dianahsieh Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 By Greg from NoodleFood,cross-posted by MetaBlog Truly living well calls for engaging fundamental philosophical ideas and integrating their use into our everyday lives, our everyday actions, our way of being—into our souls. Unfortunately, it is all too easy to get busy with all the urgent things around us, and we can drift, distracted and disintegrated. For those of us who want an ongoing practice in such engagement (and those who want to explore the need for that in the first place), I have created The Objectivism Seminar. The Objectivism Seminar is a weekly online conference call to systematically work through the philosophy of Ayn Rand via the books of prominent Rand scholars. These moderated, one-hour sessions will be recorded and podcast to allow review, catch-up, and even disconnected participation. The idea is to give people—new and experienced alike—a forum to chew through key Objectivist works and tour the complete system, further clarifying, integrating, and grounding their grasp of the ideas. Because it is an ongoing seminar, we will have incentive to keep up with the steady schedule of study and stay equipped to consider fresh angles, concretizations, challenges, and applications from other participants. And because life is so full for many of us, I am purposefully keeping the reading load light and the method of participation unobtrusive. The plan is that we will spend almost as much time discussing the ideas as reading about them. Study like this is productive for both experienced students of Objectivism and those new to Rand's ideas: I've read all of these books, some several times, and I would expect to get at least as much out of this as someone going through them for the first time. If you are interested, please look over the FAQ below and head over to www.ObjectivismSeminar.com to sign up! Pass the word, Greg The Objectivism Seminar FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Q: What is The Objectivism Seminar? A: The Objectivism Seminar is a weekly online conference call to systematically work through the philosophy of Ayn Rand via the books of prominent Rand scholars. These moderated one-hour sessions will be recorded and podcast to allow review, catch-up, and even disconnected participation. Q: How much does it cost? A: The cost is $15 per person per book to participate in or access the recordings of the sessions (and it is refundable in full for any reason whatsoever in your first five sessions). But Objectivist luminaries who have or might produce the sorts of substantive books, articles, and lectures we are studying are only allowed to participate for free. ;^) Q: Do I have to be an Objectivist to participate? A: No. The purpose of the seminar is to give people a means to critically engage Objectivism and improve their understanding of the philosophy. Anybody who is polite and honest in this effort is welcome; anybody who disrupts others in that endeavor is not. (The process of examining ideas can be challenging enough that we certainly don't need to have someone being rude or beating us up psychologically while we do it!) Q: What are the books we'll be working through? A: Here are the books and the order in which we'll study them: Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist by Dr. Tara Smith Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand by Dr. Leonard Peikoff Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology by Ayn Rand (to be determined) Q: How much material will we cover per week? (How heavy is the work load?) A: We all have busy lives, so this is designed to be a slow-and-steady project. I hope we can work through a chapter every two weeks, but depending on the material and peoples' needs and interests, that will vary. In raw numbers, the expected load will be an average of 15 pages of reading and one hour of discussion per week. Q: When, where, and how do we meet? A: Sunday evenings 8:00-9:00 Mountain, we'll meet in an online conference call so people from anywhere can join in. For those who miss a meeting (and those who want to join in halfway through a book), we'll have recordings of the sessions archived on the www.ObjectivismSeminar.com website. The website will also host links to any diagrams drawn in the sessions, and there will be a discussion forum where people can work out issues during the week to bring to the sessions. Q: What tools will I need? A: You will need to download and install Skype (and hopefully get a headset for your PC). The sessions will actually be Skypecasts (free Skype conference calls that can include up to 100 people), and we'll use Skype Public Chats to type written asides to each other, to get the moderator's attention, and to share URLs or whatever. Any "whiteboard" drawings can be sketched with the Gliffy web-based drawing tool, and the resulting images can be shared easily during the meeting. (Gliffy also allows for collaborative drawing, if we need it.) Q: Conference calls can be pretty chaotic and noisy, especially if you have a lot of people on the line... A: These will not be anything-goes bull sessions—I will moderate the sessions to keep us on track with the agenda and in alignment with the purpose of the seminar. And we'll try to hold the Skypecast noise and conversational chaos to a minimum by keeping everybody muted except for those actively talking. Our Skype Public Chat will allow anyone to signal that they would like to speak (and by giving a hint of what they want to talk about, they'll also help make the session more focused and productive). Q: What will the structure of the sessions be like? A: We'll always be trying to improve how we run things, but let's begin with this basic plan: Up to 5 or 10 minutes of follow-up discussion around any past material (good for raising that issue that hit you in the shower after the previous week's discussion, as well as a chance for those who participate by only listening to the podcasts to raise their issues for comment via email to the moderator). Introduction of the current material with the leader's quick sketch of the highlights (good for reminding people of the scope of the discussion and prompting their observations, questions, etc.). Extended discussion of the current material, with people 'raising hands' in the Skype Public Chat to be unmuted (the Chat lets participants give a hint of what they want to raise or follow up on, as well as to second what someone else wants to raise, both of which will let the leader better organize the session). The leader will usually address what is raised, but may also defer to others who can better address it, further clarify what has already been said, or (best of all) correct a confused response. Q: How did you select the books and their order? A: The goal is to work through the entire system, and Peikoff's book is the definitive single-volume systematic presentation of Rand's philosophy. Ethics is where the philosophical rubber meets the road in our lives, and Smith's book is the most thorough and enlightening presentation of the substance of Rand's ethics that exists. And Rand's monograph on concept formation is important because understanding the core of her epistemology will strengthen our understanding of her distinctive methodology and the character of her entire system. As for the order, there's a great reason for that, and I'm glad you'll ask about it in the first session! :^) Q: What's the fine print? A: Here are the details I could think of to keep The Objectivism Seminar sailing as smoothly as possible; other wrinkles will be addressed as they arise. GOVERNANCE: To put it simply, this is not a democracy. The Objectivism Seminar is a benevolent dictatorship, and I am The Man. :^) I will work for openness and consensus, and entertain suggestions about how to make this a fun and productive adventure for all—and when there are difficulties I will do my best to be patient and fair (I'm not without experience in this, and also not without room to grow). Ultimately, though, my call will constitute the final word on the forum. REFUNDS: The fee is fully refundable for any reason whatsoever in your first five sessions; after that, refunds will only happen for my failure to similarly conduct the ongoing sessions, and they will be pro-rated by the percentage of the book not yet discussed. (In all cases, Seminar refunds will exclude the cut PayPal took when you made payment.) Potential causes of pro-rated refunds would include: infrastructure difficulties making production of the Seminar too painful to continue, changes in my life that make conducting future sessions infeasible, my changing these terms in a way you don't like, my choosing to exclude you from the Seminar, etc. MEETING TIMES: The regular meeting time may shift to another day or time as life requires, and there will need to be occasional weeks off for holidays, vacation, hospitalization, etc. (Because I don't have the luxury of listening to the podcast and following up at the next session or via written questions. :^) RECORDINGS: Please keep in mind that the session recordings will belong to me and may not be shared, transferred, or distributed in any way without my explicit permission. Also, the recordings may be edited at my discretion to remove segments with, say, disturbing or distracting misbehavior. (Or, if you bribe me well enough, to remove that comment you made and can't bear to have people hearing in ten years.) http://ObjectivismOnline.com/archives/002936.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Sophia~ Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 This is great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallJ Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 This is great! Agreed, and since Tara Smith's book is in my "on deck" list, this would be a great way to chew the ideas in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellectualammo Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Q: How much does it cost? A: The cost is $15 per person per book to participate in or access the recordings of the sessions (and it is refundable in full for any reason whatsoever in your first five sessions). But Objectivist luminaries who have or might produce the sorts of substantive books, articles, and lectures we are studying are only allowed to participate for free. ;^) Does that mean $15 for the duration of a single book discussion? That's a nice deal, if it does. I am not familiar with Skype. Anyone sign up? I took a course on Objectivism from ARI once online about 2 years ago. Though I didn't participate by phone, since I work nights, everyone in the actual classroom in Cali also still had access to the recordings and for a certain amount of time...do we all have access to the live [edited] recordings with these discussions? and for how long, the duration of each book discussion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallJ Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 (edited) I believe it is $15 for book. Greg Perkins of NoodleFood is moderating. Greg is not collecting yet, but you can register through the site link and he'll notify you when the fees are due and seminars are starting. I use skype as my telephone rather than a land line. Excellent program. And calling to other skype users no matter where they are is free. I don't know how long they'll be available. I think access is via the paid subscription. Greg did say he has copyright on the material I believe. I've been planning on reading Normative Ethics, and since her stuff is pretty meaty, this is a great way to digest it. If you register with the site (lurkers who don't plan to listen can also register) you'll see who will be in the group. OH and he said he was hoping to get through a chapter every 2 weeks. Edited October 25, 2007 by KendallJ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellectualammo Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 I believe it is $15 for book. Greg Perkins of NoodleFood is moderating. Greg is not collecting yet, but you can register through the site link and he'll notify you when the fees are due and seminars are starting. I use skype as my telephone rather than a land line. Excellent program. And calling to other skype users no matter where they are is free. Great! Thanks, Kendall. I'll check it out later on tonight. So it's like a teleconference call then? I can do it on my phone, without the use of my laptop? Like with talkshoe, if you are familiar with that. I'm not familiar with Skype. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallJ Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Great! Thanks, Kendall. I'll check it out later on tonight. So it's like a teleconference call then? I can do it on my phone, without the use of my laptop? Like with talkshoe, if you are familiar with that. I'm not familiar with Skype. No, it's like a teleconference, but through your laptop. You'll need an internet connection (wireless is generally lower quality so hardwired woudl be better) and if your computer has mic/speakers built in that will be ok. You can't do it through your phone. IT's a bit like voice chat through AIM, but more sophisticated functionality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallJ Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 Here's what's up so far regarding schedule. Looks like the first session to test out the infrastructure is this Sunday. Sunday, Oct 28, 8:00pm Mountain: Infrastructure Test Sunday, Nov 4, 8:00pm Mountain: Discussion Technique Test Sunday, Nov 11, 8:00pm Mountain: ARNE Chapters 1-2 Sunday, Nov 18, 8:00pm Mountain: ARNE Chapters 1-2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intellectualammo Posted October 25, 2007 Report Share Posted October 25, 2007 No, it's like a teleconference, but through your laptop. You'll need an internet connection (wireless is generally lower quality so hardwired woudl be better) and if your computer has mic/speakers built in that will be ok. You can't do it through your phone. IT's a bit like voice chat through AIM, but more sophisticated functionality. Oh, OK. Thanks Kendall. I don't know what voice chat's like with those messengers, because I rarely use them. If these discussions happen on Sundays or on the weekends, I have a different job to do on the weekends at the hospital, so I most likely will just listen to what's already taken place when it's posted. I think what we did in the ARI course was if we had questions about the class we could email them, and have our questions answered, or picked to be answered in the next class if we couldn't participate via teleconferencing. Not sure how it will work with this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallJ Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Just a note to folks. Looks like the infrastructure test went well last night. Gizmo is the teleconferencing platform we'll be using. There is still time to join us. First session is next Sunday Nov. 11. We'll be discussing CH 1-2 of Tara Smith's book Ayn Rand's Normative Ethics. If you haven't gotten the book or won't have a chance to read the material, but you're still interested, I'd suggest that you go ahead and listen in on the conference. Greg hasn't gotten around to asking for money yet, and he's got a "no questions asked" refund during the first five sessions, so it's a great way for you to audit the content, while we get used to the structure and format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenure Posted November 5, 2007 Report Share Posted November 5, 2007 Brilliant. My copy of the book arrives on Wednesday, so I'll probably see you guys there on the 11th! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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