Summer Seminar 1998

The Ninth Annual Institute for Objectivist Studies'
Summer Seminar
July 4-11, 1998
University of Colorado at Boulder

Program

In the following program description, levels of difficulty are indicated by these symbols:
general interest; more difficult; advanced.

Challenges

Objectivism has drawn the attention of scholars who have extended its principles to new areas, explored its relationships to other philosophies, and raised critical challenges. Three prominent thinkers—John Hospers, Eric Mack, and George Smith—will join David Kelley to discuss issues at the foundations of Objectivism.

John Hospers, now professor emeritus of philosophy at the University of Southern California, has had a distinguished career in philosophy. He is the author of Human Conduct and Introduction to Philosophical Analysis, two widely used textbooks, and of several books in aesthetics. An associate of Ayn Rand in the 1960s, he helped introduce her work to the academic community as editor of The Personalist and The Monist.

Eric Mack is a professor of philosophy at Tulane University, where he has taught since 1975. He has published widely in ethics and political philosophy. He is the editor of Herbert Spencer's The Man versus the State and Auberon Herbert's The Right and Wrong of Compulsion by the State.

George Smith is an independent scholar who has written and lectured extensively on history, philosophy, and politics. Among his works are Atheism: The Case Against God and Atheism, Ayn Rand, and Other Heresies.

David Kelley is the executive director of the Institute for Objectivist Studies and a former professor of philosophy at Vassar College and Brandeis University. He is the author of The Evidence of the Senses, Truth and Toleration, The Art of Reasoning, and Unrugged Individualism: The Selfish Basis of Benevolence.

John Hospers, Ph.D., and David Kelley, Ph.D.
Concepts and Definitions
Ayn Rand described the issue of concepts as "philosophy's central issue," and her own theory of concepts is strikingly original. Prof. Hospers and Dr. Kelley will discuss some of the philosophical questions about concepts and definitions that the theory raises.

John Hospers, Ph.D., David Kelley, Ph.D., and Eric Mack, Ph.D.
The Foundations of Ethics
Can all of morality be validated by reference to the requirements of supporting one's own life, without reference to inherent duties to others? Can all of the actions prescribed by the Objectivist ethics be called "selfish"? What is the status of our ultimate values? These are among the questions to be discussed in this session.

David Kelley, Ph.D., and George H. Smith
The Natural Basis of Rights
The Objectivist political philosophy is based on individual rights to life, liberty, and property—a position drawn from the natural rights tradition. In what sense are rights "natural"? Do they exist independently of government? Of all social institutions? George Smith and David Kelley will discuss the status of rights as principles protecting individual freedom.

In Appreciation of the Arts

Not only is art a human need, but it is through art that many people first discover the ideas of Objectivism. In this series of presentations, participants can deepen their understanding of the arts and enjoy the experience that comes from contemplating a work of art.

John Enright
Enjoying Poetry
What should we look for in poetry? How do the meaning and the musical properties of language combine to create an aesthetic experience? Drawing on a range of poetic examples, John Enright will discuss the appreciation of poetry. This lecture was one of the most popular at the 1997 Summer Seminar. Mr. Enright is the author of Starbound and Other Poems, and has written and lectured on poetry.

Michael Landman
Acting Shakespeare (2 sessions)
How does an actor bring a character to life? What skills does an actor need? What methods does an actor use to interpret a 400-year-old Shakespearean text? Director Michael Landman, with the assistance of a professional actor, will provide a glimpse into the rehearsal process and an appreciation of the actor's craft. Mr. Landman is directing As You Like It for the Hamptons Shakespeare Festival this summer. He is an M.F.A. candidate in theatre directing at Columbia University, and has recently assisted on productions at The Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., and the Royal Shakespeare Company in England.

Susan McCloskey, Ph.D.
Odysseus, Jesus, and Dagny (2 sessions)
Homer's Odysseus and the Jesus of the Gospels define two recurring types in the Western heroic tradition, the conqueror who succeeds by wit, strength, and sexual magnetism and the self-sacrificer who embraces defeat and achieves improbable victory. Susan McCloskey will show how Ayn Rand at once uses this tradition, challenges it, and, in her conception of Dagny, lays the groundwork for a new conception of the hero. Dr. McCloskey previously taught literature and Western Civilization courses at Vassar College. She is now a writer and editor and the president of McCloskey Writing Consultants, Inc.

Michael Newberry
Artist's talk/Exhibition
Along with an exhibition of his works, Michael Newberry, a painter currently residing in Rhodes, Greece, will discuss the creative process behind the paintings. Using preparatory drawings on display, he will show how he integrates technique, emotional effect, and intellectual idealism into a finished work. Mr. Newberry has taught at the Otis College of Art and Design. His work is represented in private collections in Europe, the Far East, and the United States. The exhibition, which will be open to Seminar participants during the week, is part of his second international tour.

Salil Singh
Plays of Light, Songs of Hope: Adventures in World Theater
Salil Singh will discuss forms of theater from East to West, including shadow puppetry, story-theater, and plays. His presentation will feature excerpts from some of his new and old works, exploring themes of transcendence—over pain, ignorance, or despair—and visions of the rational, the heroic, and the optimistic. Salil Singh is a playwright, director, and performer who has worked in the the theater for over fifteen years. He is currently finishing his Ph.D. in theater history/criticism at the University of Texas at Austin.

Douglas Wagoner
The Classical Revolution in Music
What innovations did Haydn, Mozart, and their contemporaries bring to the music scene? What did the composers of the "Classical" period (roughly 1750-1800) expect of their listeners? What skills are necessary to make discriminating judgments about the compositions of this pivotal era of music history?

Through recorded examples, lecture, and handouts, Mr. Wagoner will demonstrate characteristics of the Classical period and apply that knowledge to earlier and later music. No prior musical background is assumed. Douglas Wagoner is a musician with over 20 years of experience as a player, composer, conductor and teacher. He is currently a graduate student in composition at Boston University, and assistant conductor of the Brookline Symphony Orchestra.

Richard A. Warshak, Ph.D.
One Dark (K)night: Trauma, Sense of Life, and the Origin of a Superhero
Psychological trauma can instantly shatter a benevolent sense of life and influence artistic creation and appreciation. Clinical and research psychologist Richard A. Warshak illustrates this process by investigating the link between trauma and the origin, evolution, and appeal of a legendary superhero. Dr. Warshak has over 20 years of experience treating trauma victims. He is a professor of psychology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Advanced Seminar

The Advanced Seminar is a special program for students and professional scholars. It provides the opportunity for scholars to review and discuss new technical work on Objectivism, and for advanced students to learn by participating in the scholarly exchange of ideas. To allow for active discussion, enrollment in the Advanced Seminar is limited to qualified students, teachers, and professional scholars.

(To apply, follow the instructions on the back of the registration form and submit your application by April 30.)

Stephen Boydstun
Space and Time
Stephen Boydstun will distinguish two modes of our elementary concepts of space and time: the operational (or egocentric) mode and the objective mode, and show how these elementary concepts of space and time relate to Rand's view of axiomatic concepts. Mr. Boydstun is the publisher and editor of Objectivity, a journal of metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of science, and theory of value.

Will Wilkinson
Making Sense of Sense of Life
Readers of Ayn Rand's writings in aesthetics are familiar with the concepts "sense of life" and "psycho-epistemology." However, as Will Wilkinson will explain, both concepts are also important for understanding rationality and moral virtue. Mr. Wilkinson is a graduate student at Northern Illinois University, specializing in metaethics and the theory of practical reason.

William R. Minto, Ph.D.
Causality and Determinism
What does the law of causality imply about scientific method? Does it imply determinism? These are among the questions William R. Minto will discuss in this session. Dr. Minto recently received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Western Ontario.

George Smith and David Kelley, Ph.D.
The Natural Basis of Rights
Discussion of the material presented in the "Challenges" session.

John Hospers, Ph.D., Eric Mack, Ph.D., and David Kelley, Ph.D.
The Foundations of Ethics
Discussion of the material presented in the "Challenges" session.

John Hospers, Ph.D., and David Kelley, Ph.D.
Concepts and Definitions
Discussion of the material presented in the "Challenges" session.

Politics and Culture

Scholars and activists will share their insights about cultural trends, current issues, and the prospects for a free society.

David Kelley, Ph.D.
The State of the Culture
Is the battle for individual liberty losing ground to egalitarianism? Is there any hope for a rational culture in an era of political correctness and cultural relativism? In his annual commentary on cultural trends, David Kelley will discuss the key advances made by Enlightenment values, and the major challenges they face from pre-Enlightenment and anti-Enlightenment forces.

Stephen Hicks, Ph.D.
Post-modernism (2 sessions)
Post-modernism is the leading intellectual movement of the late 20th century, replacing modernism, the leading philosophy of the Enlightenment. Post-modernism replaces the principles of objective reality, reason, and individualism with social construction, relativism, feeling, and group-ism. This movement has spread to major cultural institutions such as education, journalism, and the law, where it manifests itself as race and gender politics, advocacy journalism, political correctness, multi-culturalism, and the wholesale rejection of science and technology. In these lectures, Prof. Hicks will define post-modernism philosophically, explain its historical roots, and discuss the key tenets needed to rejuvenate the Enlightenment spirit. Dr. Hicks is associate professor and chairman of the Department of Philosophy, Rockford College, a liberal arts college in Illinois. He is also acting director of Rockford College's Honors Program in Liberal Arts, a "great books" program that teaches the college's best students the intellectual history of Western civilization.

Eric Mack, Ph.D.
Atlas Harnessed: The Political Philosophy of John Rawls
John Rawls remains the most highly esteemed and widely followed of all contemporary political philosophers—primarily on the basis of his 1971 book A Theory of Justice. This lecture is a critical exposition of the main premises and arguments of that work. It aims to familiarize the audience with Rawls's position—including his more attractive philosophical motivations and more plausible philosophical suggestions—and to reveal the fundamental flaws within his key premises and inferences. Their disclosure and critique provides a philosophical inoculation against these all too common errors. Eric Mack is a professor of philosophy at Tulane University, where he has taught since 1975.

David Mayer, Ph.D., J.D.
The Welfare State vs. The Constitution (2 sessions)
This two-part lecture will show how the Supreme Court has made possible the rise of the modern "welfare state." Focusing on selected landmark Court cases, David Mayer will argue that the Court has engaged in what Ayn Rand called "context-dropping," virtually eviscerating the Constitution as a protection against abuses of governmental power. He also will suggest an Objectivist approach to constitutional interpretation, beginning with a renewed appreciation of the importance of context. Prof. Mayer is the author of The Constitutional Thought of Thomas Jefferson. He is currently professor of law and history at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.

Kenneth McLaughlin, Ph.D.
Economic Detection (2 sessions)
Evaluating explanations is detective work. Kenneth McLaughlin applies principles from Objectivist epistemology to detection in economics: How should economic ideas be evaluated? What role does valid abstraction play in constructing economic models? Is statistical evidence important for evaluating economic theories? The process of economic detection is demonstrated through detailed examples. Prof. McLaughlin teaches economics at Hunter College; the Graduate Center, City University of New York; and Columbia University.

Robert Poole, M.S.
The Roads to Freedom
If government were limited to its legitimate functions of protecting rights, how would goods such as airports, highways, and water supply be provided? Learn how these monopoly or quasi-monopoly systems are beginning to be privatized overseas—and the obstacles to privatizing them here in the land of the free. Mr. Poole is founder and president of the Reason Foundation, publisher of Reason magazine, and a nationally known expert on privatization and transportation policy. He consults regularly with national, state, and local governments on how and why to privatize.

Stephen Moses
The Health Care Hold-up: Your Money and Your Life
Conventional wisdom holds that health care is a right, that the free market failed to achieve health care access and quality, and that government must intervene sooner or later to correct the market's failure. This lecture demonstrates that health care is a personal responsibility, that fifty years of government interference has impaired medical coverage and exploded costs, that ever greater damage is being done by government-promoted "managed care," and that a return to private indemnity insurance is the only way to reverse the deterioration and save modern medicine. Stephen Moses, a nationally-recognized expert on Medicaid, is director of the Center for Long-Term Care Financing. He is a tireless and effective advocate of private long-term care.

Richard A. Warshak, Ph.D.
Enlightened Approach to Child Custody
Custody decisions raise central questions about the rights and obligations of divorced parents and their children. Drawing on landmark research, a leading authority on divorce will demonstrate how conventional custody, grounded in irrational beliefs, creates casualties. He will then present a blueprint for a rational custody policy. In addition to his office psychotherapy practice, Richard A. Warshak consults with parents and attorneys throughout the country. He is the author of The Custody Revolution.

William Thomas, M.A.
Children's Rights and Parental Obligations
The principles of individual rights apply to human beings in virtue of their capacities for reason and autonomous action. But children have not yet developed these capacities. How do the principles of rights apply to them? And what are the moral responsibilities of parents toward their children? Should these responsibilities be enforced by law? William Thomas, a doctoral student in economics who is writing a monograph on rights, will address these complex questions.

Applications

Objectivism is a philosophy for living on earth. These presentations deal with a wide range of issues that arise in applying principles of Objectivism to our personal and professional lives.

Robert Bidinotto
The Value-Seeking Personality
Life is a value-seeking enterprise, requiring a positive focus. But many misinterpret Objectivism as being primarily virtue-focused and preoccupy themselves with denouncing evils. Mr. Bidinotto will distinguish a "value-seeking" from a "virtue-seeking" personality in work, love, and social interaction. He will also discuss how to acquire a positive, value-seeking focus, and how to sustain it in negative circumstances. An award-winning writer, Mr. Bidinotto is the Institute's director of development and special projects.

Robert Bidinotto
Romanticism in Everyday Life
How can a person integrate his highest spiritual ideals with the mundane realities of everyday life? As a follow-up to his inspiring 1997 talk, "What Objectivists Must Learn from Religion," Robert Bidinotto shows how cultivating a psycho-epistemological habit of "symbolic vision" can infuse daily life with romance, passion, and an integrating sense of personal meaning and mission.

Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D.
Psychology of Subpersonalities
The idea of subpersonalities, which is almost as old as psychology itself, is that individuals have more than one personality—more than one set of values, perceptions, and responses. Nathaniel Branden will share the psychotherapeutic experiences that led him and his wife and partner Devers to the conclusions they have evolved over the years. He will elaborate on the practical value of this way of interpreting human behavior.

Following his lecture, Dr. Branden will conduct an experiential workshop on subpersonalities. Workshop attendance will be limited to 75. To be considered for attendance, indicate your interest on the registration form. Participants will be selected on a first come, first served basis.

Nathaniel Branden, Ph.D.
On Loving One's Life
Inherent in the Objectivist ethics, although never really explored philosophically or psychologically, is a vision of human beings who are passionate about their lives. Certainly this is a dominant characteristic of Ayn Rand's heroes and heroines who are meant to exemplify what the Objectivist ethics looks like in action. What does this attitude depend on? If it is lacking, can it be acquired? What are the impediments to be overcome? What psychological issues are involved? These are the issues to be addressed in this presentation. Dr. Branden is a practicing psychotherapist and prolific author. Among his books are The Art of Living Consciously, The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, and Taking Responsibility: Self-Reliance and the Accountable Life.

Madeleine Pelner Cosman, Ph.D., J.D.
Civility and Self-Interest
What is civility? Are "good manners" consistent with other Objectivist values? Is future trading the basis for civility? Can civility control churlish boors? Madeleine Pelner Cosman will show how civility serves self-interest in negotiating, naming for service, achieving physical security, acting in the "theatre of civility," and avoiding lawsuits. Dr. Cosman is president of Medical Equity, a national medical and surgical practice brokerage. She is also professor emerita at City University of New York, where she taught medical law for 30 years, Life Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine, and a prolific author and speaker.

John Davis, Ph.D., C.C.P.
An Honest Day's Pay
Companies struggle to attract, retain, and motivate good people. Where does pay fit in and what other factors are important to achieve win-win situations? Real-life examples and recommendations will be discussed using Objectivist notions of self-interest and the trader principle. John Davis is a partner of Davis & Neusch Inc., a management consulting firm, and one of the nation's most respected and well-known compensation consultants and teachers of compensation.

Carol B. Low, Psy.D.
Bodymind in Daily Life
The continuity between body and brain presents a means of interpreting and hence affecting the interaction between cognition, emotion, and behavior. Carol Low will discuss recent research regarding the transmission of information throughout the human bodymind, and will show how this knowledge can be used to enhance the individual's ability to integrate reason and emotion and feel more in control of his or her destiny. Dr. Low, a licensed clinical psychologist, is co-founder of the Center for Conscious Living. She specializes in treating physical problems via psychological modalities. She has written on topics such as the holistic treatment of chronic pain and adult attention deficit disorder.

Debra Ross
Publishing Objectivism
This practical, how-to lecture is designed to motivate Objectivists to communicate their basic principles in a way that's accessible to the American reading public, and describes the actual steps one should take to get published in newspapers, magazines, journals, and books. This presentation, one of the most popular at the 1997 Summer Seminar, will include a great deal of take-home reference material. Debra Ross is president of Axton Enterprises in Fairport, New York. She is the former managing editor of Hatherleigh Press in New York City, and the former production editor of the IOS Journal.

Nell Robinson, M.S.W.
The Pursuit of Happiness (4 sessions)
This workshop will focus on experiencing a deeper sense of the things you really want out of life, and on what it takes to achieve them. Through exercises and discussion, you will expand your awareness of your inner life, and gain a deeper appreciation of your personal strengths and a deeper understanding of your personal obstacles. Nell Robinson, the workshop leader, is a theatrical producer, director, and teacher who also has a background in psychology. During the past fifteen years, she has developed a series of courses for non-actors, using acting techniques as a means of exploring students' creativity, spontaneity, motivation, and self-awareness. The four sessions in this workshop are drawn from a new course she is developing for a wider audience.

This workshop will be limited to twenty participants. To be considered as a participant, please indicate your interest on the registration form. Participants will be notified of their selection prior to the start of the Summer Seminar.

For more information on the 1998 Summer Seminar, see also:

Program | Schedule