Tag Archives: reason

Is There a Rational Morality? by Ben Bayer

March 19, 2020PodcastAyn Rand, choice, ethics, life, morality, Objectivity, Philosophy, reality, reason, thinkingAlex Wigger

Most people think about morality as a set of commandments handed down by a god. Others believe we can get moral guidance by consulting our own feelings of sympathy for the needs and desires of other people.

Are these the only two options? Does morality have to be based on faith in a higher dimension or on feelings for others on Earth?

Those who believe morality is based on either faith or feelings assume there can be no rational basis for morality. Is that true? Are there no observable facts by which we can decide what’s the right and wrong way to live?

Join Ben Bayer and explore the question: Is there a rational morality?

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Why Should I care About Israel? with Elan Journo

February 12, 2020PodcastAyn Rand, Elan Journo, ethics, foreign policy, Israel, peace, reason, Terrorism, values, warphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

Israel is talked about often in the media, but many Americans don’t understand why we are so preoccupied with this country.

Often Israel is spoken of in a negative context: boycotts at universities, condemnations by the United Nations, and so on. What makes Israel worse than other countries? On the flip side, good defenses of Israel are scant. Is Israel important to U.S. foreign policy? If so, why?

Join David Birnbaum as he interviews foreign policy expert Elan Journo on the question: Why should I care about Israel?

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Who Decides What’s Right or Wrong? by Elan Journo

January 22, 2020Podcastchoice, Elan Journo, ethics, independence, judgment, morality, Objectivity, Podcast, reason, right, wrongphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

In ethics, the question “Who ultimately decides what is morally right or wrong?” is commonly asked. Notice that in other areas of life there’s no issue of “who decides” what’s right or wrong. For example, if your car won’t start, you call a mechanic to inspect it. After he replaces the battery, the car works…

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Why Are New Years Resolutions So Hard To Keep? by Keith Lockitch

January 15, 2020Podcastethics, exercise, free will, Keith Lockitch, Podcast, reason, resolutions, self-help, self-made, selfishness, will powerphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

Every year droves of people make New Year’s resolutions, but polls suggest that four out of five people fail to keep them. One report even found that most resolutions last less than two weeks. So why are New Year’s resolutions so hard to keep? Are they just a joke and a waste of time? Are…

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How Can One Be Fully Independent in Today’s Society? by Harry Binswanger

November 13, 2019PodcastAyn Rand, Harry Binswanger, independence, individualism, Podcast, reason, self-esteem, self-interest, selfishness, society, The Fountainheadphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

Independence is the theme of Ayn Rand’s great novel The Fountainhead. Howard Roark, the novel’s hero, is the epitome of independence. He speaks of the need to have a self-sufficient ego and says nothing else is as important. What is a “self-sufficient ego”? What is independence and how does one preserve one’s independence in a…

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Is There a God? by Aaron Smith

October 23, 2019PodcastAaron Smith, Atheism, Ayn Rand Institute, epistemology, faith, god, judgment, Objectivism, Podcast, reason, religionphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

The question of whether there is or is not a God is certainly one of life’s big questions, and it’s one that almost all of us have had to grapple with at some point in our lives. Many of us were raised in a religious environment but have come to have doubts or questions about…

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Should I Go by Reason or by Faith? by Ben Bayer

September 4, 2019PodcastBen Bayer, epistemology, faith, guidance, knowledge, life, Objectivism, Philosophy, Podcast, purpose, reasonphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

Human beings desperately need guidance in life, but where should we seek this guidance? Should we seek it in what we can observe with our own five senses and what we can logically infer from that data? Or should we seek it from some higher authority, just because we feel what it tells us is…

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Should I Follow My Head or My Heart? by Aaron Smith

August 21, 2019PodcastAaron Smith, Ayn Rand, emotionalism, epistemoology, feelings, head, heart, mind, Objectivism, Philosophy, Podcast, reasonphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

All of us have experienced clashes between our thinking and our feelings—between our “head” and our “heart.” The question we seem to face, in any given clash, is: Which one to follow—“head” or “heart”? On this Philosophy for Living on Earth webinar, ARI’s Aaron Smith discusses Ayn Rand’s perspective on this issue. Recorded live as part of…

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Can There Be Good Without God? by Onkar Ghate

August 1, 2019PodcastAtheism, ethics, god, good, metaphysics, morality, Philosophy, Podcast, reason, religion, right, secular, wrongphilosophy-for-living-on-earth

Whether it’s the legality of abortion, the desirability of free speech, the power of social media companies, or the appropriateness of a president’s tweets, we seem to be increasingly divided by issues of value, by what we consider right and wrong,good and evil. But whichever side we take on these and other controversies, if we’re asked to…

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