I’ve gathered here the four videos that have been posted from the debate on Inequality between Yaron Brook and Paul Vaaler, hosted by the Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business on February 7, 2015. This was an interesting debate that covers a fair number of topics within the general idea of inequality. I think I have the videos linked in proper order, though I am not sure it makes too much difference if they are
Tag Archives: yaron brook
Podcasts and More for February 9
Here is the latest roundup of the podcasts I try to listen to each week. I am pretty excited this week as one of the shows, Philosophy in Action, answered a question I submitted.
Last Week’s Podcasts and Shows:
Philosophy in Action – Each week Dr. Diana Hsieh and Greg Perkins apply rational principles to questions submitted by their listeners. Most weeks the answers are quite lengthy and in-depth. This weeks questions included:
- Are egoism and altruism mutually exclusive? This was a very interesting question that went into the difference between what the terms egoism and altruism actually mean, they define who is the proper beneficiary of your actions, and the muddled way in which most people understand them, e.g. that egoism involves predation.
- Is it immoral or unwise to accept a better job soon after starting a different one? I thought this one was a good application of the virtue of honesty which in brief says you should not seek to gain a value by faking reality. In this case, it is not moral to obtain a job by saying you will stay for 3 years when you have no intention of doing so.
- Is it moral to advocate for the boycott of businesses? This is a question I submitted to the queue. They broke it down into three parts: 1) rights and morality, 2) does a boycott violate the rights of a business, and 3) is calling for a boycott immoral. Having it broken down step by step in this way helped clarify my own thinking, which was the point of my asking the question. I liked Paul Hsieh’s comment in the chat during the show about film reviewers.
Podcasts and More for February 3
A day late on getting this posted due to, well, illness, work and snow. Its funny how getting sick when there is a ton of snow can really mess with your schedule.
Last Week’s Podcasts and Shows:
Philosophy in Action – Usually Dr. Diana Hsieh and Greg Perkins give really in-depth answers to questions but from time to time they do a “Rapid Fire Extravaganza” which is what they did this week. Rather than just answering
[Watch] Free Speech and the Battle for Western Culture
Excellent talk given by Yaron Brook on free speech,”an issue that goes to the core of what Western Civilization is about.” During this talk Dr. Brook discusses why free speech is fundamental to what separates Western culture, meaning that culture which originated in, but is not limited to, Western Europe during the Enlightenment, from what existed previously and still exists in some parts of the world. As he puts it in the talk, “The protection of speech is the protection of
Podcasts and More for January 26
Three weeks in a row being able to find time to listen to these podcasts. I find them very helpful in thinking about how the principles of Objectivism can be applied to everyday situations ranging, as seen this week, between sex and office parties.
Peikoff.com Episode 357 – This week Dr. Peikoff posted a 30 minute segment from a talk he gave about 30 years ago in which he answered questions dealing with sex and relationships. In this segment he answers questions about:
- the difference between “faking it” and fantasy
- friendship vs. love
- being in love with multiple people
- and more
You can get the
Hurray for Private Enterprise!
Private enterprise saw this book in my hands within 25 hours of my ordering it.
I was somewhat amused to read recently that Venezuela’s President Maduro blamed the pervasive shortages that country is facing on the fact that the distribution network for goods is largely controlled by the private sector. Over the past 6 years, since I met my wife who is Venezuelan, I have tried to pay attention to what is happening there, especially as she still lives there, so I know this is a laughable. It ignores the fact that about
Podcasts and More for January 19
There was another great batch of podcasts this week that are well worth listening to. This week’s podcasts cover topics from marriage without love, to advice for Japan (any country actually) to help solve economic problems, to what the new Republican congress should do first and why.
Podcasts (and more) for January 12
Well, two weeks in a row that I have been able to listen to what had been my regular podcasts. That is a good start for the new year that hopefully I can maintain. Lots of great things to listen to this week covering topics from historical novels, free speech, how we think to plays as great literature and more.
Peikoff.com Episode 355
Dr. Leonard Peikoff answers questions on:
- historical novels
- dealing with a friend who has been validly accused of pre-meditated murder
- which is most important, work or sex?
- confusion about love
- if rights are based on reason, if animals are shown to have reason, would they also have rights?
Philosophy in Action
Dr. Diana Hsieh and Greg Perkins answer questions applying rational principles to problems of everyday life. While they have not posted the
[Video] Free Speech and the Danish Cartoons
A panel discussion by Dr. Yaron Brook, Executive Director of the Ayn Rand Institute and Dr. Daniel Pipes, Director of Middle East Forum, on free speech from 2006, about a year after cartoons critical of Islam were published in Denmark and riots protesting them broke out across the Muslim world.
Dr. Pipes makes the point that this was not really about the cartoons, but the more fundamental question of whether the West will accept some form or aspect of Sharia law. The cartoons were just the
Podcasts for January 5
Some great questions answered in this week’s editions of the podcasts I try to listen to. I am glad that I am finally able to set aside the time to listen to them again. I find it helps me keep my mind moving along the right track in my own thinking.