Comments for Philosophy 101

Comment on Earth Day Nonsense by Tyler Jones

Tyler Jones — Wed, 07 May 2008 18:03:47 +0000

Regarding the “hypocrisy”– First of all, to say “an all out war on capitalism” has been waged is, generally speaking, an over exaggeration. That aside, if capitalism is the system which is enabling the technological innovation and progress to deal with the environmental problems which are caused by capitalism in the first place…
Well, you do the math. Remove capitalism from the equation and you no longer need the technology. Of course you no longer need the environmentalists then do you?

Back to the beginning of the article where we speak of environmental alarmists, –the “doomsdayers” Indeed we have made great “progress”. But we must look at how we define progress. We are, it can be argued, causing less damage than we were in the 70’s. That is not to say however that we are causing no damage, or less damage is acceptable. If, everyday when you came home from work you found that your dog,( yes your dog ) had defecated all over the living room carpet. You would likely say “bad dog” indeed. Then after years of correcting and training, you came home only to find that said dog was only crapping on a few areas of the rug… could you really muster the enthusiasm to say “good dog” Still a bad dog, just less bad.
And what if we didn’t have the doomsdayers proclaiming the end of the world if we don’t correct our behavior?
Consider where we might be, what kind of world we might be living in if we didn’t have these folks screaming about the future?

Comment on Objectivism for Germans by Wolfgang Scheide

Wolfgang Scheide — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:12:00 +0000

Sie haben schon Recht: Ayn Rand ist in Deutschland nicht sehr bekannt und es gibt nur wenige echte Objektivisten. Leider! Mein Blog lesen so ungefähr 30 Leser pro Tag… Ich möchte mich natürlich auch für die Übersetzungen der Aufsätze bedanken, aber bei einer kurzen Lektüre des Aufsatzes über Kunst fiel mir ein Lapsus auf: “emerging markets” sind “Schwellenländer” oder “Märkte in Schwellenländern”, mit “Schwellenstand” kann sicherlich kein Deutscher etwas anfangen.

Comment on Objectivism for Germans by Wolfgang Scheide

Wolfgang Scheide — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:04:13 +0000

Look at my blog. Maybe it can help you!

Comment on Nutso Supreme by Mike N

Mike N — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:08:55 +0000

I’ve wondered how people who deal in beliefs rather than knowledge, can call someone else’s beliefs irrational. They are irrational according to what standard? Such questions usually boil down to subjectivism: what set of beliefs does one personally prefer?

Comment on Smoky Business by Kraorh

Kraorh — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:43:50 +0000

Well, you know what I’ve always said, Anja. Smoking is healthier than fascism! :)

Comment on Objectivism for Germans by John Landrum

John Landrum — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 12:34:44 +0000

My novel, The Jonkheer’s Wife (see http://www.thejonkheerswife.com), has just received very favorable reviews in The New Individualist (January / February 2008) and in Gennady Stolyarov’s Rational Argumentator. One reader has called it “the first novel I have seen that examines the philosophical and cultural contradictions that made Nazism possible, using an engaging plot and set of characters.” Another has called it “the first objectivist novel to escape Ayn Rand’s shadow.”

It can be ordered through Amazon, and is available (through order) in many european bookstores, but only in English. I am actively seeking a German translator / publisher.

Please reply to jlandrum@intralox.com.

Sincerely,

John F. Landrum

Comment on What else Bayes’ Theorem is good for by kraorh

kraorh — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 01:21:40 +0000

The Not-Enough-Cowbell-Filter?

Comment on Unhealthy Wisconsin by Virginia Murr

Virginia Murr — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:04:11 +0000

Regretfully, socialized health care seems to be more and more attractive to people. Constituents of socialized health care are notorious for emotional pull — which works wonderfully with the “average Joe” who pays little to no attention to the workings of this nation. A commercial is currently running on national television that includes a series of children asking the goverment to stick to its promises, and to give them health care. What a better way to emotionally manipulate people than by using children? Sadly, it is fallacies such as these that has encouraged more than one person I know to support socialized health care.

Comment on Dumbledore is gay, so what? by Virginia Murr

Virginia Murr — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:52:18 +0000

After hearing this tidbit on the national news, I told my 13 year old (who loves the Harry Potter series). Her answer was “yeah, so?”

I agree with both of you. The sexual orientation of this character had nothing to do with the books, and it is such a strange issue to bring up now, after the series has been finished.

J.K. Rowling did a wonderful thing by creating a story-line that sparked the imaginations of millions of children. Now she is using her creation as a platform for political activism. Frustrating, indeed.

Comment on A Machiavellian Presidency? by Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 09:42:46 +0000

I couldn’t help but laugh at the irony:

“In Machiavelli’s terms, ordinary power needs to be supplemented or corrected by the extraordinary power of a prince, using wise discretion….”

Wise direction? I would love to hear Mr. Mansfield’s definiton of this, particularly in light of the Bush administration.

Virginia Murr