Tibor Machan is professor of philosophy at Chapman University in California. He was born in Communist Hungary, smuggled out as a teenager, and came to the United States, where he earned his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. A prolific writer, he has published over forty books and scores of essays. A recent collection of scholarly essays on Machan’s work, Reality, Reason, and Rights: Essays in Honor of Tibor R. Machan, edited by Douglas B. Rasmussen, Aeon J. Skoble, and Douglas J. Den Uyl, was published in 2011.
Why did you become a philosopher? [00:19]
You grew up in Hungary under communism. What was that like? [08:43]
How did you come to the United States? [00:09]
The practical differences between authoritarian and liberal societies are so striking, so does liberal society need a philosophy? [06:26]
Previous question continued [00:09]
Where did you get your academic degrees? [07:11]
Previous question continued [00:09]
What are the key themes of Classical Individualism: The Supreme Importance of Each Human Being (1999)? [00:09]
What are the key themes of The Promise of Liberty: A Non-Utopian Vision (2009)? [06:49]
What philosophers have you learned most from? [00:09]
What philosophers do you most disagree with? [07:46]
What is the hardest philosophical problem you are working on now? [00:09]
What is the state of liberal thought today among philosophers? [00:09]
To bring about a more liberal society, what key practical steps can and should be taken? [03:12]
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