Philosophy

In this episode of Reason at Large, I address the question "Why do you use 'sacrifice' to mean giving up a greater value for a lesser value, when the widely accepted meaning of that term is the opposite: giving up a lesser value for the sake of a greater value?"…

Easter properly is a celebration of life. The holiday takes place in Spring, the season of budding leaves and flowers, of hatching eggs, and of newborn deer and other animals. Some think “Easter” derives from the name of a Germanic fertility goddess. But some Christians celebrate death instead. In the…

When a professor at Florida Atlantic University asked students to stomp on the name of “Jesus” written on a piece of paper, a Mormon student objected. Although the university first threatened to sanction the student, in the face of widespread criticism the university relented and apologized for the exercise. (For…

Here's a taste of the full transcript of the debate between Dinesh D'Souza and Andrew Bernstein, “Christianity: Good or Bad for Mankind?” which will be published in the forthcoming (Spring) issue of The Objective Standard. “If Mr. D’Souza’s argument is, ‘Well, the Communists and the Nazis murdered more people than…

Debates the question, “Christianity: Good or Bad for Mankind?” D’Souza defends Christianity while Bernstein defends Objectivism, the philosophy that holds the requirements of human life as the standard of moral value.

This is the Q&A from Craig Biddle's speech "The Trinity of Liberty: Individualism, Individual Rights, and Independent Thinking," delivered at Hungry Minds Speaker Series, Denver, CO, Feb 2, 2013. Biddle answers questions about egoism, moral principles, the proper use of the term "selfishness," the nature of individual rights, and the…

For the first time ever, a top Objectivist intellectual, Andrew Bernstein, debates a top Christian apologist, Dinesh D'Souza. "New Atheists," such as Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Michael Shermer, have debated Mr. D'Souza in the past, but their critiques of Christianity have been based on skepticism, subjectivism, relativism. Dr. Bernstein's…

Writing for PJ Media, Walter Hudson, a Christian, offers a good summary of key differences between Christianity and Objectivism, the secular philosophy of Ayn Rand. Hudson previews topics likely to be debated tonight in Austin, Texas, when Christian Dinesh D’Souza and Objectivist Andrew Bernstein square off over the question, “Christianity:…

In this first episode of Reason at Large, I discuss the so-called “is-ought dichotomy” and show that the reason most secular philosophers and intellectuals—including so­-called “New Atheists” and “secular humanists”—have been unable to bridge the “is­-ought gap” is that they have not been trying to derive the principles of morality…

In this Q&A following his speech on "Religion vs. Morality" Andrew Bernstein fields questions about reason-based philosophies besides Objectivism (and Aristotelianism), the alleged decline of religion today, the dominance of German philosophy among American intellectuals, and the cause of America's march toward socialism. Be sure to get your tickets for…