Make your own free website on Tripod.com
.. Objectivism ......... Libertarianism ......... Objectivism ......... Libertarianism ........ Objectivism ..

DON'T READ MY BOOK
if you are a Conservative, a Randite, or a Statist.
But if you want a consistent and principled presentation of Objectivism
give it a peek.

A Guide to the Philosophy of Objectivism
David King
Who the Hell is David King?

It is my intention to present an introduction, from the perspective of a scientist, to the ideas of Objectivism, a guide to other presentations of these ideas, and some applications of the ideas to important problems. Here you will find a rather motley mosaic of subsections, each generated from whatever sources of information I have encountered and each analyzed as best I can from within the context of my three-decade study of Objectivism.

In order to promote the maximum dissemination of the ideas, I have decided to place all my writings into the Public Domain. I grant permission to anyone to use my writings, or any parts of them, in any way that may help to further the spread of reason and freedom in our society.

You can download MyBook as a ZIP file if you log onto this address:

meansofinquiry.org/davidbking/DOWNLOAD.HTM

The ZIP file is 1 Megabyte. The whole thing unzipped is 2Mb
MyBook is an ongoing project for me as I add new ideas and revise old ideas in a continual attempt to make a better presentation. I would appreciate being notified of errors of any kind in these writings, or of any statements that could be clarified so as to make a better presentation.

MyBook is dedicated to two non-existent fictional characters:

William Hastings, who does not appear in ATLAS SHRUGGED
and
Emmanuel Goldstein, who does not appear in 1984


Chapter 1 ..... AYN RAND AND OBJECTIVISM - PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE
Chapter 2 ..... THINKING
Chapter 3 ..... THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT DEFINITIONS
Chapter 4 ..... ECONOMICS FROM AN OBJECTIVIST VIEWPOINT
Chapter 5 ..... RIGHTS AND FREEDOM
Chapter 6 ..... THE ETHICS UNDERLYING SOCIAL STRUCTURE
Chapter 7 ..... GOVERNMENT
Chapter 8 ..... BEYOND GOVERNMENT
Chapter 9 ..... RELIGION
Chapter 10 ... SPIRITUALITY, ART, AND BEAUTY
Chapter 11 ... THOUGHTS ON THE FUTURE OF CIVILIZATION
Chapter 12 ... LIBERTARIAN GUERILLA WARFARE
Chapter 13 ... TO SHRUG - AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE FOR AN INDIVIDUALIST


Chapter 1 AYN RAND AND OBJECTIVISM - PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE
* What is Objectivism?
* Randism vs. Objectivism
* Rand's incorrect definition of selfish
* Rand's personal statist views
* Rand's failure to distinguish between politics and economics
* The non-existent "Is-Ought" dichotomy
* Objectivist Values
* The Antagonism Between Philosophy and Science
* How Scientists Can Build Bombs
* The Connection Between Philosophy and Science
* The Scientific Attitude of Mind
* Some History of Science
* Science vs. Magic
* Examples of the Scientific Attitude applied
* Some Critiques of Science
* Why Objectivism is rejected
* Hallmarks of a Cult
* The Commentator Syndrome
* Objectivism in the Universities

Chapter 2 THINKING
* Tools of Thought
* Language
* Strength And Leverage
* IQ As A Potential
* Useful Thinking Techniques
* Memory
* Procedures for Carrying on a Discussion
* Criticism
* The Scientific Method
* The Military Staff Study
* Notes on the Significance of Intellectual Context
* Faulty Thought Processes
* Piagetian Operational Stages
* The Use Of Emotions As Tools Of Cognition
* Introspection
* Orwell - Newspeak - Brainwashing - Prolefeed

Chapter 3 THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT DEFINITIONS
* On the Importance of Correct Definitions
* How to Make a Definition
* Concept Reduction
Some approaches to defining a few interesting concepts:
..* Certainty
..* Probability
..* To Be
..* References
..* Envy
..* Instinct
..* Luck
..* Standard vs. Purpose - Man qua Man - to Survive or to Flourish
..* Suicide
..* Nonsense
..* Compromise

Chapter 4 ECONOMICS FROM AN OBJECTIVIST VIEWPOINT
* Objective vs. Subjective Economic Value
* History
* The Corporate Enterprise
* Political Power vs. Economic Power
* Property
...* What is property?
...* The right to property
...* Why must we recognize property rights?
...* Philosophical underpinnings
...* Ownership
...* John Locke on Property
...* Some questions about the Lockean thesis
...* Intellectual Property - Information as Property
...* Bibliography
* Capitalism
* Wealth
* The Need For Money
* The Evolution of Money and the Nature of inflation
* The Effects of Inflation
Several miscellaneous issues:
...* Foundations
...* Bootstrap Economics
...* Economic Calculations
...* Agriculture in China: An example of central control vs. individual control
...* The Tragedy of the Commons
...* The Public Goods Problem
...* Fascism-Communism
...* Marx
...* The Luddite Phenomenon
...* Liability
...* Productivity
...* Fair Trade

Chapter 5 RIGHTS AND FREEDOM
* Natural Rights
* There is no such Thing as Freedom

Chapter 6 THE ETHICS UNDERLYING SOCIAL STRUCTURE
* Some Ethical Concepts Defined
* Philosophy Underlies Society
* Foundation of Law
* Stateolatry
* Miscellaneous Ethical Topics
...* The "Nothing to Hide" argument
...* Voting
...* Majority Rule - Democracy
...* Abortion
...* Ethics as Black-and-White
...* Honesty vs. Dishonesty
...* Crime - The Criminal Mentality
...* Hate Crimes
...* Conspiracy
...* What is a Slave?
...* Profound Ethical Concerns
...* Charity - Egalitarianism - Welfarism
...* Coerced Compassion
...* Effect of Social Complexity on Statism
...* The Philosophical Chameleon
...* Dual Ideologies
...* Hallmarks of a Conservative
...* Libertarian Foreign Policy
...* The Ethical Carnivore
...* Voluntary vs. Coercive - Trade vs. Theft
...* Self-Defense
...* Preemptive Force
...* Rules vs. Principles
...* Polygamy vs. Monogamy
...* Forgiveness

Chapter 7 GOVERNMENT
* Government defined
* Descriptions of Government
* Corruption in Government
* The Real Function of Government
* What Government Responds to
* Political Intentions are Irrelevant
* Failures and Contradictions of Government
* Why Government Failure is Inevitable
* Government Murders During the 20th Century
* The War On Drugs

Chapter 8 BEYOND GOVERNMENT
* Limited Government
* Jury
* Government is a Mistake
* Anarchism
* A Covenant for a Union of Sovereign Americans

Chapter 9 RELIGION
* Christianity vs. Objectivism
* Christianity vs. the Lightning Rod
* Christianity vs. Women and Sex
* Interview with God
* Robert Ingersoll on Religion
* Religious Roots of Evil
* Attila and the Witch Doctor
* Basic Principles of Objectivism - Nathaniel Branden - from Lecture #4
* The Case of God vs. the Case of Reality
* God as Big Daddy
* Religion and Insanity

Chapter 10 SPIRITUALITY, ART, AND BEAUTY
* The Spirituality of a Scientist
* The Credo of a Rational Man
* Prayer
* Oath
* Marriage
* Love
* Table Blessing
* Art
* Beauty
* The Need for and Function of Art and Beauty
* The Nature of Pleasure
* The Nature of Fiction
* Dancing
* The Destruction of Art under Statism
* Miscellaneous Comments on Art

Chapter 11 THOUGHTS ON THE FUTURE OF CIVILIZATION
* Alienation
* Principles have Consequences
* Freedom/Slavery schizophrenia
* Financial Manipulation
* Standard of Living
* Dependency
* Dictatorship American Style
* The Alternative of Freedom
* Cultural Value-deprivation
* Inheritance
* Conservation - Environmentalism

Chapter 12 LIBERTARIAN GUERILLA WARFARE
* Rebellion against Government
* The Peaceful Means Argument
* Injustice is Everyone's Fight
* The Problem of the Innocents
* Questions to Determine Philosophical Orientation
* Prerequisites of a revolution
* Thoughts on Terrorism and Guerrilla Warfare
* Strategy - Disarm and Disable
* Tactics - Focus, Meaning, Purpose
* Morale

Chapter 13 TO SHRUG - AN ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLE FOR AN INDIVIDUALIST
* Underlying Philosophy
* Historical Precedent
* Implementation of Shrugging
* A Different World-View
* Escape from the moneylenders
* A suitable dwelling
* Lifetime supplies
* Income reduction
* Occupation
* Security
* The Moral is the Practical
* Recommendations
* Bibliography 



   Miscellaneous Essays 

    An Objectivist dictionary 
    A handbook of logical fallacies 
    Booklist - other sources for Objectivist ideas 
    A keyword index of: 
      The Objectivst Newsletter
      The Objectivist
      The Ayn Rand Letter
      The Objectivist Forum
      Basic Principles of Objectivism
      Principles of Efficient Thinking
      The Psychology of Romantic Love
      Atlas Shrugged
      The Fountainhead


     THE VERGER by W. Somerset Maugham  
     PROLOG by John P. McKnight  
     ULYSSES by Tennyson  
     I, PENCIL by Leonard E. Read  

     Stuff by David King
     Education in America  
     Privacy on the Internet  
     Living With Cats  
     Some Thoughts On Homesteading  
     Consciousness, Music, Mathematics, Dreams  
     Self-Referential Statements  
     Riddles, Puzzles, Jokes, and clever sayings  
     From the Christian Bible  
     Links to some useful stuff  


   Search my website:





        
                

                
                
                
                
                
                 
                
                

        		




        
                site search by
                freefind
        
        
                advanced