The Objectivist Center is reminding students and scholars that the early application and travel stipend deadline for new “Graduate Seminar in Objectivist Philosophy and Method” is Saturday, May 17, 2004.
The Graduate Seminar is a week of lectures, discussions, and workshops designed for graduate students, junior faculty, and post-doctoral scholars of philosophy and related fields. David Kelley and William Thomas will lead this seminar focusing on the content of Objectivism, the relation of Objectivism to non-Objectivist scholarly literature and the history of philosophy, the distinctive Objectivist method of philosophical analysis, and writing and speaking skills.
The Graduate Seminar will be held July 31?August 7 at Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, NY, near TOC’s offices.
More information and application are available on the TOC website.
Author: s1e2t3u4p5
The Dating Service for Independent Minds
The Atlasphere has topped yet another list of niche dating sites. Unlike the ones by Salon.com and the Chicago Tribune, however, this article by the Toronto Star takes a sneering tone:
How’s this for niche: only fans of Ayn Rand need to enter. It’s a truism that the secret to a long-lasting relationship is if couples can find common ground on important issues. Users of Atlasphere .com [sic] already know this, because Rand told them what to believe. The site is built for connecting admirers of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.
Of course, anyone who needs to be “told what to believe” ought to enjoy The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged about as much as an aneurysm.
John Galt on the Radio
Readers of Atlas Shrugged remember that John Galt made his climactic speech on the radio. Nowadays, there appears to be a real life John Galt, who has joined with two colleagues in pirating the radio airwaves.
This John Galt is attempting “to launch an unlicensed Denver radio operation,” which is “illegal under regulations administered by the Federal Communications Commission,” a commission for which Ayn Rand herself had no great love.
I’m not quite sure if this new John Galt uses Atlas as inspiration, but it’s clear that he and his colleagues, like Rand, have invoked the Robin Hood legend in trying to take back radio from privileged license holders.
(Thanks to Ari Armstrong for alerting me to this story.)
TOC Distance-Learning: Objectivism from the Source
As announced earlier in this space, The Objectivist Center will be hosting a distance learning course on Objectivism. Entitled “Objectivism from the Source: Ayn Rand’s Philosophic System,” this weekly seminar will teach a systematic understanding of Rand’s philosophy, Objectivism, through a careful reading of core texts in which Rand explicates and applies it. It is open to students, activists, scholars, and club members who want to deepen their grasp of the key elements of the philosophy and will meet by a toll-free teleconference.
More information and the application are available from The Objectivist Center website.
TIA Daily
William Dunn points out that The Intellectual Activist now has a “TIA Daily” feature offering “daily news and analysis from a pro-reason, pro-individualist perspective.”
Check it out if you might be interested.
Block Debates Eminent Domain at U Chicago
Rand-influenced economist Walter Block will be participating in a debate over eminent domain at the University of Chicago next Monday:
The debate revolves around the question: Should government have a right to take anyone’s property for less that what the owner would freely and voluntarily agree to accept as payment? Or, more formally: Is the state’s power of eminent domain necessary in a free society?
The announcement for the event includes an interesting bit about Block’s background with Ayn Rand:
Block, too, is believed to have never shied away from a good debate. As a senior at Brooklyn College in 1963, Block found his way to a luncheon honoring novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand, and proceeded to the head of the table. He poked his head between Rand’s and that of her companion, psychologist Nathaniel Branden, and announced that there was a socialist present who wanted to debate someone on economic issues pertaining to capitalism. They politely asked him, “Who is this socialist?” and Block declared that it was him. Branden graciously took Block aside and agreed to debate, not only right then and there, but also thereafter, continuously, until one of them had changed the other’s mind on the merits of capitalism and socialism.
Today, Block is pleased to admit that he lost that debate.
His debate with Chicago Law School professor Richard Epstein will be held at 12:30 p.m. on Monday, May 10th at the Law School, and is sponsored by the Ludwig von Mises Institute. For more information, see the full announcement on the UChicago web site.
More Atlas Shrugged Movie News
As noted earlier, there have been reports that the Atlas Shrugged movie is now an “open question.” A more optimistic outlook is reported by The Atlas Society.
According to this report, the recent reorganization of Anschutz Film Group will not derail the Atlas Shrugged project.
Read the full article…
TOC Summer Seminar Early Registration
The Objectivist Center is reminding folks that the early registration deadline for The Center’s 15th Annual Summer Seminar is approaching. The seminar takes place the week of July 3-10, 2004 at The University of British Columbia.
On May 6th, the conference fee increases from $845 to $945. The conference fee includes your choice of over 60 hours of scheduled presentations, participant sponsored sessions, Seminar materials, lunch from Sunday through Friday (except Wednesday), coffee breaks, the opening cookout, and the closing banquet and dance. And, if you can’t make it for the entire week, this year there is a daily option being offered so that you can tailor the Seminar to fit your schedule. The $160 daily fee includes all scheduled presentations, participant sponsored sessions, seminar materials, lunch, and coffee breaks that day.
Jamie Dorrain, TOC’s Conference Director, says in an announcement about the early registration deadline:
We have an excellent program this year that includes lectures, courses, and workshops in philosophy, politics, art, and personal applications of Objectivism. Once again, the Seminar will feature two morning courses. Shawn Klein will teach a basic course, “The Basics of Objectivism,” and William Thomas will teach a new course “Analyzing the Harmony of Interests.” The seminar will feature lectures on political, ethical, and cultural topics. There will also be practical workshops in self-awareness, nutrition, acting, and physical fitness. And, as always, participants can look forward to insight and enjoyment of the arts: music, film and drama, poetry, literature.
For a brochure, call Erin Hill at The Center (800-374-1776). Brochure, secure online registration and more information are also available at TOC’s website.
Scottish Artist Jack Vettriano
Writing for Scotsman.com, Brian Monteith draws a comparison between Scottish artist Jack Vettriano and Howard Roark:
THANK goodness for Scottish artist Jack Vettriano. If he didn?t exist we would have to invent him.
There?s an excellent novel written in the 1940s by Ayn Rand called The Fountainhead, which was later made into a film with Gary Cooper in the lead role as the hero, Howard Roark.
The story is simple enough; Howard Roark is an architect who values his work for its own sake, famously saying: “I don?t build in order to have clients; I have clients in order to build.”
The buildings are his creation; he has designed them, toiled over them and brought them into the world. He cannot be corrupted or seduced by the collectivist establishment, which is made up by politicians and officials of the state and by art critics in the press. Ultimately, he demolishes one of his own buildings rather than let it be corrupted by his critics.
Jack Vettriano is a Howard Roark of our times. He paints because he enjoys it; it brings him clients. He is popular because it just so happens that he is in tune with our contemporary longing for nostalgia. He too has toiled over his work, having been self-taught and living from hand to mouth until he became financially successful. Now he enjoys the sweet taste of success.
See the original article for further information about this artist and the establishment that opposes him. You can also see some larger Vettriano prints at bertc.com.
13 Going on 30 is Good-hearted Fun
Jennifer Garner’s new movie 13 Going on 30 opens this weekend. My wife and I saw the sneak preview two weeks ago ? and found it completely endearing.
The comedy represents a new turn for Garner, best known for her butt-kicking roles in movies like Daredevil and her TV show Alias. I was skeptical about how her new direction would come off, but in the end my wife and I were each won over completely. (In fact, we’ll be going back for seconds this weekend.)
Garner has a rare quality as an actress: the ability to project undiluted joy at being alive in the world. And, though you can’t tell by the trailer, the movie’s clear theme is the importance of staying true to oneself, even if it means being less-than-popular.
This is not a good movie for cynics. Watch the trailer for a glimpse of what’s in store.
Also, ExtraTV offers a good set of interviews with Jennifer on her experiences making the movie. (Favorite quote, from her Alias co-stars, on whether Jennifer could successfully play a thirteen-year-old: “Jennifer, you are thirteen; I hate to tell you.”)