On the podcast recorded May 20th, Brandon informs us that Leonard Peikoff answered our question about the Virginia Tech Shooting.
Q: During the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech College, there was a professor, a holocaust survivor, who blocked a door against the shooter so that his students could escape safely. And although he died in the process, the students did escape. Is this an act of altruism that Objectivism classifies as immoral?
A: No. As you present it, it was a heroic act in defense of the professor’s values. – Click here to read the full answer.
I would like to thank Brandon for sending the email. Also, after reading what Peikoff had to say, it seems that we came to the same conclusion. It’s nice to know that the show is working and we are all learning from each other.
We also talked about some of the many comments from our new listeners and readers. One of the ones we talked about was immigration. I was watching the news and saw that there is new immigration legislation so I thought I would bring it up on the show. We were just talking about this last week so that means that talkObjectivism.com is on the leading edge of political discussion.
The proposition is amazingly close to complete amnesty, which is completely illogical. Not that I want to seal off the borders, or am I “anti-immigration”; but denying a problem never makes it go away.
I hope this weekend I can read more about the immigration story. I think it maybe a topic to next show. You should try to make it.
The bill gives amnesty to people here before January 1st. But who’s gonna be honest? Of course they’ll say “I’ve been here for years!” It’s so stupid. Brainchild of Kennedy, so I’m not surprised.
P.S> Who hates Gore for writing “An Assault On Reason”? HIM, of all people!
I hate Gore, but not as much as I hate Rachel Carson.
http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=4965
Hey, I have a question about the professor and the altruism issue.
Would it be considered altruistic to value reason (and therefore non-coercion) categorically? Which is to say: can I value freedom as inherently good, such that I might be willing to detrimentally sacrifice my life? If not, why not?
Good Question, I will bring it up on the next podcast.