New Atlas Society Publication: An Objectivist Secular Reader

[Ed Hudgins]

New Atlas Society Publication: An Objectivist Secular Reader

The Atlas Society is pleased to announce the publication of a new book, An Objectivist Secular Reader, edited by Edward Hudgins.

This 150-page work is a compellation of twenty-four articles, principally by Hudgins with contributions also from David Kelley, William Thomas, Robert Bidinotto, and Hugo Schmidt, culled from The New Individualist, op-eds, and other TAS publications. It includes an introduction by Hudgins and appendix on Objectivism by Thomas.

In recent years books by secular and atheist thinkers such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris have become best sellers and skeptic organizations have filled huge halls for their conferences. Their emphasis on reality, reason, critical thinking, and personal liberty is most welcomed. As you know, Objectivists in general, and we at The Atlas Society in particular, have been at the forefront in promoting these values.

But what many secularists have lacked in the past is a morality based on individual, rational self-interest and the resulting political philosophy of capitalism. That's where we and this book come in.

Hudgins writes in the introduction that this book seeks to introduce those in the growing secular movement to perspectives on matters crucial to them from Objectivist authors. Hudgins also writes that he hopes religious readers will be provoked not to anger but, rather, to serious thought and an appreciation that thinking is our route to the truth about objective reality and self-interest the way to happiness in this world.

The first section of the book is on "Religious Conflict and Culture." It includes David Kelley's classic exposition on the "Party of Modernity," as contrasted with the pre-modern and post-modern. It also contains reviews of recent books by secularist and commentaries on religious controversies.

The second section, on "The Islamist Threat," includes our best work on the current conflict with those who most consistently manifest what Ayn Rand understood as the connected evils of faith and force.

The third section, on "Life's Meaning," contains pieces on the positive side of the secular.

Hudgins and The Atlas Society recently distributed some 800 copies of the book a a major skeptics conference and will use this book as a tool to spread "open" Objectivism to new audiences, and to a country and culture in desperate need of its principles of reality, reason, self-interest, and capitalism. (At right, Teller of the magician, comic, and libertarian team of Penn & Teller receives his copy from Ed at the conference!)

You can get your copy of the book at The Objectivism Store for $15.95.

--------------

An Objectivist Secular Reader: Table of Contents

Introduction:

Why Secularists Need Objectivism , by Edward Hudgins

Section One: Religious Conflicts and Culture

1. The Party of Modernity, by David Kelley

2. What Are Creationists Afraid Of? by Edward Hudgins

3. Grand Canyon Sized Silliness, by Edward Hudgins

4. The Problem with “The Passion’s” Moral, Message, by Edward Hudgins

5. Is Miss Cleo a Criminal? She’s Certainly a Fraud , by Edward Hudgins

6. The Witless Battle Over General Boykin , by David Kelley

7. No Faith in Republicans , by Edward Hudgins

8. The God That Failed: Review of Dawkins’s The God Delusion , by Hugo Schmidt

9. From Faith to Force: Review of Harris’ The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation , by Edward Hudgins

10. Liberal Values, Really: Review of Dacey’s The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life , by William Thomas

11. The Soul of Science: Interview with Michael Shermer , by Edward Hudgins

12. Skeptics and Humanists: Allies or Enemies of Individualism? by Edward Hudgins

Section Two: The Islamist Threat

13. The Means and Ends of Islamists , by Edward Hudgins

14. The Jihad Against Free Speech , by Edward Hudgins

15. Cartoon Journalists , by Robert Bidinotto

16. Flushing the Koran or Reason Down the Toilet? by Edward Hudgins

17. Deep Savages , by Edward Hudgins

18. The Pope vs. Islam: Who Stands for Reason? by Edward Hudgins

19. The Iliad and Islam , by Edward Hudgins

Section Three: Life’s Meaning

20. Secular Spirituality, by Edward Hudgins

21. Spring is a Time for Personal Renewal , by Edward Hudgins

22. Apollo 11 on Human Achievement Day , by Edward Hudgins

23. Why We Give Gifts , by Edward Hudgins

24. Every Day a New Year , by Edward Hudgins

Appendix:

Freedom . . . Achievement . . . Individualism . . . Reason—Objectivism , by William Thomas

[Mike11]

I would be interested in the section on Islam.

I might pick this compilation up some time.

[algernonsidney]

I was going to order this at Barnes and Noble. They couldn't find it.

[BaalChatzaf]

I was going to order this at Barnes and Noble. They couldn't find it.

It is available through Amazon.Com

Ba'al Chatzaf

[Chris Grieb]

I forgot to include this in my list of works from Objectivists that I mentioned in tread about PARC.

[algernonsidney]

Amazon says it's "not in stock." BN does not have it at all.

[Neil Parille]

Andrew Bernstein has a new book out: Objectivism in One Lesson. It's 138 pages.

-NEIL

____

[Barbara Branden]

Ed, I am unable to get to the Objectivist Store to order the book. When I try, I get a message saying the site is unavailable. What should I do?

Barbara

[emb021]

Ed, I am unable to get to the Objectivist Store to order the book. When I try, I get a message saying the site is unavailable. What should I do?

I got to the website fine.

There is also an 800 number: 800-649-3158

[emb021]

Andrew Bernstein has a new book out: Objectivism in One Lesson. It's 138 pages.

Where can you get it from? I check amazon.com and there is no listing for such a book.

[Neil Parille]

Michael,

I just checked and it is listed.

ISBN-10: 0761843590

ISBN-13: 978-0761843597

-NEIL

____

[Robert Campbell]

Found the Bernstein book, too, though apparently it hasn't been published yet, and Amazon is taking pre-publication orders.

Robert Campbell

[Neil Parille]

It looks like another Objectivist book that doesn't really extend Objectivism into new territory.

[Chris Grieb]

About the Bernstein book I getting tired of experienced non-surprise.

[Reidy]

Actually the Bernstein book does tell us something. A few years back the inner circle kiboshed Gotthelf's 100-page On Ayn Rand on the grounds that it was too short. AR Bookstore doesn't sell it, thought they sell some of his audios. If Bernstein is adequate at 138 pages, we start to narrow in on what an acceptable length is.

[Neil Parille]

I'm not sure what the problem was with the Gotthelf book, except that some people such as Peikoff thought it was too dry for an intro book (which it was). Of course, if Peikoff said it was OK, I imagine the ARI would be selling it.

I have some books in that series and they tend to run around 100 pages.

-NP

[Mindy Newton]

New Atlas Society Publication: An Objectivist Secular Reader

The Atlas Society is pleased to announce the publication of a new book, An Objectivist Secular Reader, edited by Edward Hudgins.

This 150-page work is a compellation of twenty-four articles, principally by Hudgins with contributions also from David Kelley, William Thomas, Robert Bidinotto, and Hugo Schmidt, culled from The New Individualist, op-eds, and other TAS publications. It includes an introduction by Hudgins and appendix on Objectivism by Thomas.

In recent years books by secular and atheist thinkers such as Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris have become best sellers and skeptic organizations have filled huge halls for their conferences. Their emphasis on reality, reason, critical thinking, and personal liberty is most welcomed. As you know, Objectivists in general, and we at The Atlas Society in particular, have been at the forefront in promoting these values.

But what many secularists have lacked in the past is a morality based on individual, rational self-interest and the resulting political philosophy of capitalism. That's where we and this book come in.

Hudgins writes in the introduction that this book seeks to introduce those in the growing secular movement to perspectives on matters crucial to them from Objectivist authors. Hudgins also writes that he hopes religious readers will be provoked not to anger but, rather, to serious thought and an appreciation that thinking is our route to the truth about objective reality and self-interest the way to happiness in this world.

The first section of the book is on "Religious Conflict and Culture." It includes David Kelley's classic exposition on the "Party of Modernity," as contrasted with the pre-modern and post-modern. It also contains reviews of recent books by secularist and commentaries on religious controversies.

The second section, on "The Islamist Threat," includes our best work on the current conflict with those who most consistently manifest what Ayn Rand understood as the connected evils of faith and force.

The third section, on "Life's Meaning," contains pieces on the positive side of the secular.

Hudgins and The Atlas Society recently distributed some 800 copies of the book a a major skeptics conference and will use this book as a tool to spread "open" Objectivism to new audiences, and to a country and culture in desperate need of its principles of reality, reason, self-interest, and capitalism. (At right, Teller of the magician, comic, and libertarian team of Penn & Teller receives his copy from Ed at the conference!)

You can get your copy of the book at The Objectivism Store for $15.95.

--------------

An Objectivist Secular Reader: Table of Contents

Introduction:

Why Secularists Need Objectivism , by Edward Hudgins

Section One: Religious Conflicts and Culture

1. The Party of Modernity, by David Kelley

2. What Are Creationists Afraid Of? by Edward Hudgins

3. Grand Canyon Sized Silliness, by Edward Hudgins

4. The Problem with “The Passion’s” Moral, Message, by Edward Hudgins

5. Is Miss Cleo a Criminal? She’s Certainly a Fraud , by Edward Hudgins

6. The Witless Battle Over General Boykin , by David Kelley

7. No Faith in Republicans , by Edward Hudgins

8. The God That Failed: Review of Dawkins’s The God Delusion , by Hugo Schmidt

9. From Faith to Force: Review of Harris’ The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation , by Edward Hudgins

10. Liberal Values, Really: Review of Dacey’s The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life , by William Thomas

11. The Soul of Science: Interview with Michael Shermer , by Edward Hudgins

12. Skeptics and Humanists: Allies or Enemies of Individualism? by Edward Hudgins

Section Two: The Islamist Threat

13. The Means and Ends of Islamists , by Edward Hudgins

14. The Jihad Against Free Speech , by Edward Hudgins

15. Cartoon Journalists , by Robert Bidinotto

16. Flushing the Koran or Reason Down the Toilet? by Edward Hudgins

17. Deep Savages , by Edward Hudgins

18. The Pope vs. Islam: Who Stands for Reason? by Edward Hudgins

19. The Iliad and Islam , by Edward Hudgins

Section Three: Life’s Meaning

20. Secular Spirituality, by Edward Hudgins

21. Spring is a Time for Personal Renewal , by Edward Hudgins

22. Apollo 11 on Human Achievement Day , by Edward Hudgins

23. Why We Give Gifts , by Edward Hudgins

24. Every Day a New Year , by Edward Hudgins

Appendix:

Freedom . . . Achievement . . . Individualism . . . Reason—Objectivism , by William Thomas

I have to say, the title seems awkward. Doesn't it imply there's an Objectivist, non-secular text?

Also, if I read an intro that told me "this book seeks to introduce [me]...to perspectives on matters crucial to [me]," I'd rate it as BS right there.

= Mindy

[algernonsidney]

I'm fine with the title. Many secularists are not Objectivists.

[Mindy Newton]

I'm fine with the title. Many secularists are not Objectivists.

Yes, of course. I don't know why it strikes me as odd.

= Mindy

[Chris Grieb]

The Ayn Rand Bookstore is accepting pre-orders for the Bernstein book. It's $24.95 which seems high to me.

[Roger Bissell]

I think that the present title works well enough and is more succinct than the possibly less confusing "Objectivist Perspectives on Secularism" (which is what I probably would have called it).

If I were a Secularist unfamiliar with Objectivism, or at least with how Objectivism would relate to my concerns, I think I would be quite interested and open to read about how another philosophical movement's thinkers viewed those concerns. And I wouldn't immediately/automatically write it off as "BS."

I think this book is in the same category as the book co-edited by Mimi Gladstein and Chris Sciabarra: "Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand." They're both attempting to bridge between Objectivism and other intellectual/social movements. It seems to me that that is a worthy pursuit.

REB

[Roger Bissell]

The Ayn Rand Bookstore is accepting pre-orders for the Bernstein book. It's $24.95 which seems high to me.

It does seem a bit pricey (for the length), but I think it will be interesting, and perhaps instructive, to compare how Berstein approaches the problem of conveying a perspective or system of thought "in one lesson" with the way David Bergland conveys libertarianism or Henry Hazlitt conveys free market economics.

Actually, it's really very exciting intellectually to witness a thinker taking a seminal idea and spinning out numerous illuminating applications of it. That is why I found Hazlitt's Economics in One Lesson so powerful and rewarding. If Bernstein's book is half as good, that's reason to cheer.

REB

[Chris Grieb]

Roger: If Bernstein is one quarter as good as Hazlitt I will buy his book and copies for my friends and family.

[Mindy Newton]

REB quoted: "I think that the present title works well enough and is more succinct than the possibly less confusing "Objectivist Perspectives on Secularism" (which is what I probably would have called it).

If I were a Secularist unfamiliar with Objectivism, or at least with how Objectivism would relate to my concerns, I think I would be quite interested and open to read about how another philosophical movement's thinkers viewed those concerns. And I wouldn't immediately/automatically write it off as "BS."

I think this book is in the same category as the book co-edited by Mimi Gladstein and Chris Sciabarra: "Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand." They're both attempting to bridge between Objectivism and other intellectual/social movements. It seems to me that that is a worthy pursuit."

REB

What I was on about was that instead of actually saying something about why secularists would find Objectivists' opinions of interest, the statement only said that he (Hudgins) would tell them things he thought would be crucial to them. It's vaccuous. I'm going to introduce you to my perspective on matters crucial to you. It's comparable to saying: I wrote a book and I think you should read it.

Aside from being off-putting, he misses the chance to make a substantive point that shows the relevance of Objectivism to secularists.

The more important consequence of such a statement is that it leads the reader to expect that sort of meaningless verbiage, and the "thinking" that goes with it, throughout the book! That's why I'd re-shelve it right away.

= Mindy

Edited October 2, 2008 by Mindy

[Philip Coates]

> If Bernstein is adequate at 138 pages, we start to narrow in on what an acceptable length is.

Acceptable length for a book which simplifies Objectivism is between 129 and 142 pages, depending on size of font.

Acceptable length for an introductory book which also breaks new ground is between 147 and 192 pages, depending on whether the innovations are in epistemology, ethics, or politics.

Acceptable price is between $18 and $27.

Acceptable number of chapters is between 0 and 212. Freezing point and boiling points of water, respectively.

Acceptable colors of the cover are mint green, black and turquoise. No picture of a man with red hair is to be allowed on the cover and no line drawings.

(I need to stop drinking.... Urp...)