Question: In class we are discussing skepticism, and we are trying to make the distinction between the dream state and awake. I have made the case in class as follows: first "I think therefore I am": the mere fact that we are thinking of these issues implies that we have consciousness. If we have consciousness, then there must be existence in which our consciousness presides. Ergo, existence precedes consciousness.

Jan 25, 2011

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Question: My parents want to give me an extravagantly expensive graduation gift—a telescope. I would like to own it, but I know that it would cost them more than they can afford. I want to accept, but I feel it’s inappropriate. They’ve already spent the past 22 years providing me with all of my needs. A telescope is not a further need.

Jan 25, 2011

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Question: How does Objectivism see nursing facilities for the aging, such as hospice care? Answer: No Objectivist organization that I know of has a detailed position on nursing facilities for the aging. But here are some general principles any Objectivist would apply:

Jan 25, 2011

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Question: Relevant Objectivist terms and definitions, as I understand them, are: EXISTENT: something that exists (and has a physical basis) UNIT: an existent regarded as a separate member of a group of two or more similar members CONCEPT: a mental integration of two or more units which are isolated according to a specific characteristic(s) and united by a specific definition

Jan 25, 2011

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Question: What about taxes to pay for workers who get injured? Answer: What about workers taking responsibility for their own lives and well-being by either buying insurance, pooling their resources with other workers in, say, a voluntary union, or by refusing to work for firms that do not provide adequate disability insurance?

Jan 25, 2011

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First, in a free society there really isn't as much of a class system as you may think. The correlation between a person's income and that

Jan 25, 2011

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3 Mins

Question: I would like to know how Objectivism is different from hedonism, at least as far as morality is concerned. They seem very similar

Jan 25, 2011

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4 Mins

It is neither always wrong nor always right to hold off having sex until one is married. Whether it is right or wrong for you is a personal

Jan 25, 2011

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2 Mins

I think you are asking to what extent it is right to embrace and follow teachings that are in some aspect known to be false. Examples would

Jan 25, 2011

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4 Mins

To be objective means to be based on features of reality that can be observed or deduced by anyone. Scientific experiments are objective....

Jan 25, 2011

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Brian Gordon

4 Mins

Objectivism does not have a “strict physicalist doctrine.” It merely holds that whatever exists exists, has identity, and has causal powers

Jan 25, 2011

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2 Mins

Ayn Rand was a radical thinker, i.e., one who went to the root of long-standing philosophical problems. She was self-consciously opposed to

Jan 25, 2011

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2 Mins

The person who said that simply misunderstood Objectivism .In social relations, Objectivism holds that your rational self-interest is best

Jan 25, 2011

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2 Mins

As they evolved over hundreds of millennia, human beings developed some innate physical desires and psychological predispositions through

Jan 25, 2011

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Andrew Bissell

3 Mins

The Atlas Society does not at this time have an official position on the Free State Project. However, I think it is safe to say that the

Jan 25, 2011

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2 Mins

In a general sense, Objectivists hold that children should be legally protected from abuse and from extremes of parental neglect. There is..

Jan 25, 2011

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3 Mins

Objectivism holds that productive work is, as Ayn Rand put it, man’s “noblest activity.” Whether one is a janitor or a philosopher, he

Jan 25, 2011

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Andrew Bissell

3 Mins

Objectivism holds that there is no "supernatural" world. For more on this, see our Q&A on Religion and our Q&A on metaphysics...

Jan 25, 2011

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2 Mins

There is no “official” definition of fundamentalism as it relates to secular groups. The term itself is a little difficult to define. Take..

Jan 25, 2011

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Andrew Bissell

4

Objectivism views emotions as the result and reflection of an individual's value judgments. Our emotional reactions to events, people and o

Jan 25, 2011

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Malini Kochhar

3 Mins