To Rand, the self is much more than a mere bundle of feelings—the self is the reasoning, choosing, valuing mind, tasked properly to one’s flourishing on earth. Under this richer conception of the self, one’s life and happiness act as the barometers of a proper
Under the Surface Episode 4: The Morality of Self-Interest from The Undercurrent on Vimeo. The Undercurrent is proud to announce the release of the final episode of the "Under The Surface" series. The series aims to present Objectivist ideas in a relatable manner to those students who
Damon Horowitz begins his recent TED presentation with the following question: What’s better, iPhone or Android? Nearly everyone in the audience immediately raised a hand in favor of one or the other. Then Horowitz asked which moral framework is better: that of John Stuart Mill
Selfishness requires consideration for the long-range consequences of one’s actions. Over the past year, we have seen many highly-publicized instances of people being caught acting dishonestly. Investor Bernie Madoff was caught running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded investors of billions. Golfer Tiger Woods admitted to engaging
Are children naturally altruistic? A recent study seems to suggest so: “When infants 18 months old see an unrelated adult whose hands are full and who needs assistance opening a door or picking up a dropped clothespin, they will immediately help" Michael Tomasello writes in “Why
In his latest book, The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty, the philosopher Peter Singer claims that you are morally obligated to relieve poverty. Singer offers his readers the following "proof" demonstrating why everyone is immoral if they don't sacrifice for
This spring the President signed into law The Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. You should pay special attention to this law because much of it specifically targets young adults. Secondary schools, for example, are offered federal funds in exchange for developing their “service-learning” curricula,
Barack Obama's wife, Michelle Obama, recently offered some advice to Americans: We left corporate America, which is a lot of what we're asking young people to do. Don't go into corporate America. You know, become teachers. Work for the community. Be social workers. Be a nurse.
