On Sunday’s episode of Philosophy in Action Radio, Greg Perkins and I answered questions on being someone’s extramarital affair, epistemic effects of government controls, the boundaries of art, and more. The podcast of that episode is now available for streaming or downloading.

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Whole Podcast: 24 March 2013

Listen or Download:

• Duration: 1:09:23
• Download: Enhanced M4A File (24.9 MB)
• Download: Standard MP3 File (23.8 MB)

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Podcast Segments: 24 March 2013

You can download or listen to my answers to individual questions from this episode below.

Introduction

My News of the Week: SnowCon was fabulous, fabulous fun!

Question 1: Being Someone’s Extramarital Affair

Question: Is it wrong to have a romantic relationship with a married person? In Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged, Dagny Taggart had an affair with Hank Rearden, knowing that he was married. How should those actions be judged in real life? Clearly, Hank’s cheating was dishonest and wrong. Was Dagny wrong to pursue the affair? What should she have done instead? Or, imagine that Dagny didn’t know that Hank was married until after they’d slept together. What should she have done in that case upon finding out the truth? Should she stop the affair? Should she inform the wife about the cheating? Should she apologize to the wife? Also, if your answer is different than Dagny’s, how do you reconcile that?

My Answer, In Brief: Fiction is not always the best guide: it’s morally wrong and practically dangerous to be the “other man” or the “other woman” in another person’s marriage.

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 3:51
• Duration: 19:00
• Download: MP3 Segment
• Tags: Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand, Character, Honesty, Infidelity, Integrity, Moral Wrongs, Relationships, Romance, Sex

Links:

• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
• Philosophy in Action: Imitating the ‘Rape’ Scene in The Fountainhead

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 2: Epistemic Effects of Government Controls

Question: How do government controls encourage short-range thinking in business? In your discussion of the principle of sustainability in December 2011, you said that government controls encourage people to think short-range – to grab what they can and run with it – including in business. Why is that? What are some examples?

My Answer, In Brief: When the government can change the rules of the game anytime by new laws and regulations, people cannot rationally plan for the long run, so many people get what they can while they can.

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 22:52
• Duration: 15:05
• Download: MP3 Segment
• Tags: Ethics, Government, Psycho-Epistemology, Regulations, Rights

Links:

• Philosophy in Action: The Principle of Sustainability
• The Housing Boom and Bust by Thomas Sowell

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Question 3: The Boundaries of Art

Question: What counts as art? Ayn Rand defined art as “a selective re-creation of reality according to an artist’s metaphysical value-judgments.” What does that mean? If art is a selective re-creation of reality, does that mean that anything can be art – such as a shoe or my kitchen trash? If art involves metaphysical value-judgments, does that mean that all art is implicitly a kind of philosophy?

My Answer, In Brief: Ayn Rand’s definition of art identifies the core similarities between certain kinds of human creations, namely those with the most potential to serve as spiritual fuel.

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 37:57
• Duration: 20:28
• Download: MP3 Segment
• Tags: Aesthetics, Art, Personal Values, Spiritual Values

Links:

• The Romantic Manifesto by Ayn Rand
• Philosophy in Action: Spiritual Values

To comment on this question or my answer, visit its comment thread.

Rapid Fire Questions

Questions:

• Is it true that all snowboarders are knuckle-dragging, retrograde delinquents?
• How are we to decide which parts of fiction to carry into real life and which parts are only “devices” for the story?

Listen or Download:

• Start Time: 58:26
• Duration: 9:25
• Download: MP3 Segment

To comment on these questions or my answers, visit its comment thread.

Conclusion

Be sure to check out the topics scheduled for upcoming episodes! Don’t forget to submit and vote on questions for future episodes too!

• Start Time: 1:07:51

About Philosophy in Action Radio

Philosophy in Action Radio focuses on the application of rational principles to the challenges of real life. It broadcasts live on most Sunday mornings and many Thursday evenings over the internet. For information on upcoming shows, visit the Episodes on Tap. For podcasts of past shows, visit the Show Archives.