Check Your Premises: March 2012

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Science Asks: Why Can't We All Just Get Along? - The Atlantic

I've been eagerly awaiting the publication of Jonathan Haidt's new book, The Righteous Mind, which I plan on reviewing here (one of these days). In the meantime here is a good summary of Haidt's approach. Science Asks: Why Can't We All Just Get Along? - The Atlantic

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Why liberals can't understand conservatives – Telegraph Blogs

I've mentioned Jonathan Haidt's work here before. Later this month his new book, The Righteous Mind, will be published. I'm eagerly waiting its arrival and plan to review it here. In the meantime, Ed West gives a nice summary.

About this blog

In 1968 when I was a freshman in college I discovered Ayn Rand’s writings, first reading The Fountainhead then Atlas Shrugged. This lead to an intensive period of study through the 1990s. In the 1980s and 90s I wrote for publications like On Principle, The Thomas Jefferson Review and The Objective American.

In the meantime I also read other philosophers such as John Kekes, David Norton (Personal Destinies), and Ken Wilber. Norton and Kekes fall into the Aristotelian tradition that has seen a recent rebirth in the form of the virtue ethics movement. Wilber, on the other hand, belongs more to in the Buddhist, Eastern tradition but this doesn’t nearly capture the depth and uniqueness of his thinking. Reading these philosophers sharpened my thinking while exposing me to different viewpoints. While I accept the basic principles of Objectivism, I constantly apply her advice of “check your premises” to Objectivism itself. This blog offers my thoughts on where this approach has taken me.

Check Your Premises

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Science Asks: Why Can't We All Just Get Along? - The Atlantic

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Why liberals can't understand conservatives – Telegraph Blogs

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