The 13th floor and other superstitions
At a hotel recently I was zooming up in its sleek elevator to my room when I noticed something: no 13th floor.
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Philosophy
Roark and Keating: first meetings
I am a philosopher, and when I’m on the job I have been known to read literary works as “premises with feet.” Despite that occupational hazard I am also fascinated with how some great fiction writers can seamlessly integrate abstract philosophical themes with concrete literary portrayals. When I teach Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead, my focus
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Envy
The essayist Joseph Epstein tells a story about going to his high school reunion. As the participants took their seats at the dinner tables, they each found a note left there anonymously. The note contained a poem: “It’s not the world. And what I have to say to those who don’t fit in is, don’t
Is capitalism bad for art?
My theme will be the relationship between art and liberal cultures, focusing on economically free cultures especially.
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The Ethics of the Financial Crisis
I am organizing a session for on “The Ethics of the Financial Crisis” for the Association for Private Enterprise Education conference to be held April 11-13, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Hayek and Rand on reason
I am organizing a session for the Association for Private Enterprise Education conference to be held April 11-13, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The theme is “Reason in Hayek and Rand.” Here we have two giants of twentieth-century thought, but few comparative studies have been done. So as a start I have chosen Reason as
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I’m not my brother’s keeper
Let me tell you a little about my brother. He’s six feet tall and a solid 200 pounds. Has a wife and two kids. Works hard and plays hard, often outside in the winter. Am I his keeper? Should I think of myself that way? My brother is responsible, competent, and independent, and I know
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“Nietzsche and the Nazis” update
Since its 2006 publication, my 2:45-hour documentary on Nietzsche and the Nazis has been available from Amazon, Netflix, and other venues. Beginning this summer, Netflix has made the documentary available via video-stream, which has led to a healthy uptick in feedback — including gratifying praise, interesting new angles, thoughtful disagreement — and a smattering of
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