Ayn Rand's Philosophy: Myth Versus Reality: Philosophy in Action Podcast of 20 November 2014

I posted a podcast on "Ayn Rand's Philosophy: Myth Versus Reality" on 20 November 2014. Listen to or download this episode of Philosophy in Action Radio below.

What are some common confusions about Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism? In this talk, I briefly survey Ayn Rand's basic principles, then explore six common but false views about her, namely: (1) Ayn Rand was primarily concerned with politics. (2) Ayn Rand was an elitist: she despised everyone except super-high achievers. (3) Ayn Rand's ethics tells people to do whatever the heck they feel like doing. (4) Ayn Rand supported charity: she just thought it should be voluntary. (5) Ayn Rand's advocacy of reason and logic excludes any concern for emotions. (6) Ayn Rand's ideas are compatible with belief in God and Christianity. This talk was given to the Free Minds Film Festival on 8 October 2011.

Tags: Charity, Christianity, Elitism, Epistemology, Ethics, Hedonism, Metaphysics, Objectivism, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Subjectivism

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Duration: 46:52
Download: Standard MP3 File (16.1 MB)

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About the Podcast

The topics covered in this episode were:

Why care about the myths about Ayn Rand's ideas
Ayn Rand's views on politics, ethics, epistemology, and metaphysics
Myth #1: Ayn Rand was primarily concerned with politics
Myth #2: Ayn Rand was an elitist: she despised everyone except super-high achievers
Myth #3: Ayn Rand's ethics tells people to do whatever the heck they feel like doing
Myth #4: Ayn Rand supported charity: she just thought it should be voluntary
Myth #5: Ayn Rand's advocacy of reason and logic excludes any concern for emotions
Myth #6: Ayn Rand's ideas are compatible with belief in God and Christianity

Comments

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My first book, Responsibility & Luck: A Defense of Praise and Blame, is available for purchase in paperback and Kindle

Does the pervasive influence of luck in life mean that people cannot be held responsible for their choices? Do people lack the control required to justify moral praise and blame? In his famous article "Moral Luck," philosopher Thomas Nagel casts doubt on our ordinary moral judgments of persons. He claims that we intuitively accept that moral responsibility requires control, yet we praise and blame people for their actions, the outcomes of those actions, and their characters – even though shaped by forces beyond their control, i.e., by luck. This is the "problem of moral luck."

In Responsibility & Luck, I argue that this attack on moral judgment rests on a faulty view of control, as well as other errors. By developing Aristotle's theory of moral responsibility, I explain the sources and limits of a person's responsibility for what he does, what he produces, and who he is. Ultimately, I show that moral judgments are not undermined by luck. In addition, this book explores the nature of moral agency and free will, the purpose of moral judgment, causation in tort and criminal law, the process of character development, and more.

Responsibility & Luck is scholarly but accessible to active-minded people interested in philosophy. You can preview the book by reading Chapter One and Chapter Three as PDFs – or by listening to my reading of Chapter One.

I'm Dr. Diana Brickell. I'm a philosopher specializing in the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. I received my Ph.D in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2009. My book, Responsibility & Luck: A Defense of Praise and Blame, is available for purchase in paperback and Kindle. The book defends the justice of moral praise and blame of persons using an Aristotelian theory of moral responsibility, thereby refuting Thomas Nagel's "problem of moral luck."

My radio show, Philosophy in Action Radio, broadcasts live over the internet on most Sunday mornings and some Thursday evenings. On Sunday mornings, I answer questions applying rational principles to the challenges of real life in a live hour-long show. Greg Perkins of Objectivist Answers co-hosts the show. On Thursday evenings, I interview an expert guest or discuss a topic of interest.

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