked like we were going to have Alex Epstein in a month or so, but unfortunately that fell through. At this point, I don't have any idea when the next one will be. Dr. Brook was talking about possibly having a debate. Any ideas about who a good opponent would be?
  12. Well, I attended. You should have introduced yourself!
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