Category: Events

The topic of the Ayn Rand Society this year will be Tara Smith’s new book “Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics: The Virtuous Egoist.” The ARS meeting will be held in conjunction with the APA Eastern Division meetings in Washington DC, at the Marriott Wardman Hotel, Dec. 27-30, 2006.
Book description:

Ayn Rand is well known for advocating egoism, but the substance of that instruction is rarely understood. Far from representing the rejection of morality, selfishness, in Rand’s view, actually demands the practice of a systematic code of ethics. This book explains the fundamental virtues that Rand considers vital for a person to achieve their objective well-being: rationality, honesty, independence, justice, integrity, productiveness, and pride. Tracing Rand’s account of the value and harmony of human beings’ rational interests, Smith examines what each of these virtues consists of, why it is a virtue, and what it demands of people in practice. Along the way she addresses the status of several conventional virtues within Rand’s theory, considering traits such as kindness, charity, generosity, temperance, courage, forgiveness, and humility. Ayn Rand’s Normative Ethics thus offers an in-depth exploration of several specific virtues and an illuminating integration of these with the broader theory of egoism.

As a reminder, the Ayn Rand Institute will be holding its OCON 2006 (Objectivist conference) at Boston’s Seaport Hotel from June 30th to July 8th. The early registration deadline has passed, but student pricing is still available.
From Yaron Brook’s announcement:

[T]he real attraction of the conference is, of course, our lineup of speakers and courses. Attendees are still talking about last summerâ??s offerings, and we are confident that this summerâ??s courses will only add to the Objectivist summer conference legacy. Speakers include Objectivist luminaries such as Harry Binswanger, John Ridpath, Peter Schwartz and Mary Ann Sures, and topics range from ethics to education, art to opera, politics to perception, and from the ancient Greeks to the corruption of 20th-century philosophy. There are nine general session lectures and sixteen optional courses to choose from, as well as a variety of special events and dinners. Attendees may register for the entire nine-day conference, or use our à la carte registration options to choose those parts that best fit your schedule and budget.

See the Objectivist Conferences web site for more information about this conference and instructions for registering.

The early registration deadline for The Objectivist Center’s 17th Summer Seminar is Monday, May 8, 2006. Register before this deadline passes and save 18%. You can register online at The Objectivist Center’s registration website or by calling 800-374-1776. For more information about the seminar and registration, visit The Objectivist Center’s website

The following announcement is from The Objectivist Center:

The Objectivist Center and The Atlas Society’s 17th Annual Summer Seminar will be held from July 1 through July 7 at Chapman University in beautiful, sunny Orange, California!

This will be an uplifting, challenging and exciting exchange of ideas about philosophy, politics and culture, aesthetics and applications to one’s own life of Objectivism, the philosophy developed by Ayn Rand.

Speakers will include David Kelley, Edward Hudgins, Robert Bidinotto, Will Thomas, Joe Rowlands, Nathaniel Branden, Barbara Branden, Tibor Machan, Marsha Enright, Robert Campbell and many others. You’ll find PDF files of the schedule-at-a-glance and the full, downloadable conference brochure on our website.

Take a five-part course on “Atlas Shrugged as a Philosophical Novel” or a mini-course on “Empiricism Without Skepticism: Locke, Hume and Rand.”

Hear a two-part “Introduction to Cognitive Science” with complementary talks on “The Content of Perception” and “Neuroscience and the Nature of Man.”

Learn about “Children and the Embodiment of Objectivism,” “Eliminating the Altruist Baggage,” “Heroes and Role Models,” “The Joys of Entrepreneurship” and “The Habits of Excellence.”

Delve into “Individualism and Community,” “The Anatomy of Cooperation,” “American Exceptionalism,” “Overcoming Ethical Relativism in the College Classroom” and “Eminent Domain Abuse.”

Enjoy poetry readings, classical music and jazz in our Evening Arts Series.

Outside of the formal program, which offers 50 presentations from over 30 expert faculty, you’ll have plenty of time to share your own ideas in “participant-sponsored sessions,” to join in impromptu sports with fellow participants, to take advantage of campus fitness facilities or, of course, to enjoy the California beaches!

The event site is conveniently located near Orange County/John Wayne Airport, Disneyland, Huntington Beach and is just down the road from all the other Los Angeles area attractions.

The Summer Seminar always offers intellectual stimulation and spiritual renewal in an open, tolerant and benevolent atmosphere with like-minded, friendly individuals.

You can register for the full event or for part of the conference as fits your schedule. Complete conference details, costs and online registration are found on our website at www.objectivistcenter.org. You can also email us at toc@objectivistcenter.org or call at 202-AYN-RAND (296-7263). Sign up by May 8th and receive an early registration discount!

The Ayn Rand Institute will hold its 2006 Summer Conference at the Seaport Hotel in Boston from June 30 to July 8. The early registration deadline is March 15.
Some of the diverse highlights of the program include:
– Aristotle’s Ethics: Its Critics through History
– Essential developments towards Musical Romanticism
– Understanding 20th-Century Philosophy – The Case of Quine
– Ayn Rand, Public Speaker: A Philosopher Who Lived on Earth
The conference schedule offers the flexibility of registering for optional courses, individual sessions, and special events.
Check the registration and pricing information here.

Lisa VanDamme, a frequent speaker at the ARI Summer Seminars, whose work focuses on the application of Objectivism to educational theory, will speak at the annual conference of the Maryland Home Education Association in Annapolis on April 1.
Ms. VanDamme will deliver the conference’s keynote address, “The Hierarchy of Knowledge: The Most Neglected Issue in Education.” She will also present two sessions: “A Conceptual Approach to Education,” and “Applying the Principle of Hierarchy in the Homeschool Program.”
In the first session, Ms. VanDamme will discuss the importance of understanding rather than just memorizing the learned material, by means of “requiring that in every subject, students not just recite or do rote exercises, but explain their knowledge in words.” In the second session, she will discuss the practical implementation of the principle of hierarchy, from the simple to the abstract, in all subject areas.
Ms. VanDamme is the owner and director of the VanDamme Academy, a private school in California, where she also teaches grammar and literature. She developed a curriculum that “emphasizes those subjects essential to fostering the child’s intellectual maturity, one that recognizes a necessary and inviolable sequence of knowledge in all subjects, and one that stresses the connections within and between subjectsâ??and between school and life.”
For more information and to register, check the MHEA Conference Page.

Front Range Objectivism will be holding a weekend conference in Denver, Colorado from March 4-5. The topic is “Law, Individual Rights, and the Judician System.”
Scheduled speakers at the the conference include Amy Peikoff and Dana Berliner, among others.
Thanks to Diana Hsieh for the heads-up.

This announcement from The Objectivist Center/Atlas Society:

If you’re in New York City on Thursday, February 2, 2006, you’re invited to the Junto meeting on “Ayn Rand 101: An Instructive Birthday Celebration!” at 7:00pm, with speakers at 7:30m. The event will be held at:
The Roosevelt Hotel
45 East 45th Street Between Madison & Vanderbilt (Park) Avenues
It’s near the Grand Central Terminal. Subway: 4, 5, 6, 7 to Grand Central — 42nd St. or B, D, F, V to 42nd Street — Sixth Ave. or 1, 2, 3, 9, N, Q, R, S, W to Times Square — 42nd St.
Speakers include:
* Dr. Edward L. Hudgins, executive director of The Objectivist Center and its Atlas Society, on “Understanding the World through Ayn Randâ??s Eyes.”
(Hudgins shows that on her 101st birthday Rand still offers us perspectives that explain the confused and chaotic world around us — and points us toward a better one.)
* Erika Holzer on her book “Ayn Rand: My Fiction-Writing Teacher”
* Dr. Marty Lewinter on “Ayn Rand and Western Civilization.”
* Marsha Enright on the planned “Objectivist College.”
Junto focuses on libertarianism, Objectivism, and investing. Our founder and host is Victor Niederhoffer. Visit his site at: http://dailyspeculations.com
Visit NYCJunto.com to get current meeting information and to sign up to get the Junto email newsletter.