This kind of ties in to our show about Faith and Force with Don Watkins.

Download the MP3

Also, to keep the community active around the show I restarted the blog. Arthur and I will be posting stories and videos on the blog that tie in to what the topic will be during that month. We feel this will get people excited about what we are going to cover and hopefully then join us live when we record the show.

If you are wondering when the next show will be recorded, thats a good question. We will announce that once we book our guest. We feel that since we are no longer doing a weekly show we can be more flexible to accommodate out guest, since they will be a big part of the new format.

We are also looking for people to help us keep the blog updated. All you have to do is find interesting stories and headlines that objectivist would be interested and then post a link and summery about them. If you would like to do that just send me an email. Thanks!

Photo by lightmatter

Topics include: the objectivity of ethics; life as the standard of value; two methods of approach on the issue; what gives rise to values; life as an end in itself; rational goals as dependent on the pursuit of life; subjectivism defined; ethical subjectivists and their arguments; the purpose of ethics; types of subjectivism; the relationship of happiness to ethics; what virtue is; the cardinal values and virtues; The Virtue of Selfishness & OPAR as useful resources; Objectivism & dogmatism; etc.

There was no show on the following Sunday, December 28th, but there will be this Sunday, January 4th. We hope to see you there, and Happy New Year!

Topics include: Thomas Hobbes and the view of man as a brute; man as neither inherently good nor evil; the reward and motivation for choosing to be good; contradictions in the Hobbesian view and argument for government intervention; altruism as wrongfully assumed as standard for whether man is good; the good as in man’s interest, but remains his choice; charities in a capitalist society; government “charity”/welfare parallel to FDA and regulatory institutions; cultural shift required for capitalism to work; example of paying tips at restaurant; capitalism in theory vs. practice; activism and successful argumentation; etc.

Topic include: government bailout of the auto industry; the expression “too big to fail”; “are we all socialists now?” and the socialist trend in America; “bailout” and “aid” as buzzwords; learn from mistakes, don’t appease them; the role of unions; the industrial revolution; connection between economic and political freedom; separation between state and economics; legalization of drugs, prostitution, etc.; possible topic for next show: is man inherently good?

On the issue of being “too big to bail,” feel free to check out Alex Epstein’s article Too Big to Bail. Also related to the show, you can check out Yaron Brook’s article Are We All Socialists Now?.

Topics include: taking advantage of other people’s irrationality; gambling as not categorically immoral; gambling with false belief of luck vs. rational understanding or skill; gambling as possibly a form of rational recreation; gambling as skill or luck or combination of both; morality and responsibility of casino owners; analogy to bar owners and tobacco companies; fraud vs. asymmetric information; morality of card counting; stock markets and gambling; Arthur and Leonard Peikoff anecdote; playing the lotto.

Also, for those interested in the relevant topic of addiction, feel free to check out Show 056 where that is discussed (mp3, iTunes).

Update: Arthur describes Show 085 as follows: “This episode addresses three arguments that are frequently given against being philosophical. They come primarily from the first half of the first lecture of Dr. Leonard Peikoff’s course, Understanding Objectivism.”

Being somewhat distracted in the chat room, I was not able to note all the topics, but they include: the supernatural; ghost stories for entertainment; philosophic significance of Halloween; dressing up and trick-or-treating; haunted houses; horror movies; fiction vs. non-fiction movies & TV shows; benevolent and malevolent universe premise; the election; Obama & religion; lesser of two evils; voting; and more.

We hope you enjoyed the show and will see you next week!