Roger Bissell biography


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While we are still organizing a formal brief biography, here are a few items on him gleaned from the Internet.

Michael

Biography

JARS biographical blurb

ROGER E. BISSELL, email: , url: , is a professional musician and a writer on philosophy and psychology, specializing in aesthetics, logic and epistemology, and personality type theory. His work has appeared in a number of other publications, including Reason Papers, Objectivity, Journal of Consciousness Studies, Bulletin of the Association for Psychological Type, Vera Lex, and ART Ideas. His mock transcription of a lecture by the fictional composer Richard Halley was published in Edward W. Younkins's 2007 compilation, Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged": A Philosophical and Literary Companion, and he supervised the transcription of Nathaniel Branden's lectures for the 2009 publication of The Vision of Ayn Rand: The Basic Principles of Objectivism. Most recently, he published his first book, How the Martians Discovered Algebra: Explorations in Induction and the Philosophy of Mathematics, available from Amazon Kindle. He also frequently performs on recording sessions and jazz engagements, and information about CDs featuring his trombone playing, singing, musical arrangements, and original compositions can be accessed at:.

Objectivity biographical blurb

Roger Bissell

B.S. in Music Theory and Composition and M.A. in Music Performance and Literature. Interests in esthetics, personality theory, child development, and philosophy of science. Contributes book reviews to Journal of Consciousness Studies. rebissell@aol.com

The following was posted in 2000 online at The Daily Objectivist, as part of its "Hero of the Day" series. Unfortunately, The Daily Objectivist is not longer available online.

Roger E. Bissell

Probably best known to Objectivists for his alternately passionate and playful comments on the Atlantis and OWL email lists, Roger E. Bissell, 51, pursues a variety of strong interests, including philosophy, psychology, and genealogy. He has been a full-time working musician for over 30 years (the last 15 as a member of the Disneyland Band) and is happily married and father of five children. But he has still found time - thanks to the support of people like Tibor Machan, Douglas Rasmussen, and Chris Sciabarra - to publish a fair amount of scribbling, with more in the works.

Roger regards this incontinent outpouring as the doings not of a Renaissance man but of a "Muse-Seeker." That would be "a person who follows his or her inspiration, wherever it may lead, in search of discovery and enlightenment. Muse Seeking is neither dedicated single-mindedness, nor crass whim-worship. The Muse-Seeker is the spiritual equivalent of the Hunter-Gatherer."

Muse Seeking knows no bounds of orthodoxy. So, though Roger fiercely admires the pioneering efforts of Ayn Rand, Nathaniel Branden, and other Objectivists, he also partakes enthusiastically of the likes of Tim Gallwey, David Keirsey, Arthur Koestler, Steven Pinker, Mortimer Adler, Edward Pols, Henry Veatch, and Panayot Butchvarov.

Roger identifies most strongly with the character of Hank Rearden in that novel. "If you think something is right, even if it's painful, do it. And if you make a mistake, admit it, make amends, and get on with your life," he told TDO. "Don't let it go," Dagny Taggart's tortured mantra, is his trusted motto. "For me, that means: don't give up anything you love. Find out how to fit it in - music, philosophy, psychology, genealogy, science-fiction, even (or especially!) having a wife and children."

Despite a heaped plate, Roger is planning to record his first feature CD as a jazz trombone artist and composer later this year. No doubt he will have to cut down on his email a bit - at least for a little while.

@aol.com>
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