Objectivist Round Up #97

Welcome to the May 21, 2009 edition of the Objectivist Round Up. This week presents insight and analyses written by authors who are animated by Objectivism, the philosophy of Ayn Rand. According to Ayn Rand:

My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.

"About the Author," Atlas Shrugged, Appendix.

So without any further delay (and in no particular order), here's this week's round-up:

 



Burgess Laughlin presents What is exaltation? posted at Making Progress, saying, "This article considers the importance, nature, and prerequisites of a particular emotion, exaltation."



Gus Van Horn presents First, "Access." Now, "Excess" posted at Gus Van Horn, saying, "In less than a year, advocates of socialized medicine have gone from complaining that everyone can't have medical care to saying that some people have too much of it!"



Exalted presents "Atlas Shrugged", "The Objectivist Ethics", And Exalted Moments posted at Exalted Moments, saying, "The sales rate of Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" is triple the rate of 2008. Given the attention of the novel, it is important to understand Miss Rand's point in writing it. Many think it was "prophecy". Many think it was to organize a strike ("Going Galt").

Many would be surprised to hear Miss Rand's answer: "Exalted moments.""



Rajesh Dhawan presents Is rationality a virtue worth emulating? posted at Objective extrospection, saying, "Discussing Gina Gorlen's article in TOS about the Reason-Emotion Split as Manifested in House, M.D. the TV series. Popularity of the lead character Dr. House who is a medical genius suggests that people’s admiration for the virtue of reason is still alive and kicking."



Paul McKeever presents The Interest Myth Exploded posted at Paul McKeever, saying, "advocates of capitalism should familiarize themselves with this myth, and with why/how it is a myth, because it is a such a virulent, anti-Capitalist myth and serves as the basis of many a pro-collectivist conspiracy theory."



Ari Armstrong presents The Nobility of Capitalism posted at FreeColorado.com, saying, "I quickly reply to a letter attacking capitalism."



Monica presents A Reader Weighs in on the Nature of the NAIS Listening Sessions posted at FA-RM, saying, "The USDA wants to institute a National Animal Identification System (NAIS), a massive program to track all animal movements in the United States with RFID chips. This week a reader of mine reported on her experience at the recent NAIS listening sessions. You won't want to miss it."



Paul Hsieh presents Simpson on Licensing posted at We Stand FIRM, saying, "Steve Simpson explains why we should oppose medical licensing."



Amy Mossoff presents Should Students Use the Internet for Research? posted at The Little Things, saying, "Some thoughts on why children should be encouraged to use the Internet for research - with plenty of guidance!"



Amy Mossoff presents Tantrums and Principles posted at The Little Things, saying, "A rant about my toddler's latest tantrums containing just a hint of self-pity, but a lesson learned in the end."



Stella presents An open letter to President Obama posted at ReasonPharm, saying, "The President's proposed health care reforms cannot possibly work -- because they are immoral."



Roberto Sarrionandia presents Tito's Blog: Obama outlaws reality posted at Tito's Blog, saying, "Obama's absurd claims over the minds in the auto industry."



Greg Perkins presents Standing Up for Truly Free Speech posted at NoodleFood, saying, ""So there I was, sitting among a couple hundred conservative folks, trying to figure out how I could point out hypocrisy and inspire a genuine stand for liberty without being booed out of the room.""



The Editors present FDA Keeps Smokers At Risk posted at The Undercurrent, saying, "Although there is evidence that electronic cigarettes are less harmful than the traditional variety, the FDA is still actively interfering with the sale and importation of these products. Where does the government acquire the moral authority to do this?"



John Drake presents Auto economics - the future of Chrysler, GM, and other auto manufacturers posted at Try Reason!, saying, "Summary of a presentation by an economist specializing in the auto industry. In spite of the presenter's flawed philosophy, there were many interesting facts and trends."



Ryan Krause presents Published posted at The Money Speech, saying, "As my study shows, Obama's attempt to regulate for "long-term" compensation makes no sense, technically or ethically."



Daniel presents The Potentially Alive posted at The Nearby Pen, saying, "This is the first part of a short story about the end of the world--or its beginning."



Rational Jenn presents Keeping Kids Safe posted at Rational Jenn, saying, "Teaching kids how to be safe doesn't necessarily need to frighten them if you keep a focus on the factors that are inside their control--and if you teach them to talk to the right kinds of strangers."



Kathryn presents Movie Review: Vitus posted at The Pursuit, saying, "Kathryn from 'The Pursuit' reviews Vitus, a Romantic film about a young piano prodigy who uses his remarkable intelligence in order to find the freedom he needs to pursue his values."



Michael Labeit presents On Recession and Price Deflation posted at Philosophical Mortician, saying, "In defense of price deflation."



C. August presents Miracle at Philadelphia: QOTD 3 posted at Titanic Deck Chairs, saying, "The third in a series of posts pulling quotes from an excellent history book about the men who hashed out the Constitution in 1787. The author noted that then, there was "no quarrel between human rights and property rights" as there is today. I look at what that really means."



That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Objectivist Round Up using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: objectivist round up, blog carnival.