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Objectivism and The Struggle for Liberty by David Kelley Ph.D. (Remastered MP3 Download) Our Price: $1.99 Originally recorded on November 10th, 1988 Est. 52 minutes This provocative lecture was given at the Laissez Faire Supper Club in New York City on November 10th, 1988 by David Kelley, the noted Objectivist philosopher, author of The Evidence of the Senses, The Art of Reasoning, former contributor to The Objectivist Forum and frequent editorial writer for Barron's. Kelley defends Objectivism's role in helping to form the intellectual foundations for a free society in a twofold sense: its necessity for what he sees as a rigorous intellectual defense of the free society, and its role in defending and promoting those cultural values that must be widely accepted for a free society to be stable. Kelley demonstrates the indispensable role of individual rights as a defining characteristic of a free society, and then proceeds to launch a devastating attack on any form of ethical subjectivism as a basis for defending individual liberty. He examines three broad principles that he argues are absolutely essential in defending and sustaining individual freedom: the primacy of reason; egoism or the doctrine that every individual is an end in himself; and a rejection of the mind/body dichotomy. Finally, Kelley eloquently summarizes some of Ayn Rand's major contributions in defending these principles. This concise and persuasive talk is followed by a freewheeling question and answer period that is sure to be controversial, as David Kelley fields questions from Libertarians and Objectivists alike, showing once again why his is a mind to be reckoned with and why any thoughts of Objectivism's demise is premature to say the least. Permission to provide this product has been granted by David Kelley and The Atlas Society.

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I came across the article by an author who is a Buddhist philosopher. While I think he tends to mix his points and doesn't seem to know very much about Objectivism, he does heavily draw from Ayn Rand to make his case. I don't know if I agree with him but I can see where he is coming from.

I have just finished reading an article entitled Killing the Buddha done by Sam Harris (link below). As you all may know Harris is best known for his books The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation. In his opinion piece Harris expresses an appreciation for Buddhism but states that it is because it is viewed and practiced as a religion that that is why it may not spread or become more popular than the Abrahamic faiths. Harris uses an ancient Buddhist saying to make his point in which one 9th century Buddhist monk named Li Chi is quoted as saying If you meet Buddha on the road, kill him. The monk used this analogy or statement to make the point that if you make Buddhism into a religion, you will rob it of the essence of what the Buddha taught. Harris's main point of his op-ed is that despite practitioners of Buddhism claiming it is a philosophy most followers treat it as if it is a religion. Then there is Objectivism. Unfortunately, there are many subscribers to Objectivism who have decided to make it a religion and follow through as such. Yet it is because of religious Objectivists that may have robbed the philosophy of its essence since they want to be mini-Rands (like Leonard Peikoff) going around their social circles or the world itself preaching from soapboxes in order to lecture people in an attempt to convince them to follow the philosophy. But if a person openly questions or disagrees with their points about certain subjects they risk (and often times are) kicked out or declared persona-non-grata. I must admit that since becoming more familiar with the philosophy it has filled a void in my life and have followed up with starting an Objectivist club that has met for a little over 5 years. However, I have always been of the mindset that the philosophy is my road map and tried to keep myself from making it my entire life. Yet there are people who will always deride Objectivism as being a cult because it is a coherent, integrated, and unified system of thought that is very clear and consistent. However, I think Li Chi's advice is relevant not in a literal sense and just in terms of Buddhism but in terms of Objectivism as well. Thanks to people, like Leonard Peikoff, who have made Objectivism into a religion, they are the philosophy's worst enemy. http://www.samharris...ing-the-buddha/