The idea that prejudices can and should be eliminated is a fallacy. So long as a man can observe and judge, he will use information to generalize about groups of people, some favorably and others not. Ultimately the question comes down to whether an individual should be allowed to form his own opinion, whether right…
Category: Philosophy
Individualism Defined
Ayn Rand: Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: “I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense.” An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of others.
On Organizational Integrity
One sign of a defective organization is the existence of “Godfather”-like figures who operate outside of – and above – normal operating rules and lines of responsibility. Often their excuse is that part/all of the system is broken. The proper way to address such a situation is to correct the brokenness, not circumvent it on…
Playboy’s Interview with Ayn Rand Fascinating, Disappointing
Though not normally on my reading list, it came to my attention that Playboy has published the text of it’s 1964 interview with Atlas Shrugged author Ayn Rand on its Facebook site. It’s a fascinating interview in which Rand easily rebuffs Alvin Toffler’s attempts to paint her views as inconsistent and out-of-touch – highly recommended…
David Mamet, Former Liberal
One would suspect David Mamet, author of Glengarry Glen Roll and screenwriter of Wag the Dog, of having a liberal’s view of the world. Indeed, Mamet admits to having long done so. Now, in must-read/forward for anyone lamenting over a left-leaning loved one, Mamet writes in the Village Voice that he was wrong all those…
Torture, a
At Pharyngula, PZ Meyers lets off a blast of anti-torture steam that must have been building up for some time: Here is all that torture is good for: inspiring fear in a population. … When the US government announces it’s support for torture, they aren’t talking about intelligence gathering: they are simply saying “Fear us.”…
Zen
Learn to handle a writing-brush and you’ll never handle a begging-bowl.
The End of Judgment
Melanie Phillips’ latest article is entitled “The drowning of common sense“. It was written after a young boy named Jordon Lyon drowned while emergency workers allegedly dithered rather than trying to save him. Not surprisingly, the police have a different understanding of the tragedy. Somehow it seems difficult to lay blame on the police now…
Basic Morality Index
Michael van der Galien and Jason Steck both wrote about this article in the NY Times: Many people will say it is morally acceptable to pull a switch that diverts a train, killing just one person instead of the five on the other track. But if asked to save the same five lives by throwing…
What kind am I?
I thought I’d use my first post to illustrate what you’ll most likely be hearing from me going forward. In his post on July 24th, 2007 (What Kind of Republican Are You), Marc gives us a link to a site that asks us a series of questions that are designed to illustrate the type of…