Objectivist Friendly Universities?

[mpp]

Hello

I've been reading on here for a while and appreciated many interesting discussions. Now I want to start one:

I'm planing to study philosophy possibly alongside psychology. I'm from a German speaking country but would like to study in English. I know there are many academics on this board and I would like to get their opinion on which universities they would recommend for philosophy primarily and psychology secondarily.

It mustn't be one with an ardent objectivist holding the chair, but maybe one that's open to consider, teach and endorse other views than the Kant-influenced. Mainly, it should be one that looks for honesty and allows individual thinking, one that's objective.

I don't want to be treated like a sheep nestled in heard-mentality. I am looking for a place where opposing thoughts are welcomed, not stigmatized.

Thank you for any input!

[Selene]

http://www.hillsdale.edu/academics/majors/philrel.asp

http://www.hillsdale.edu/

[Reidy]

aynrandsociety.org is a special interest group of the American Philosophical Association, and most or all Objectivist academic philosophers belong to it. The site will tell you who has served as officer in the last two years and who has addressed their meetings. along with their schools. Not all the speakers are Objectivists, but they all respect Rand. Even if you aren't an academic, you can become a member, which is expensive, or a contributor, which is cheaper, and either gets you a subscription to the papers presented at the meetings. See the site for details.

Having studied philosophy myself I wish you the best on your adventure. I made the mistake of going in hostile to academic philosophy and determined to promote Objectivism. The subject didn't become interesting until I realized that I was there to learn, not convert, and that most of the teachers were admirably qualified to help me do this.

University of Pittsburgh has a reputation as an A-list philosophy department, though not many non-academics realize this.

[PDS]

Take a look at George Mason University too.

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

mpp,

Welcome to OL.

You might want to ask Robert Campbell, too. You can find him around here on OL at times, or look him up in the member's list.

He is on the editorial board of The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies, a peer-reviewed academic publication. Since this is by and for academics, it welcomes all scholarly approaches (as opposed to, say, an advocacy approach), and it is sent to universities everywhere, Robert might have some insight into the kind of place you are looking for.

Also, Robert is really good people.

Michael

[mpp]

Thank you all for contributing!

Are any of you familiar with European universities? (It's a money issue.)

@Reidy: Is it a correct assumption that you benefited from studying philosophy? I'm interested in the subject to improve my reasoning, problem-solving, and writing skills and because I'm hungry for knowledge.

I once heard Peikoff say: Across 14 years, as a student of philosophy, he has found it, with extraordinarily rare exceptions, a disastrous blow to the mind's ability to think or stay in touch with reality.

I don't have an explanation of the reasons behind this statement, however.

@MSK: Thanks. I've sent RB a private message. I found this forum thanks to his post The Rewrite Squad. Let's hope he contributes.

[Selene]

Thank you all for contributing!

Are any of you familiar with European universities? (It's a money issue.)

Check with Angela, she posts under Xray, or, xRay and she is a teacher in Germany and a very helpful person.

A...

[Reidy]

That was Peikoff's experience, and it shows. Did you ever see him on FoxNews?

Philosophy taught me how to follow an argument and to see what underlies somebody's position, whether he realizes it or not. It gave me practice in finding counter-examples that has been useful in my working life.

[Marc]

I visited Chapman University last summer as I was invited to a We The Living exhibit . It was wonderful to see and I was told that the President was a huge Ayn Rand fan . Chapman is located in Orange County quite close to the ARI in Irvine , California . Not sure what courses if any they have on Objectivism.

[Selene]

Marc:

Looks like Florida Gulf Coast is dedicated to Ayn's ideas, and, from what I saw in the link has a beautiful campus.

Florida Gulf Coast - A Randian School To Root For In The...

A...

[Marc]

Marc:

Looks like Florida Gulf Coast is dedicated to Ayn's ideas, and, from what I saw in the link has a beautiful campus.

Florida Gulf Coast - A Randian School To Root For In The...

A...

Thanks for the link !

[Roger Bissell]

Check out Rockford College, about to become Rockford University, in Rockford, Illinois. It's philososphy department is fairly small, but there are at least two Objectivists on the faculty, including Stephen Hicks who is also chairman of the Center for Ethics and Entrepreneurship.

Hicks is working in cooperation with Marsha Enright of Chicago to develop the College of the United States, also to have an Objectivist-Aristotelian-capitalism-based curriculum. She currently heads the Reason, Individualism, Freedom Institute, and she promotes Socratic seminars on important philosophical and life issues. She has run a Montessori school for many years, gradually expanding into the upper grades (as her daughter grew up!), and is now pushing for rational higher education. Hence, the College of the United States. Check out her interview about this on YouTube.

For well-established universities, in addition to the ones already metioned, I will also suggest St. John's University in New York, where my long-time friend Douglas Rasmussen teaches philosophy. He and Douglas Den Uyl have written a number of books arguing for a neo-Aritotelian kind of flourishing in ethics and politics, including classical liberalism/libertarianism. I don't know about the St. John's psychology department, however.

I hope you find what you're looking for!

REB