Category: The Atlasphere

The Ayn Rand Institute‘s 2004 Objectivist Summer Conference has been scheduled for July 10?22 at the Wintergreen Resort in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.
From their brochure for the 2003 conference:

For nearly two decades, summer conferences have served as a forum for the presentation of new intellectual work applying Ayn Rand?s philosophy. Continuing in that vein, the Institute has invited a host of scholars and intellectuals, who are known for their serious interest in Objectivism, to present some of their recent work. As you?ll discover on the following pages, we have scheduled more than 27 hours of general lectures and up to 32 hours of optional courses on an exciting range of topics, from philosophy and sculpture to literature and economics.

More information about the 2004 conference will be forthcoming on the Objectivist Conferences site. In the interim you can request a conference catalog via phone at 1-800-365-6552, ext. 239 or via the web.

Leonard Peikoff is offering a new live lecture titled “The DIM Hypothesis: The Epistemological Mechanics by which Philosophy Shapes Society.” The lecture will consist of 15 sessions, beginning February 5th, and will be held via teleconference on Thursdays from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM, PST.
From Yaron Brook’s invitation:

We invite you to join us in February for the start of a pathbreaking new course by Dr. Leonard Peikoff, “The DIM Hypothesis: The Epistemological Mechanics by which Philosophy Shapes Society.” This 15-session course will be presented live to a worldwide audience by telephone. So, no matter where you live, you can take part!
The course is based on Dr. Peikoff’s book-in-progress, The DIM Hypothesis, in which he looks at the role of integration as a fundamental force shaping our culture and practical life. As Dr. Peikoff recently explained: “my thesis is that the dominant trends in every key area can be defined by their leaders’ policy toward integration: they are against it (Disintegration, D); they are for it, if it conforms to reality (Integration, I); they are for it, regardless of its relation to reality (Misintegration, M).” In his new course, Dr. Peikoff first discusses the nature and vital importance of integration and then applies his hypothesis to ten diverse fields, ranging from parenting and physics to law and literature.

And from the course overview:

This course explains and explores Dr. Peikoff’s new DIM Hypothesis, applying it to ten different cultural areas as listed in the course outline. The Hypothesis identifies and distinguishes three types of mind: the mind characterized by I (Integration); by D (Disintegration); or by M (Misintegration). In the sessions, Dr. Peikoff points out how all of the influential movements in the areas included reflect?and could only have been created by?one or another of these three mind sets. If enhancing your understanding of today’s world is an important concern of yours, Dr. Peikoff believes that you will find a DIM perspective on events to be of significant value.

The Objectivist Conferences site also provides an outline of the course.
The course costs $445 ($245 for full-time students) and there is a $50 discount if you register by January 23, 2004. Online course registration is available.

The Objectivist Center‘s summer seminar this year is scheduled for July 3 – 10 at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
For those who are new to TOC’s summer seminars, here’s an excerpt from the description of last year’s seminar:

Every year, for one week, people from across America?and beyond?gather under the sponsorship of The Objectivist Center to hear top lecturers discuss philosophy, politics, law, economics, psychology, art, and life skills. Participants often refer to TOC’s summer seminar as their week at Galt’s Gulch, but the metaphor is not really apt. The heroes in Atlas Shrugged, after all, are recruiting the strength they need to endure a world they have abandoned. The participants at TOC’s summer seminar come seeking the tools and the inspiration to improve their world.
This year the seminar was held from June 28 to July 4 at Bentley College in Waltham, Massachusetts. On the afternoon of the first day, even while participants were arriving and registering, the week’s program swung into action. A faculty luncheon allowed members of the teaching staff to get acquainted, and a newcomers session later on Saturday afternoon performed the same function for first-timers. A reception for students allowed participants still in school to discuss the prospects for intellectual careers. The formal kickoff was a welcoming cookout, and many people followed it up by initiating the nightly discussion sessions in the common room.

There will also be an Advanced Seminar in Objectivist Studies held beforehand from June 30 – July 2, at the same location:

The Advanced Seminar is a two and half-day meeting of professors, graduate students, independent scholars, and advanced undergraduates that focuses on new writings on Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism. The purpose of the seminar is to encourage the development of a high-quality scholarly literature on philosophical topics that is written from an Objectivist perspective. It also has the purpose of encouraging the development of community of scholars working in and around these ideas.
The Advanced Seminar typically has 15-25 participants and six paper presentations. Each paper is the focus of a formal comment and an extensive moderated seminar discussion which allows plenty of time to wrestle with the issues it raises. The seminar discusses arguments critical of or supportive of past Objectivist literature in an atmosphere of rational tolerance and debate. Methodologically, it seeks to integrate Objectivist emphases on essentialistic reasoning and attention to context with high academic standards.

More information about both the Summer Seminar and the Advanced Seminar (including a conference brochure) will be forthcoming on TOC’s seminar page.