Here are this weeks editions of the podcasts I try to listen to each week.
Philosophy in Action – Dr. Diana Hsieh and Greg Perkins take on questions on marriage vows, animals as property, the problem of overwork, and more.
Peikoff.com Episode 317 – Dr Yaron Brook answers questions on antisemitism, Switzerland, high-speed stock trading, and whether bitcoin or an equivalent could be put on a gold standard.
I am continuing to work on the classes I mentioned last week, primarily on
In part 1 I looked at how Put People First means putting some people, the pressure group of the day, ahead of others. I will now take up what it means for people taken to mean human beings.
Another cause advocated by the Put People First groups is environmentalism. It should be made clear at the outset that by environmentalism it is not meant simply a desire for clean air and water which are obvious values for man. Rather it is the idea that nature as such has an intrinsic value separate from its
Signs with the slogan Put People First are common in Vermont, especially in election years. The signs give one a hazy sense of advocating for the little guy struggling against some faceless corporation. Such slogans are vague and undefined and few people take the time to try to understand their exact meaning. To clarify their meaning, we must look at the issues that the organizations that post the signs stand for.
Organizations that put up these signs are often advocates of “economic
Here are this weeks editions of the podcasts I try to listen to each week.
Philosophy in Action – Dr. Diana Hsieh and Greg Perkins take on questions on Objectivism as a closed system, buying books containing military secrets, and giving back an engagement ring.
Peikoff.com Episode 316 – Dr Leonard Peikoff answers questions about the morality of buying sex, the value of animals (pets) to human beings, and telling
Image found at http://adamfriedman.org/
As was pointed out in part 1, spending money on the spread of ideas is not a problem as long as force is not being used to promote or restrict them. On the other hand, using money to obtain some quid-pro-quo is potentially an issue, but likely not for the reason usually given. I include in this category not only spending on elections
Election season approaches, filling the media with observations and predictions of the dire effects of “big” money on our political process. One can hardly avoid the claims that Citizen’s United is destroying democracy, SuperPACs are corrupting the process , or billionaires are using their vast wealth to change the laws. But is money really a problem in politics or is it a symptom of something more fundamental?
Ideas and knowledge are crucial elements in politics and the primary
One drawback to being busy at work is I have been able neither to post much nor even to listen to the podcasts I like. Now that my schedule is evening out, I am able to fit them in again.
Philosophy in Action – This week Dr. Diana Hsieh talks about evolution’s ethical implications, body image, studying theology and more.
Peikoff.com: Episode 315 – This week Yaron Brook answers questions on Bitcoin, inflation from Quantitative Easing, China, and more.
I am also making an effort to
Before getting started, I need to define two terms which are often used inappropriately:
Morality is a code of values to guide man’s choices and actions, determined by the standard of that which is proper to man—in order to achieve, maintain, fulfill and enjoy his ultimate value which is his own life.
Rights are a moral principle defining and sanctioning a man’s freedom of action in a social context. In other words, what must a man be left free to do to survive as a man in society
In January Vermont legislators, including at least one Republican, introduced a bill of “economic rights” which includes provisions for raising the minimum wage to $15.00 per hour and compelling businesses to provide a minimum of 1 hour of paid personal time per 30 hours worked. The purported goal of the bill is to provide people with more money, thereby stimulating
Of late I have been trying to keep up with the blog Watts Up With That, which is a very good site for information from and for those who are skeptical of the idea of catastrophic, man-made global warming. The site certainly puts paid to the idea that there is a “consensus” that the world is going to be destroyed, at least for human beings, unless we adopt the policies advocated by various environmental groups.