Morality & Religion Archives - New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism: Recent Episodes
Ayn Rand Institute
The post America at 250: Politics, Religion, Morality appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Humiliation in war is encouraged by a culture that knows nothing but the alternative between unthinking pragmatism and humility
The post Our Iran Appeasement Reveals the Need to Declare Moral Independence appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Religion has too long maintained a cartel on morality; we need to find a new scientific ethics
The post After the Pope’s AI Screed, It’s Time to Break Free from Dependency on Religious Morality appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post The Pope’s Screed Against Human Intelligence appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The scientific method itself implies basic objective values that can lay the foundation for a code of morality
The post How to Build a Secular, Scientific Morality appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Bart Ehrman on the Christian Origins of Altruistic Morality appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Why the Red/Blue Button Moral Dilemma is a Trap appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post What People Get Wrong About Evil and the Iran War appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Steven Pinker’s Weak Defense of Enlightenment Values vs. Religion appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
We should draw inspiration from effort and achievement, whether painful or not
The post Don’t Elevate Suffering appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post “The Ethics of Emergencies” Now Available Online appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post How Friendship Can Be Selfish appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The Enlightenment, not Christianity, is the key to the West.
The post What Is Western Civilization? appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The recognition of a Palestinian state betrays good and rewards evil.
The post The Injustice of Recognizing a Palestinian State appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
A medieval anti-sex attitude explains the bizarre inconsistencies in the anti-abortion policy world.
The post The Dark Form of Control Even Anti-Abortion ‘Moderates’ Want appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Ben Bayer on America’s Need to Declare Independence from Altruism appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
“Ordo amoris” is just a variant on the egalitarian altruist theme – unlike Aristotle’s ethics.
The post Vance’s Twisted Christianity Is No Alternative to the Left’s Morality appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post The ARI Bookshelf Explores Abundance appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Ayn Rand explains why statist tyranny still appeals to many — and the rational morality we need to break the cycle.
The post Now Online: ‘Faith and Force: Destroyers of the Modern World’ appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post The ARI Bookshelf Explores Three Books on the Influence of Christianity on Western Culture appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Does Forgiveness Heal — or Whitewash Evil? appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Secular thinkers don’t realize how their moral views are influenced—for the worse—by a deeply Christian religious historical revolution.
The post How Christianity Polluted the Moral Atmosphere of the West appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
A powerful collection of eight essays defending the right to abortion on uncompromising moral grounds.
The post The New Expanded Edition of Why the Right to Abortion Is Sacrosanct appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Only a proper understanding of the Enlightenment concept can resolve the perennial moral and political controversy.
The post Individual Rights and the Right to Abortion appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The laws’ “exceptions” rely on an impoverished conception of human life.
The post Abortion Bans Don’t Really Make Exceptions for the Life of the Mother appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Desires are indispensable to the very idea of rational self-interest.
The post Tara Smith on the Role of Desires in an Egoistic Life appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
ARI board member clarifies Objectivism’s radical morality in a wide-ranging philosophical discussion.
The post Tara Smith Defends Ayn Rand’s Morality of Selfishness on Philosophy Podcast appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
A stalwart proponent of freedom and individual rights denounces the moral premise behind socialized medicine.
The post Health Care Is Not a Right appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Moral disapproval is an important, life-affirming activity, not a taboo.
The post Onkar Ghate on Moral Sanction appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Scientific thinkers take pride, not humility, in their intellectual honesty and objectivity.
The post Why a Secular Commitment to Science Warrants Pride, not Humility appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post The Secular Moral Alternative to Dawkins and Ayaan Hirsi Ali appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
State-level ploys to expose students to a morality of negatives can only negate the idealistic pursuit of virtue.
The post The Ten Commandments vs. Morality appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Unchosen servile duties are unbeffiting of the morality of a free people.
The post The Ten Commandments vs. America appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Why Today’s Universities Don’t Care About Plagiarism: An Interview with Ben Bayer appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Academia isn’t really convinced that plagiarism is a moral issue, and it shows.
The post The Real Problem with Plagiarism appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
A proper approach to morality will teach us to follow reason, without any concession to faith, in order to hold happiness as a sacred purpose.
The post A New ARI Booklet on Rescuing Morality from the Grip of Religion appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
Alabama seeks to cover up the irrationality of anti-abortion ideas.
The post The Absurdity at the Heart of the Alabama IVF Controversy appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Does Fear of God Ground Morality? appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post The Alabama IVF Ruling: The Dead End of Anti-Abortion Logic appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post The Plagiarism Ethics Scandal Nobody Is Talking About appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Ayaan Hirsi Ali Abandons Atheism for Christianity appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The scientifically minded should be skeptical of the popular morality of impartiality.
The post Debunking the Supernaturalism That Haunts Secular Ethics appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
A rational morality is an aid – not a burden – to achieving a life worth living.
The post Don Watkins on How to Be an Earthly Idealist appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
People often know better than the bad moral principles they espouse.
The post Greg Salmieri on How We Acquire Moral Knowledge appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
The post Ayn Rand’s Repudiation of Original Sin appeared first on New Ideal - Reason | Individualism | Capitalism.
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer is joined by professor and clinical psychologist Gena Gorlin to discuss the widespread notion that “intellectual humility” is the rational antidote to dogmatism.
Among the topics covered:
- How academic and popular defenders of reason have mixed up a legitimate concern for careful thinking methods with the illegitimate idea that nothing is certain;
- Why humility entails servility, despite failed attempts to reconcile it with the love of truth;
- Why intellectual ambitiousness demands working hard to attain knowledge;
- The difference between earned certainty, probability, and the false certainty claimed by religious mystics;
- How intellectual humility discourages people from being intellectually and professionally ambitious in their own lives;
- Why it is important to know when you are not certain, and how to deal with real uncertainty.
Appeals to the idea that morality is rooted in impartiality betray an uncritical parochialism unworthy of science.
The absurdities of Sam Bankman-Fried’s “longtermist” philosophy stem from the altruism in “effective altruism.”
John McWhorter shows how woke “antiracism” is a “new religion,” but he underappreciates how its zealotry is empowered by centuries-old religious morality.
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Don Watkins and Nikos Sotirakopoulos discuss New Year’s resolutions, what makes them difficult to maintain, and how integrated, contextual thinking can help automatize good habits.
Among the topics covered:
- The unhealthy motivation of the “fresh start effect” vs.
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Elan Journo discuss the philosophical bankruptcy of effective altruism and the movement’s role in FTX’s financial collapse.
Among the topics covered:
- The connection between FTX’s financial collapse and the effective altruism movement, including CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s goal of “earning to give”;
- What effective altruism advocates and why its offshoot, “longtermism,” champions some unusual causes;
- Why some of the common criticisms of effective altruism, such as the idea that it is a cynical ploy or that it is Utopian, miss the mark;
- The real problem with effective altruism, as shown by some of its major advocates, as its demand for self-effacement and sacrifice;
- How even secular altruists approach morality like a religion;
- How effective altruism is a form of debased morality, which empties morality of meaningful guidance relevant to our everyday lives;
- How a rational morality can be grounded in observable facts, not intuitions.
Ayn Rand’s “The Cult of Moral Grayness” scrutinizes the meaning and motivation of a popular catchphrase.
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer, Don Watkins, and Mike Mazza discuss Oxford philosophy professor William MacAskill’s new book, What We Owe the Future. The book advocates “Longtermism,” which calls for treating the well-being of people in the indefinite future as equal in value to presently existing people.
Anti-abortion rhetoric about “responsibility” is a cover for deeper and darker motives.
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Ben Bayer and Onkar Ghate discuss the idea held by critics of “cancel culture,” such as John McWhorter and Bari Weiss, that we should not call our political opponents evil. They discuss why we should sometimes regard those who disagree with us as immoral or evil — and treat them accordingly.
A new course explores the development of the neo-Aristotelian ethical thought of Philippa Foot and contrasts it with Ayn Rand’s ethics.
In this episode of New Ideal Live, Onkar Ghate and Ben Bayer discuss Ayn Rand’s provocative view of the meaning and importance of moral judgment as articulated in her fiction and in her nonfiction philosophic work.
This discussion assumes familiarity with Ayn Rand’s novel Atlas Shrugged, and listeners should note that it includes plot spoilers.
Merely suggesting he’s an Ayn Rand fan triggers vehement denial from Jonah Goldberg, a leading conservative intellectual. Why?
Here are five simple things you can do to help promote Why the Right to Abortion Is Sacrosanct.
A real concern for self-interest includes concern for one’s health, relationships, and the truth.
Ben Bayer applies Ayn Rand’s philosophy to lay out an uncompromising case for abortion rights.
Doctors and nurses who face “moral distress” about caring for ungrateful, disrespectful patients should rethink their view of what they owe patients.
Why did Ayn Rand call herself an intransigent, though not a militant, atheist? Rand scholar James G. Lennox answers in his new article, now available in the Cambridge History of Atheism.
Individuation at birth — not viability — is the relevant bright line for the applicability of individual rights.