The Passion of Paul McKeever's Critics: An Open Letter to Grasshopper
April 10, 2009 by Paul McKeever · 4 Comments
On February 28, 2008, I released a video titled “Straw Men are Huemerous”. It was a response to a paper written by Michael Huemer, a professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, titled “Critique of ‘The Objectivist Ethics’ “. Huemer’s essay purports to be a critique of the first essay in Ayn Rand’s book “The Virtue of Selfishness”; an essay, titled “The Objectivist Ethics” (hereinafter “TOE”), that lays out the essentials of her ethical philosophy. Read more
Paul McKeever’s Minimal Maxims and Bon Arrows, volume 1, issue 5
March 31, 2009 by Paul McKeever · Leave a Comment
Peikoff, Ridpath, and – forgive me – even Brandon: Eh is Eh, eh?
“God only knows…”
I know it ain’t so.
Nobody knows nothing,
and nothing don’t know.
Live for a what, not for a when.
The day wore on and, one after another, freed of the need to pull the wagon, they happily rode upon it, until, at sunset, it ground to a halt. It would be a long, cold, night. – A Brief History of America
A Short Note on Tolerance and Sanction
March 27, 2009 by Paul McKeever · 1 Comment
An acquaintance and fellow student of Objectivism read Leonard Peikoff’s “Fact and Value” this week. I asked him for his thoughts on it, and he wrote: Read more
For the Aspiring Politician: What to Study
March 25, 2009 by Paul McKeever · 2 Comments
Today, I received a letter that asked me for some advice. The young man, who had chosen to leave university after two years of bad education in a university, asked what he should study as an aspiring politician. I gave him the following advice:
“When I was in high school, I asked a local politician what I should study in order to be a politician. He said: “Study whatever you want”. At the time, I thought he was just being rude; just saying “get out of the way kid, you’re bothering me”. However, I now know that he was right, at least in the sense that he would have defined “politician”. Read more
Paul McKeever’s Minimal Maxims and Bon Arrows, volume 1, issue 4
March 15, 2009 by Paul McKeever · Leave a Comment
Space shrinks when you’re having fun.
“I think…”, it thought, as He popped into existence and it popped out.
ymj umnqtxtumjw nx ijfi. qtsl qnAj Ymj umNqtxtumjw.
Keep the icons, replace their meanings, provoke the irrational, expose their falsehoods, let their memes shrivel in the hot light of reason.
The Mouse Who Became a Cat: A Fairy Story for Children
March 4, 2009 by Paul McKeever · 3 Comments
Over at the Western Standard blog, contributor Terry O’Neill reports a story from the anti-abortion news site lifesitenews.com about the passage of Montana Senate bill 406 (a “constitutional personhood amendment”) which states both: Read more
2nd Draft: A Charter for Government (feedback requested)
February 28, 2009 by Paul McKeever · 1 Comment
I begin this entry with an expression of thanks to all who took the time to read, think about, and comment upon, the first draft of the Charter for Government. In particular, I would like to thank David Odden over at ObjectivismOnline.net (in the discussion forum). He was looking for a better integration/explanation of the interaction of rights of life, liberty, and property. Most of what has been changed in the second draft (below) was inspired by his critique. Read more
Paul McKeever’s Minimal Maxims and Bon Arrows, volume 1, issue 3
February 14, 2009 by Paul McKeever · 3 Comments
I, to be commanded, must be obeyed.
Any sufficiently rational individual is indistinguishable from a wizard.
A kindness paid to the worthy kills none, but to the unworthy kills all.
While raising the flag of freedom, be willing and prepared to see it at half-mast.
Debate: A Charter for Government
January 18, 2009 by Paul McKeever · 8 Comments
The following is a work-in-progress. I am not at liberty to say, at this point, the use to which the following document might be put, so I name it, provisionally, “A Charter for Government”.
I am interested in any meaningful comments, criticisms, or suggestions you may have. No matter what may be your personal philosophy, and no matter what might be your personal beliefs, I would like to hear from you. Please submit your comments in the comments below, on this blog (if you are a first-time commenter, I will have to approve your first comment manually…please be patient, it’s worth it, to avoid spam). Insults and flame-bait will be discarded: please avoid ad hominem attacks toward me or toward other commenters, but do not be afraid to express a judgment that something in the document is true/false, good/evil, virtuous/vicious. Read more
Why Theft is Neither Ethical Nor Practical
January 13, 2009 by Paul McKeever · 9 Comments
Tom, an acquaintance of mine, is about to commence an ethics course. The outline for the course states:
The first part of the course addresses the challenge that the egoist (sometimes called the amoralist) poses for moral philosophy…The egoist is a person who doesn’t care about morality – all the egoist cares about is his or her own advantage and happiness, and he or she will be prepared to break any of our standard moral rules in order to secure it- just as long, that is, as he or she can get away with it.
